Why Aren't Social Networks Drawing US Adults Like They Used To?

With market penetration rates of 72% it could be argued that Facebook has attracted everyone it can, including those who were signed up by their kids. It's called saturation.

But it may also be that the utility of these networks is being called into question by busy people with way too many apps, blogs, tweets, instagram photo updates and friend requests. So until the incoming distractions are winnowed, or participation's benefits are proved incontrovertible, this may be as good as it gets. At least for a while. JL

Kurt Wagner reports in re/code:

U.S growth overall has been slowing for Twitter and Facebook over the last few years. It’s why bringing on more international users remains such a high priority.
There’s a good reason America’s most popular social networks are looking for new users overseas.
A new study from Pew Research Center found that social networks like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are all slowing down considerably when it comes to adding U.S. adult users. Pew reported the percentage of Internet-using adults for each network on Wednesday, and while Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest all increased (slightly) since 2014, the percentage of U.S. adults on Twitter didn’t change from 2014. LinkedIn’s number actually decreased, from 28 percent to 25 percent.
The networks that did show growth did so in small increments. Instagram, for example, jumped from 13 percent to 28 percent of U.S. adults since 2012, but it only jumped from 26 percent to 28 percent in the past year. Facebook, which dwarfs the other networks by claiming 72 percent of U.S. adults as users, rose just 1 percent since last year.
Here’s what that slowdown looks like:

These numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who follow these companies. U.S growth overall has been slowing for Twitter and Facebook over the last few years. It’s why bringing on more international users remains such a high priority. Facebook, for example, is working to provide free Internet access to people in emerging markets like South America and Africa (you can’t access Facebook without the Internet, after all). Twitter is working to make its service more accessible to those without wireless Internet, too, and recently started sharing user figures for those who receive tweets as text messages (a popular method in India).
The study contained a handful of other statistics, including a rise in mobile messaging apps. More than one third (36 percent) of smartphone-wielding adults in the U.S. use a mobile messaging app like Kik or WhatsApp, Pew found. It’s the first time Pew has collected this data, a nod to the growing popularity of standalone messaging apps. (Kik just raised $50 million from Tencent on Tuesday.)