Despite the hype, many think Facebook is just a passing fad
May 15, 2012, 10:47 AM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 1:40 pm
 A new poll finds half of Americans consider Facebook a fad (AP graphic) |
It might have over 900 million registered users, but a
new AP-CNBC
survey says about half of all Americans think
Facebook is a passing fad. Despite all the hype, half
of Americans polled think the expected asking price for
the company’s upcoming initial public stock offering will
be too much.
That begs the question, will Facebook be a powerhouse
in the future or left behind by some other social network
or other innovation?
“It may be over-hyped but I cannot argue with how
completely enmeshed it has become with the lives of people
of a certain age,” says Ross and Burbank co-host Luke
Burbank.
“I’m 36 and for my friends, people my age, it’s
inconceivable to not be on Facebook. I have a couple
of friends who aren’t on Facebook and they’re completely
out of the loop on what’s going on. It’s how everything
gets organized whether its a softball game, a picnic,
somebody’s birthday.”
But not everyone is convinced. Co-host Dave Ross
points to the failed social networks of the past that once
dominated the landscape, like My Space, and says Facebook
has plenty of competitors from Linked In to Pinterest to
keep the company from becoming ubiquitous in everyone’s
lives.
“I don’t think they’ve solidified themselves enough to
become like Microsoft has become, for example, in terms of
software,” Ross says. “Nothing’s come along to really
replace Facebook, but they’re seeing competition and
losing people.”
Much like Ross and Burbank, the rest of the nation is
similarly divided on Facebook along age lines. The survey
finds just 21 percent of senior citizens have an account.
Half of baby boomers, the generation born in the years
after World War II, have one. But most of the 56
percent of the country that’s on Facebook is young. Two-
thirds of Gen X’ers and a staggering 81 percent of
people 18-35 use the social networking site.
Despite the intensity of their use, a narrow
majority of young adults predict Facebook’s appeal will
fade down the road (51 percent) and fewer think it will
stick around as a service (44 percent).
By Josh Kerns, My Northwest.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report
