Facebook more fuss than reality in Armenia – expert

Facebook’s popularity is very specific in Armenia, as the social networking site, which has turned into a key socio-political platform, actually has a much smaller number of users than expected, says a media expert.

Speaking to Tert.am, Samvel Martirosyan explained that the fuss over Facebook is much higher in the Armenian society than the number of its actual users, which is less than 10% of the country’s population.

Commenting on the recent findings by Socialbakers.com, which placed Armenia as the third country in terms of the growth of Facebook users, Martirosyan said the high popularity rate was observed against the backdrop of globally declining trends. The expert noted that the social network is now experiencing a downfall in the United States which is considered its home country.

The findings revealed that the number of Armenian Facebook users have increased by 40.950 or 9.9% to 416,500 in the past three months, the rate being 8.86% higher compared to the neighboring Azerbaijan.

The specialist links the growth to the general trend.

“If we consider the user decline, it is observed in countries where users’ access is less than 35% compared to the population’s percentage. On the one hand, there is a decrease, but on the other hand, half of the population in the given country are users of Facebook. So the problem is most probably linked to an emerging overpopulation which has stalled the growth,” Martirosyan said, adding that the culture of using Facebook is new to Armenia.

A more popular social network in the country is the Russian Odnoklassniki (designed for classmates and other friends), which still remains in a top position, the expert added.

As of April 3, 2013, the United States, with 163 million users, remained a the world’s leader, followed by Brazil and India.

“The misbalance – that Facebook has less users despite being a key socio-political platform – caused people to more actively access the site. That means, the Facebook boom begins here in a period when people around the world are getting tired,” he noted.

Another feature increasing the frequency of visits is thought to be the online shopping opportunities offered on the website.

Tert.am has contacted the State Revenue Committee to know if they have special subdivisions dealing with Facebook services and online trading. But a spokesperson talking to our correspondent said they conduct studies of the social networking site without operating separate units.