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Study: 33% of Facebook Users Want Less News In Their Feed (businessinsider.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the clickbait dept.

An anonymous reader writes from a report via Business Insider: According to a survey of 526 random Facebook users conducted by Spot.IM, 33% of Facebook users in the U.S. want to see fewer news articles in their feeds. The survey comes at a time when Facebook is desperately trying to improve the quality of publisher articles that gain traction on its platform. Here are some important takeaways from the study: Older people are likelier to want less news in their Facebook feeds. While 33% of all respondents indicated there was too much news and shared links in their Facebook feeds, the majority of this group was individuals aged 30 or older. Those 30-44 (37%), 45-59 (36%), and 60+ (36%) said they want less news in their feeds. Young Facebook users enjoy consuming news on social media. While middle-aged and older Facebook users don't like seeing news in their feeds, those aged 18-29 were much more interested and excited to see even more news articles on Facebook. 32% of respondents in this group wanted to see more news, while just 21% wanted less. This is an encouraging sign for publishers who want to reach a new generation of news consumers. The majority of people don't care about how much news they see on Facebook. Overall, 51% of all surveyed said they simply don't care if more or less news shows up in their Facebook feeds. A study conducted in June by Columbia University says that 59% of people don't even read the articles they share.

16 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. They've cleaned the response up a bit by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I didn't say I wanted less news in my feed... I said I wanted less CRAP in my feed!!! Nobody uses Facebook anymore anyway. "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." - Yogi Berra

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  2. No news! by Vrallis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Facebook is not a news site. I do not go to Facebook for news.

    I go there to see updates from friends. I have absolutely no interest in anything else, period.

    1. Re:No news! by H3lldr0p · · Score: 3, Informative

      As do I but the thing is FB can't turn the thing they were originally being used for into advertising dollars.

      To turn all of our eyeballs into dollars, they need to show us "news" they've been paid to display given certain demographics. That's why this is happening. Why they've been upping the ante with adblockers. Why they added the autoplay feature to videos and every other stupid move they've made in the past few years. They know their conversion/interaction/bullshit measurement rate is bullshit and their advertisers and stockholders are calling them on it.

      Expect it to get worse before it gets better. Or FB falls off that internet cliff that MySpace went over before them.

    2. Re:No news! by darthsilun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wish I had mod points. I never seem to have them when I want to use them.

      I'm like you, I want to see pics my friends post and hear about what they're doing. I have a few friends who have never mastered email or sharing pics, but fb works pretty good for them.

      And in the mean time I'll wait for a better version of AdBlockPro.

    3. Re:No news! by nine-times · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's not just Facebook, though. Honestly, part of the problem is that too many of my Facebook "friends" are under the impression that their social media presence is so influential that they have a moral obligation to post really important "news" to their feed on a regular basis. Aunt Alice wants me to read a story about how Trump is a secret genius while ex-classmate Jeremy wants us all to read a story about how women are mistreated in the workplace. Unfortunately for them, I'm just logging on so I can see pictures of my nieces and nephews. For everyone else, I'd be happy to read about what's going on with your lives, but I'm completely disinterested in your political views.

      Maybe it's just me?

    4. Re:No news! by ColaMan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Every time one of my friends on facebook shares something from some crap aggregator site like "SuperInterestingCoolFunFacts", I go to the little drop-down menu on that post and select "hide all from SuperInterestingCoolFunFacts".

      Turns out that most of my friends only get their daily dose of drivel from a few sites, so after a couple of rounds of that the signal to noise ratio improves considerably.

      --

      You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
      There is a lot of hype here.
  3. 100% of Slashdot Readers... by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...want less Facebook stories in their feed. Work on that for me, Beau, wouldja?

  4. I'd prefer if facebook by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    allowed me to configure my newsfeed the way I want it to look, and have it stay that way.

    .
    I'd configure it for no news, and most recent posts first.

    Such a simple request, it amazes me why facebook doesn't allow it.

    As things stand now, I find myself using facebook less and less because it has become annoying to use it.

    1. Re:I'd prefer if facebook by avandesande · · Score: 2

      It's easy. I got rid of 100% of facebook news by deleting my facebook account. Works like a charm!

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
  5. get rid of the fake news / ad's that look like n by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    get rid of the fake news / ad's that look like news

  6. yes please. by cmiller173 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I want less "Suggested" posts. I don't mind news that one of my friends shared and thinks is important, I do dislike algorithmicly chosen junk that I might like, because usually it is wrong.

    Really I just use facebook to keep up with long distance family and friends. And really, I don't accept friend requests from all of my family either.

  7. Re:How about no damn ads??? by OrangeTide · · Score: 2

    I wonder how long their company would last if they didn't collect any advertising revenue?

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  8. Re:I'd settle for by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 2

    >> 100% less intrusive bullshit

    Solved: I quit using Facebook years ago after posting "here's how to contact me" pics and descriptions on my profile.

  9. Re:get rid of the fake news / ad's that look like by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

    I know this one simple trick to get rid of the fake news. It'll change your life, and you won't believe what happens next.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  10. What people consider news.... by Ranbot · · Score: 2

    59% of people don't read the articles they share (which is bad enough by itself), and then a percentage of people like news in their Facebook feeds and/or want more. So, I wonder portion of people consider a reading a catchy headline as the equivalent to reading a full news story? Furthermore, what does it say about the news reading habits of 18-29 year olds [millennials] who are most likely to prefer or want more news in the Facebook feed?

  11. Re:66% want more...? by Aighearach · · Score: 2

    I don't doubt that you want more of something, I just doubt that it is news, and that you would know the difference.

    You'd have to actually read the story to find out what percent said they want more. Just from 33% want less, you don't know how many want more. There is no reason to believe that you could simply subtract 33 from 100 to get that number.

    If you read the article, (I don't recommend it, it isn't news and isn't even interesting) you'll find a substantially different number than you supposed. And the one majority you're a part of here is the same one as usual; the majority of people who didn't understand most of it anyways, but they purported to and formed an opinion.