Facebook Bleeds Users in Countries Where It Was First Hot

US, Canada, UK show high numbers leaving Facebook
By Sarah Whitmire,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2011 6:46 PM CDT
Facebook Losing Users: Countries That Were First to Sign Up, First to Quit
US President Barack Obama speaks as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks on during a town hall meeting April 20, 2011 at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California.   (Getty Images)

In what may be early signs that Facebook’s popularity has peaked, the social media giant lost 6 million users in the US last month. Coupled with an 8% drop in Canadian users (more than 1.5 million profiles), and 100,000 each in the UK, Norway, and Russia, Facebook is bleeding users around the world—but most notably in the countries that were the fastest to first sign up, reports Business Insider. Overall, the company actually saw a net gain in users, thanks to countries like Mexico and Brazil who are still signing up like crazy.

Why the dip in users? A Facebook data collection website says it’s because school is out—and many college students could’ve deleted profiles for summer break—but it’s the company’s second month in a row of dismal growth. Data show that Facebook growth starts to trickle off once a country reaches 50% usage, meaning that in order to maintain growth, Facebook might need to learn Chinese—or risk going the way of MySpace... (More Facebook stories.)

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