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Video Changes at Facebook Lead to Declining Use, Says eMarketer

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Facebook use is falling—just slightly—and changes in video consumption are what's driving the trend. According to the researchers at eMarketer the average time spent per day on Facebook by U.S. adults fell by three minutes last year. That's due to the social network's move to discourage passive consumption of video and other content. In 2018 and 2019, adults averaged 38 minutes per day on Facebook. eMarketer predicts that will fall by another minute in 2020.

News 2“Facebook’s continued loss of younger adult users, along with its focus on downranking clickbait posts and videos in favor of those that create ‘time well spent,’ resulted in less daily time spent on the platform in 2018 than we had previously expected,” said eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

Snapchat use has hit a plateau at 26 minutes per day, which eMarketer expects to continue at least for a few more years. Instagram, on the other hand, is seeing growth. It's users averaged 26 minutes in 2018 and will average 28 minutes next year. The slow steady rise is due to video, influencer content, and Stories, said Williamson.

Overall, American adults will average 1 hour 14 minutes daily on social networks this year. Competition from digital video and gaming is keeping social network use from growing, Williamson added.

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