While usage of the social network is on the decline in the United States, Israelis won’t be defriending it anytime soon.
Check your news feed: Facebook is getting significantly fewer likes these days – but not in Israel.
If you have a second window open in your Web browser while reading this story, chances are, it’s open to Facebook. But while the world’s most famous social network is undoubtedly popular, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center proves that more and more Americans are saying that their relationship with Mark Zuckerberg’s brainchild is complicated.
According to the survey, which was published in February, 62% of American users have taken a “break” from Facebook for at least a few weeks. And according to an article from Reuters last month, investors in the cutting-edge tech hub of Silicon Valley have been flocking to a handful of newer, fresher social networks preferred by young people.
Israelis, however, are in a happy and committed relationship with the network, according the recent comScore survey, which shows them spending more time per month on the site than users from any other nation.
Elad Brindt Shavit, Facebook account manager for the Israeli market, says that on average, Israelis spend 11 hours a month a Facebook, a figure that has held steady for the past two years.
Brindt Shavit says that Israel has 4 million Facebook users, and they log on several times a month. The number of “likes” handed out by Israelis has more than doubled in the past year, climbing from 300 million in 2012 to 764 million in 2013 to date.
And of course, let’s not forget the young couple from Tel Aviv who named their baby “Like” in 2011, in perhaps the greatest act of solidarity with the network to date.
There has also been growth in the number of replies to posts, which now stands at 120 million per month. Israelis update their statuses 13 million times a month.
Sixty percent of Israeli Facebook members log onto the social network on a daily basis. Male users edge out female users 52% to 48%.
Sixty percent of Israeli Facebook members log onto the social network on a daily basis. Male users edge out female users 52% to 48%.
According to Brindt Shavit, older Israelis are also using the network more. Currently, 9 percent of Israeli Facebook users are 55 or older and 8 percent are between 45 and 55.
But most Israeli Facebookers are young. 13 percent of them are between 13 and 17 years old; 28 percent are between 18 and 24; 27 percent are between 25 and 34; and 15 percent are ages 35 to 44.
Source: Haaretz.com
