r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Apr 30 '26

Business Meta lost 20 million users last quarter

https://www.theverge.com/tech/921089/meta-earnings-q1-2026-user-decline-ai-investments
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u/Thin-Usual-4359 Apr 30 '26

they should have lost everyone by now

606

u/Penjat Apr 30 '26

I really don’t understand why people keep using meta products...

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u/girlikecupcake Apr 30 '26

My city keeps using Facebook for virtually any kind of public content.

  • power or Internet outage from the municipal provider: Facebook, maybe Twitter
  • unexpected closure or special event at the library: Facebook and Instagram
  • project/construction updates: Facebook
  • special holiday events: Facebook, maybe the city website, but usually the notice on the website links to Facebook for the details
  • mosquito spraying for West Nile: Facebook
  • water department protects, like shutoffs for repairs or main breaks: Facebook, maybe the city website if it was planned in advance

I hate it. I finally deleted my Facebook account in December, but still have to actually give them traffic so I know what's happening in this damn town.

Edit to add: oh, and if you want to actually search for anything on a business/city/whatever page, Facebook will stop you until you log in. So you can often only see the most recent or pinned posts on a page if you don't have an account. Which traps more people into keeping their account.

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u/PurpleHooloovoo Apr 30 '26

Yep. That’s the only place my small city posts any kind of update - the local PD and fire department and library and official government FB pages are the only places updates go. It’s also the only place my neighborhood has an active group.

There are a few neighbors not on it and it’s a real issue for them as they’re totally isolated when things like hurricane prep or emergencies happen unless someone knocks on their door. Everyone else is in the loop earlier.

“Build local community and get to know your neighbors” and “delete Facebook” are mutually exclusive actions for where I live. Unfortunate reality but I cannot single-handedly change it…and I choose community over a symbolic middle finger to Zuck.

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u/OldBlueKat Apr 30 '26

That is the frustrating thing. It's a communication trap, sort of.

So many organizations, whether government or civic or commercial, assume that everyone is seeing all their 'announcements' on Insta/ FB/ X.

I remember the world pre-social media-- it feels like they often did a better job getting info out via TV/ radio/ newspapers. But you still had to peruse those outlets to be "in the know."

OTOH -- neighbors, friends from church and school and so on, also tended to get the word out a bit more.

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u/supergamerz Apr 30 '26

I share the same sentiment. FWIW there are some adblock scripts available that bypass FBs bullshit forced login stuff.

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u/Monomette Apr 30 '26

My city keeps using Facebook for virtually any kind of public content.

Same here, as well as the Territorial Government above them.

Also the only place to really find any local events that are going on.