SocialBakers: As of January 2013, Facebook has 167 million users in the United States

On the morning of January 16, 2012, the latest data released by SocialBakers, an American social media research company, showed that the number of Facebook users in the United States dropped by 1.4 million in early December.

Facebook currently has 167 million users in the United States and more than 1 billion users worldwide. However, the decline in users is still equivalent to the population of San Antonio, Texas. SocialBakers CEO Jab Rezab said: "Facebook may have reached a turning point, and less engaged users may not visit Facebook once in 30 days."

Industry insiders believe that the increasing number of advertisements on Facebook and some experimental charges may make users nervous. For example, earlier this month, Facebook began testing a new service to help users send messages to other people who are not friends, charging up to $100. Last October, Facebook also offered a service. Users need to pay $7 to have their published content recommended to more friends. Jason Krafsky, author of "Facebook and Your Marriage," said that Facebook seems to have new changes every week recently.

Facebook currently has a 54% market share in the United States. Some technology industry experts say Facebook's growth is slowing. Rezab said that if children under the age of 13 who are not allowed to use Facebook and seniors over the age of 65 are not taken into account, Facebook's market share is close to 80%. Morningstar analyst Rick Summer said: "We believe that Facebook will no longer have a large-scale user growth to drive the company's financial performance." Therefore, Facebook must launch new features.

There is no doubt that Facebook users come and go, and people's interest in Facebook is just like anything else in real life. "Many people choose to take a good break from social media at the beginning of the new year, while others think it is a waste of time and delete their accounts completely," said Jennifer Brown, an independent social media analyst. She said that since 2013, six friends in her network have left Facebook, and she herself used Facebook very little in January.

Jason Keath, founder and CEO of social media training company SocialFresh.com, said: "Students and teachers are back in school and they no longer need digital friends because they can interact face to face." Brian Smith, an environmental activist in San Francisco, has completely deleted his Facebook account. He chooses to learn about sports and international news through Google+ and political news through Twitter. He said: "Facebook seems to be a never-ending high school reunion."