Facebook Monthly Users Hit 2 Billion Milestone

Facebook has come a long way since Mark Zuckerberg launched the social media platform from his college dorm room in 2004. The online giant’s growth is astonishing – unprecedented even. It took only eight years for Facebook to reach its first milestone of 1 billion active monthly users in 2012. And now, just five short years later, it has managed to double that number. With the global population at 7.34 billion people, that means that a quarter of the world is logging onto Facebook every month.

Facebook Reigns As Social Media King

There’s no denying now that Facebook reigns supreme as the biggest social media platform, at least in terms of logged-in users. The closest competition it has is YouTube at 1.5 billion users, and then WeChat at 889 million. Even Twitter and Snapchat lag behind, at 328 million and 255 million users, respectively.

TechCrunch notes that Facebook’s growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. On the contrary, its user count has grown 17% since last year’s numbers and only seem to be growing bigger. In addition to the new users, current users are also not using Facebook any less. TechCrunch reports that 66% of Facebook’s monthly users check the site daily, 11% more users than in 2012. Some of these numbers can be attributed to metrics, which show Facebook expanding to other age groups and not just to teenagers.

Growth In Users From The Developing World

According to TechCrunch, much of Facebook’s growth in the last five years can be attributed to their efforts in developing countries. The company “relentlessly optimized” the platform for use by populations with cheap Android smartphones and low-bandwidth connections. More specifically, Reuters reports that Facebook gave out “pared-down versions of its apps” for these developing areas. These apps used less data, making them more accessible for widespread use.

Additionally, Facebook has been developing solar-powered drones with the intention of extending internet connectivity all around the globe. These efforts added 746 million users in Asia and the Rest of World Region. Big numbers, especially considering that Facebook only gained 41 million users from Canada and the United States.

Facebook Celebrates The World Coming Together

Once Facebook hit the milestone, Zuckerberg released a short announcement and thanked the Facebook community for helping to connect the world. “It’s an honor to be on this journey with you,” he posted. Shortly afterwards, Facebook in a press release thanked “the millions of smaller communities and individuals” for their contributions to the company’s efforts. They also launched “Good Adds Up,” a celebratory campaign meant to convey their appreciation and thanks to the world.

In the coming days, Facebook intends to release personal experiences celebrating the world coming together. Included among these efforts: a personalized video that can be seen in News Feeds or by visiting Good Adds Up. By clicking the link, users will also be able to see fun facts and stories about how people are contributing to the community. Additionally, certain actions will also prompt Facebook to send a thank you message in users’ News Feeds. Users who heart a friend’s post, wish someone a happy birthday, or creates a new group will receive the notification.

Zuckerberg: Facebook Has A Responsibility To The World

These different celebratory additions reflect Facebook’s new mission statement to give people the power to bring the world closer together. Zuckerberg announced the updated mission statement at the Facebook Communities Summit held on June 22 in Chicago. The company’s original mission expressed the desire to make the world “more open and connected.” The update conveys Facebook’s awareness of its influential position in the world. Zuckerberg explained that as Facebook expands, so too does the company’s responsibility to the world. The new mission statement which will guide Facebook’s community building efforts in the next decade.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox also reiterated Facebook’s responsibility. He explained that Facebook, as a complex system, affects humanity by “just being open about what’s happening.” This makes Facebook, as well as other social media platforms, an important tool to help solve global issues such as suicide or bullying. The platform has the power to make tragic moments accessible and to facilitate discussions about important issues. Facebook thus has the responsibility to build empathy among human beings by giving humans the power to build communities.