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Why is Facebook still so insanely popular? (midwest.social)

submitted 5 months ago by jeze64@midwest.social to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I read "it's dying" by people on Discord and Reddit all the time, but the numbers prove otherwise. It's been going up this entire time and sitting over 3 billion MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS!

I feel like the bubble around people on other platforms saying "who uses Facebook anymore lol" is kind of wild given the numbers. Keep in mind these are active users not just abandoned accounts.

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[-] antonim@lemmy.dbzer0.com 35 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

This. In the west among the younger generations, sure, Facebook is outdated/dead. Among other generations, and across much of the world, it is still almost as essential as email.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_Zero

A criticism also stated that Facebook is practicing digital colonialism because it is not introducing open internet but building a "little web that turns the user into a mostly passive consumer of mostly western corporate content”.

An article by Christopher Mims in Quartz in September 2012 stated that Facebook Zero played a very important role in Facebook's expansion in Africa over the 18 months following the release of Facebook Zero, noting that data charges could be a significant component of mobile usage cost and the waiving of these charges reduced a significant disincentive for people in Africa to use Facebook.

To me as a kid with a rudimentary phone and little pocket money, this was also how I got onto and used to access Facebook.

[-] jqubed@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

Kind of reminds me of what AOL was trying to do in the ’90s. If it wasn’t for broadband Internet coming directly from telecom services they might’ve succeeded, too.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee -1 points 5 months ago

digital colonialism

Lmao

[-] subtext@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

What else would you call it? It’s them trying to be the face of the internet, the only internet these people know.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 5 months ago

Something less dramatic and hilarious probably. Maybe manipulative business tactics.

this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024

523 points (96.0% liked)

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