It’s official. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg did his job, returning serves and lobs from lawmakers for more than 10 hours on Capitol Hill during the middle of last month. Certainly the examination of Zuckerberg two congressional committees conducted about Cambridge Analytica’s data pull and other related and unrelated topics failed to make significant changes in Facebook usage in the platform’s home country, a new poll from Ipsos and Thomson Reuters shows.
The poll is among the final pieces of data needed to pronounce Facebook healthy after its most troubling PR headache since it went public in 2012.
The survey follows a stellar Q1 financial report where it topped Wall Street’s expectations for advertising revenue of $11.4 billion, pulling in $12 billion.
The implications for communicators: algorithms and Zuckerberg’s meaningful social interactions aside, Facebook remains a dominant if not the leading social channel. Its issues of being powered by an aged demographic remain, however (PRN, January 9, April 24).
Half Remain Steady Facebook Users
In short, the survey found roughly half of Facebook’s U.S.-based users had not recently changed the amount they use the platform.
Another 25% said they were using Facebook more. This group of increased users balances the 25% of users who told the pollsters they were using Facebook less, had stopped using it or deleted their account.
The national poll of 2,200 U.S. adults (1,900 said they were Facebook users) was conducted online April 26-30 and released last week. Zuckerberg sparred with lawmakers in D.C. April 10-11, providing ample time for Facebook users to react by deleting their accounts or at least reducing their use of the platform.
Facebook Security Concerns
On the other hand, security seems a concern. The poll shows Facebook users were more attuned to security measures than users of other platforms (see chart).
Still, only 23% of Facebook users said they have “total control” over the information they store on the platform; 49% said they have “some control;” 20% believe they lack any control; and 9% were unsure.
Among all adults, 64% said they use Facebook at least once daily, down slightly from 68% who said so in a similar poll in late March. News reports about Cambridge Analytica initially appeared March 16, shortly before that poll was conducted.
Facebook said monthly users in N. America rose to 241 million during Q1 2018, up from 231 million at the end of Q4 2017. The growth was consistent with previous years, yet another sign of Facebook’s relative health following what now can be called the Cambridge Analytica scare.
