p with the report
3.3 Responders and Facebook
So now that we've looked at the people who've answered this survey, let's look at how they interact with Facebook.
95% of responders indicated they have a Facebook account. All of the 5% who do not are above the age of 32; however interestingly enough these people are generally Medium users, so they're not participating in Facebook is not for lack of skill, but for some other reason.
Responders were also asked to indicate what traditional communication methods they use. Almost all people communicate through the phone and through face-to-face conversation, 70% of people use an instant messaging program, and 45% of people have an account on another social networking site. By being available through so many different communication tools, It seems like these responders are facilitating communication.
So is Facebook seen as another tool to be used, just like a phone, or is it something else?
Responders were asked to check off all reasons they use Facebook from a pool of 9 options, as listed in the lefthand graph. The top four answers quickly show that people are using Facebook to interact with their friends, for casual socialization or for having fun, sharing and viewing photos, and planning social events/gatherings. A small percent of users use Facebook for games, an even smaller number use it to find new friends, a few people have found a job through Facebook, and not one responder says they use Facebook for shopping (in reference to the Marketplace application). From these numbers, it seems that Facebook users are using the site for its primary purpose, interacting with your social network.
So if people are using Facebook socially, how is it affecting their other methods of communicating?
I asked responders to estimate how Facebook has affected the amount of phone calls, instant messages, and face to face communication they participate in. For all of the three, at least 57% of people said that Facebook is not affecting communication, however the results vary interestingly from tool to tool.
Phone Calls: View Graph
76% of people who use a phone say that Facebook does not affect the quantity of phone calls they make/get. 12% say that they receive less, while 4% say more. This is not surprising, as verbal conversation is often verbose and lengthy, it is not easily replaced with the quick and casual style of messaging Facebook provides. Phone calls regarding social events may be replaced with the Events portion of Facebook, explaining part of the less answer. Similarly, a Facebook post may remind or spur the reader to make a phone call, a possible explanation to the more answer.
Instant Messaging: View Graph
57% of people who use IM say that Facebook has not affected their IM usage. 18% say they use IM less and 4% say they use IM more. This also makes sense - Facebook's quick and casual message style is very similar to instant message conversations. In fact, many of my friends' conversations with each other read exactly as an IM conversation, only with links and pictures and more bonus content added in. Even though IM conversations are usually private whereas Facebook ones are public by default, people seem to enjoy interacting in short bursts.
Face to Face Communication: View Graph
71% of people say that Facebook has not affected the amount of face to face conversation had. 4% say their amount of face to face interaction has decreased, and 19% say it has increased.
This is the largest more answer found in all tools, and there is a ready answer for this: Facebook Events.
Let us consider an event which happens frequently in my social circle: my friends' band has a gig in town. With one click of a mouse, he can create the event, input all the time/location/etc details and even photos if he has some, invite all his friends or other Facebook users who would be interested (and let them invite THEIR friends too, if the creator chooses), and sit back and watch as people respond. As an invitee, first off I am notified of this event I may be interested in (consider previous methods: flyers, word of mouth, radio or newspaper ads, websites... all relying on a whole lotta luck or $$). I can see what other friends are coming for sure, or who might or might not be coming, or those who are not coming at all. With the event information at hand, I can plan a bus route easily, or meet up with friends beforehand.
As demonstrated in the "What Responders Use Facebook For" graph above, 77 survey responders use Facebook for event planning and a further 35 use it for event attending. As events are naturally a social activity, combined with Facebook Photos, it is a perfect application for Facebook's platform, and its popularity and usage will most likely increase as more users sign up and more companies and events put their event information there.
Responders' Comments
Having been given an area to write comments about what they like about Facebook, 127 people chose to leave one. Here is a bonus graph in its full glory summarizing the comments. Interestingly enough, while the majority mentioned a positive aspect, 14 people left comments expressing how they actually don't like Facebook at all, but use it for some reason or not.