A recent study conducted by research firm Frank N. Magid Associates shows that Facebook is losing its grip to be the most popular social networking site in the world. Facebook did not lost the number one spot but according to the study, conducted on teenagers aged between 13 and 17, Facebook fell 6% in approval rating. The social network giant now has 88% approval rating, a decline of six points from last year's 94%.
Facebook's popularity has also waned in other age groups and not only in the teenagers demographics. In total, Facebook's popularity rating has dropped from 93% to 90% in the past two years. This news however does not shake Facebook executives. The most interesting part of the study however is that Facebook is losing its popularity to its own recently bought application, Instagram.
Another survey, conducted by Forrester last Jun showed that Facebook is still the number social networking site among teenagers, however as this teenagers grow out of their adolescent period so is its interest in Facebook. Facebook, for quite some time already has been called "the social network for parents". Facebook, on the other hand, recognized it's new moniker without any objection. A closer look at this surveys shows that despite the changes in the popularity rating of the three biggest social networking sites - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter- there is no power shift whatsoever. Instagram's increasing popularity can be traced back when Facebook acquired it for more than $1 billion in 2012. And since the acquisition Instagram has been steadily gaining pace even surpassing Twitter in the number two spot lately. Experts say that the migration of younger generations to Instagram is not at all a sign that Facebook is losing its power, it simply mean that people nowadays are finding alternative ways of interacting with one another in the digital biosphere of the internet.
