According to a Pew Research Center survey, Facebook turning 10 has reached the dominant social networking platform, used by 57% of all American adults and 73% of all those ages 12-17. Adult Facebook use is intensifying as well. 64% of Facebook users visit the site on a daily basis, up from 51% who were daily users in 2010. Among teens, the total number of users remains high, and they are not abandoning the site. However, focus group interviews suggest that teens’ relationship with Facebook is complicated and may be evolving. The survey findings show how people are using Facebook and what they like and dislike about the site. Some users dislike certain aspects, but fear of missing out on social activities isn’t one of them. The “fear of missing out” phenomenon resonates with only a small proportion of the Facebook population. Just 5% of Facebook users strongly dislike the fact that Facebook allows them to see others taking part in social activities that they themselves were not included in, but 84% of users say that this aspect of Facebook life doesn’t bother them at all. Their dislikes start with oversharing by friends and people posting one’s personal information (such as photos) without first asking permission are among the most common. Parents are especially protective of images of their children, as 57% of Facebook users with children under the age of 18 say that people posting pictures of their children without asking permission first is something they strongly dislike about using Facebook. Facebook User Dislikes (% of Facebook Users Who Strongly Dislike) User Dislikes% of Respondents People sharing too much information about themselves 36% Others posting things or pictures about you without asking permission 36 Others seeing posts or comments you didn’t mean them to see 27 Temptation or pressure to share too much about yourself 24 Pressure to post content that will be popular to get comments/likes 12 Pressure to comment on content posted by others in network 12 Seeing posts about social activities in which you were not included 5 Source: Pew Research, September 2013 Women and men often have varying reasons for why they use Facebook, but everything starts with sharing and laughs. Users say they especially appreciate photos and videos from friends (47% say that’s a major reason they use the site), the ability to share with many people at once (46% cite that as a major reason), updates from others (39% cite that), and humorous content (39%). Other aspects of Facebook, such as keeping up with news, or receiving support from the people in one’s network, appeal to a more modest audience of users. Men and women sometimes vary in their reasons for using the site. Reasons for Facebook Use, Men vs. Women (% of Users Citing “Major Reasons” for Using Facebook) % Users Citing as Major Reason to Use FacebookWomen More Likely to Say% of Men think% of Women think Seeing photos or videos 39% 54% Sharing with many people at once 42 50 Seeing entertaining or funny posts 35 43 Learning about ways to help others 25 35 Receiving support from people in own network 16 29 Men And Women Equally Likely To Cite Major Reason Receiving updates or comments 39% 39% Keeping up with news and current events 31 31 Getting feedback on content previously posted 16 17 Source: Pew Research, September 2013 Half of all adult Facebook users have more than 200 friends in their network. Among adult Facebook users, the average number of friends is 338, and the median number of friends is 200. Younger users tend to have significantly larger friend networks than older users: 27% of 18-29 year old Facebook users have more than 500 friends in their network, while 72% of users age 65+ have 100 friends or fewer. Facebook Friends Median # of Friends Age of FriendFriends 18-29 300 30-49 200 50-64 75 65+ 30 Source: Pew Research, September 2013 Younger users are more likely to have been asked to “unfriend” a person in their network than older users: 19% of 18-29 year old Facebook users have had someone ask them to remove a friend from their network (compared with 10% of 30-49 year olds, 7% of 50-64 year olds, and 5% of those 65 and older). These “friend removal” requests tend to come primarily from: