It’s finally set to happen: Facebook is about to tip the scales as a majority in the UK.
Facebook will be used at least once a month by over half of UK residents in 2016, according to a new report.
Analysts at eMarketer forecast 50.5% penetration – exactly 33.2 million users – for the social network in Blighty this year.
That’s up from 49.5% last year, marking 2016 as the first time Facebook abstainees will be a minority.
What’s more, the number of monthly active UK users is set to grow to 35.4 million by 2020 – that’s 52% of the population.
The report also predicts that more than half of UK mobile phone users will be Facebook users – around 50.8%.
Facebook now has over 1.5 billion active users globally (Statista)
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In turn, 81.1% of UK Facebook users will access the platform through a mobile phone. That’s set to rise to 88% by 2020.
“People are spending more time than ever with mobile devices,” says eMarketer anaylyst Bill Fisher. “It stands to reason that Facebook users are heading to the mobile platform too.”
“Indeed, such is the ubiquity of these devices that the default platform for the vast majority of Facebook users is now mobile,” adds Fisher.
Analysts at the firm also revealed that females are typically heavier Facebook users than males in the UK.
Around 67.7% of female internet users in the UK are expected to log onto Facebook monthly, while just 57.2% of males will follow suit.
Does any of this information surprise you? Tell us why – or why not – in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.