Facebook surge means 2.6BILLION people now logging on every single month – more than ‘HALF of world’s adults’
A STAGGERING 2.6billion people are now using Facebook every month – more than half the world's "adult" population.
The figure marks an increase of around 100million monthly users since the end of 2019.
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It means that Facebook remains the most popular social network in the world.
And these figures are also separate from the 2billion people that use Facebook-owned apps like WhatsApp.
The world's population sits around 7.5billion – but that includes children and the elderly.
According to the World Bank, around 65% of the world is aged between 15 and 64 – or 4.9billion people.
So Facebook's monthly usage suggests that more than half of the world's "adult" population is now using the app.
Back in 2008, Facebook had just 100million users – and didn't reach one billion until the end of 2012.
Facebook eventually climbed to 2billion in 2017, steadily climbing to 2.6billion today.
The firm has linked the growth to the coronavirus, as more people rely on social media to stay in touch with friends and loved ones.
And Facebook says it might see a drop-off in usage once the crisis is over.
"We expect that we will lose at least some of this increased engagement when various shelter-in-place restrictions are relaxing in the future," Facebook explained.
But the big jump in user numbers doesn't necessarily mean Facebook is making a mint from coronavirus.
Facebook says that it saw sharp falls in advertising revenue in March.
However, there were some "signs of stability" in the first three weeks of April, Facebook said.
Facebook has also been spending significant sums of money on helping to tackle the coronavirus crisis.
The firm has pledged more than $300million to relief efforts – including ad grants for small businesses.
Around a third of the money has also been spent on helping news organisations, and supporting fact-checking to dispel fake news.
"Our work has always been about helping you stay connected with the people you care about," said billionaire Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg.
"With people relying on our services more than ever, we're focused on keeping people safe, informed and connected."
Facebook recently announced that it hoped to hire an additional 10,000 employees in 2020.
The firm currently has just over 48,000 staff in its global workforce.
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In other news, Facebook recently added new 'Care' reactions for use during the coronavirus crisis.
Google Maps has released ‘mobility reports’ showing hotspots where people are still going during lockdowns.
YouTube recently slashed video quality to reduce strain on networks.
Instagram has banned dangerous, reckless and insensitive coronavirus filters.
Criminals are taking advantage of the Covid-19 outbreak by sending scam emails claiming to be from the WHO.
And, we debunked some of the most outrageous coronavirus conspiracy theories.
Have you been using Facebook more in recent weeks? Let us know in the comments!
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