1 in 3 Facebook users value access to service at more than £50k

Facebook may be free, but its value has been revealed by new research from advertising agency McCann London, which shows that more than one in three (37%) British users place a value of more than £50,000 on the service.

Headlines:

• True value of Facebook revealed – more than one in three (37%) of Facebook users would demand a sum of more than £50k to never use the service again.
• Facebook priceless to younger users – three in 10 (31%) users under 35 years old saying no amount of money would be enough to make them shut down their profile.
• Facebook reaches every minute of the day – nearly one in three (32%) of under-35s admit to checking Facebook in the middle of the night.
• Zuckerberg more powerful than Cameron? – more than half (58%) of Facebook users believe that Facebook has greater influence on society than government.
• Disposable friends – more than half (51%) of users admit that they could remove 90% of their Facebook friends without having to remove anyone they really care about.

The research asked a cross section of British Facebook users how much they would have to be paid to give up using the service forever. For some young people, the opportunities to connect and share experiences with friends are priceless; with more than three in 10 (31%) users under 35 years old saying no amount of money would be enough to make them shut down their profile.

This prized status is explained by how deeply entrenched Facebook can become in users’ lives. Checking Facebook for updates is such an intrinsic part of some users day-to-day behaviour, that it has almost become a reflex action, with one in four (24%) saying that ‘I sometimes check Facebook if I wake up in the middle of the night’.

As well having become a fundamental part of users’ daily lives, Facebook is also seen as having a huge impact on British culture. Its power to affect society is seen as surpassing even that of our political leaders, with nearly three out of five British people (58%) agreeing that ‘Facebook has a greater influence on British society than the Government’.

However, despite this importance to users and influence in society, Facebook’s impact on genuine human relationships is seen as limited. Whilst the social networks built by Facebook are broad, a significant proportion of the connections are seen as relatively weak, with more than half (51%) of users saying ‘I could remove 90% of my ‘Facebook friends’ without having to remove someone I really care about’.

Most users have a pragmatic view of Facebook’s role, seeing it as a tool that amplifies their real-life relationships, but that does not itself make-or-break them.This leads to the striking conclusion that, while users value Facebook veryhighly, they also feel that they could live without it – more than three in four users (76%) saying ‘if I left Facebook it would not have a long-term negative effect on my social life’.

Dean Ashraf, head of consumer trends at McCann London, said: “The speed at which Facebook has become ingrained into British society has been astounding, with many people – especially those at the younger end of the age spectrum – so enamoured with the service that only a significant amount of money (or even no money at all) – would persuade them to deactivate their profile. However, whilst Britons undoubtedly want Facebook, they are loath to admit that they need it and could not copewithout it – preferring to see it as a powerful friendship enhancer rather than social crutch.”