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Facebook, the world’s most addictive drug
FACEBOOK has defied even optimists’ projections of how big the
12-year-old firm could one day become. Today the company’s flagship
social network claims 1.6 billion users, around a billion of whom log on
each day. Facebook has attracted and engaged so many users by
engineering features that are highly addictive and relevant to their
lives, so people keep coming back for more hits (otherwise known as
updates). Including the other apps it owns, such as WhatsApp, Instagram
and Facebook Messenger, Americans spend 30% of their mobile internet
time on Facebook, compared to around 11% on Google search and YouTube
combined.
The amount of data Facebook collects on users has helped
it become the world’s second-largest advertising company on mobile
devices. Last year it claimed 19% of the $70 billion people spent on
mobile advertising globally, compared to Twitter’s paltry 2.5%. Its data
advantage will make it difficult for rivals to unseat it, which
explains why its market capitalisation has risen to around $325 billion
today.
Some might think that people already spend too much time on the
social network. According to one estimate, most Americans spend the
equivalent of two full workdays each month on Facebook. In the future,
might they pass even more time? Mark Zuckerberg is hoping so. Next week
Facebook is expected to announce more plans for turning Messenger, one
of its messaging services, into a portal through which people can
fulfill tasks, like ordering taxis and communicating with businesses. Mr
Zuckerberg is hoping that Facebook will be an even bigger part of the
mobile ecosystem in the future. Being both useful and addictive could
win Facebook even more friends.
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