페이스북이 잇따른 스캔들에 휩싸여 논란되고 있는 가운데, 앱 사용자 이탈률도 증가하고 있는 것으로 확인됐다.
최근 비영리조사기관 퓨(Pew)가 미국 페이스북 사용자 4천594명을 상대로 설문조사를 시행한 결과, 응답자 중 26%가 지난해 페이스북 앱을 삭제했다고 대답했다. 그중 18~29세의 사용자가 44%로 가장 높은 이탈률을 보였다.
전체 응답자 중 42%는 몇 주 이상 페이스북 앱에 접속하지 않은 것으로 파악됐고, 54%는 개인 정보보호 설정을 변경했다고 밝혔다.
2016년 영국 케임브리지 애널리티카(Cambridge Analytica)와 연루된 개인 정보 공유 및 프라이버시 침해 문제 이후, 가짜 뉴스의 논란으로 잇따른 스캔들에 휩싸인 페이스북에 사용자들은 부정적인 반응을 보이고 있다.
페이스북 셰릴 샌드버그(Sheryl Sandberg) 최고운영책임자(COO)가 5일(현지시각) 상원 정보위원회에 증인으로 참석하여 외국 해커들의 미 선거개입에 관한 잘못을 인정하며, 페이스북의 재정적 상황마저 악화될 것으로 보인다.
이날 페이스북의 주가는 1.4% 하락했으며, 페이스북 사용의 우려도 점차 커질 것으로 예상된다.
Facebook’s year of scandals is driving young users away from the platform, according to a Pew survey.
Pew surveyed more than 3,400 U.S. Facebook users in May and June, and found that a whopping 44 percent of those ages 18 to 29 say they’ve deleted the app from their phone in the last year. Some of them may have reinstalled it later.
Overall, 26 percent of survey respondents say they deleted the app, while 42 percent have “taken a break” for several weeks or more, and 54 percent have adjusted their privacy settings.
The results don’t necessarily spell dire news for the company as a whole. The survey measures only the core Facebook app, not Facebook-owned Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, all of which remain popular and offer a lot of room for revenue growth. In addition, it does not measure Facebook users outside the U.S., where growth has continued as North American usage has stalled.
Even so, the results suggest that a lot of Facebook users are paying attention to the company’s troubles and using the service less in response.
Facebook has spent the last year or so grappling with a number of scandals related to abuse of the platform, including an FBI report showing that Russian operatives used it to spread false news to try to influence the 2016 presidential election and the improper use of personal data by political research firm Cambridge Analytica.
On Wednesday, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee about Facebook’s efforts to fight interference. However, former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos recently warned that the U.S. is no better equipped to fight foreign interference in the 2018 midterm elections than it was in 2016. Stamos is one of seven senior executives who have left or announced plans to leave Facebook this year.
The scandals are affecting Facebook’s financial situation as well. The company’s stock plunged more than 20 percent on a single day in July after Facebook warned on its earnings call of slowing ad growth and higher expenses related to fighting misinformation. Shares are off 1.4 percent in midday trading on Wednesday amid a broader decline in tech stocks.
Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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