Stateside, Facebook's growth actually slowed in June, according to new data from
Inside Facebook. The slowdown followed a burst of activity through
April and May. Indeed, Facebook picked up only 320,800 new monthly active users in June, compared to the outstanding 7.8 million it gathered in May. "It's not uncommon to see a saturated country like
the US take a breather after a spurt of growth," notes Inside Facebook. "However, some unusually interesting demographic trends took place for the country in June that add nuance to the overall growth
number." In particular, a number of users in the prime 18-to-44 age range (which represents Facebook's largest age demographic) left or stepped back from the social network.
Why did several
hundred thousand young -- but no longer teenaged -- users suddenly leave Facebook? Maybe we're finally seeing the backlash "from heavy media attention to Facebook privacy issues -- some of which were
real, some the result of confusion and sensationalism," Inside Facebook writes. The slowdown actually extended into the older 45-to-54 age group, but those numbers were otherwise within normal ranges,
as was the growth for the 13-to-17 group.
Read the whole story at Inside Facebook »
