Snapchat首次超越Facebook，成美国青少年最爱社交应用

市场研究公司eMarketer在周一表示，Facebook 12至17岁月活跃用户流失今年将加速到3.4%，2016年为1.2%。另外，12岁以下和18至24岁用户的增长速度，今年也将分别下降3.1%和14.5%。

年轻用户群体的预期下滑（或增长速度放缓）将对Facebook构成挑战，因为其正在努力留住年轻用户，以便继续吸引广告商。最近一个季度，Facebook公布的广告收入接近92亿美元，比去年同期增长了47%。

但Facebook遭遇的年轻用户问题，可能令其照片服务Instagram和社交媒体竞争对手Snapchat从中受益。eMarketer表示，今年，Snapchat 12至17岁和18至24岁用户群体的增长速度，首次超越了Facebook和Instagram，另外，Snapchat在美国社交网络用户中所占的比例将从去年的31.6%增长到40.8%。

Facebook的美国总月度活跃用户今年将增长2.4%，达到1.729亿，表明其服务远没有到绝望的地步。eMarketer的报告将Facebook总体用户增长的原因归功于“年龄较大网民群体的采用率提高”。

eMarketer还给Facebook旗下的Instagram带来了好消息。其预测，Instagram今年的美国月度活跃用户增长率将达到23.8%。预计其12岁以下月活跃用户将增长19%，12至17岁用户群体将增长8.8%。

eMarketer首席分析师黛布拉·阿霍·威廉森在一份声明中表示：“Facebook很幸运拥有Instagram，它依旧是深受青少年欢迎的社交平台。”（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

Facebook's loss of monthly users between the ages of 12 and 17 will accelerate to 3.4% this year compared to a 1.2% drop in 2016, research firm eMarketer said on Monday. Meanwhile, growth in users under the age of 12 and between 18 and 24 will slow 3.1% and 14.5%, respectively, for the year.

The predicted decline (or slower growth) among younger age groups is a problem for Facebook as it tries to retain younger users to remain an attractive destination for advertisers. In the most recent quarter, Facebook reported nearly $9.2 billion in ad revenue, up 47% from the same period last year.

But Facebook's struggles with younger users are gains for its subsidiary, the photo-centric service Instagram, as well as for social media rival Snapchat. For the first time, Snapchat will overtake Facebook and Instagram among the 12-to-17 and 18-to-24 age groups in terms of U.S. users this year, eMarketer said, while Snapchat's share of U.S. social networks users will grow to 40.8%, up from 31.6% last year.

Overall, Facebook's total monthly users are expected to increase 2.4% this year, to 172.9 million in the U.S., signaling that the service is far from hopeless. The eMarketer report attributes Facebook's overall user uptick to "increased adoption by older internet users."

EMarketer has better news for Facebook-owned Instagram, which is expected to post growth in monthly U.S. users of 23.8% this year. Monthly Instagram users under 12 years old are expected to increase 19%, with the 12-to-17 group growing 8.8%.

"Facebook is fortunate that it owns Instagram, which remains a strong platform for teens," eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson said in a statement.