Skip to main content

Twitter’s US growth comes to a halt

Twitter Facebook TrafficA Pew study recently released news that only 8 percent of Americans use Twitter, and new data is suggesting that the site’s US user growth is slowing. A recent comScore report shows that Twitter drew over a million fewer unique visitors than it did last month.

Visitor Growth to Mixi, Twitter and Facebook in JapanWhile its US presence might be stalling, Twitter is still globally growing. This year, Twitter added 46 million accounts worldwide (take note, only around six million of those new users were in the US). And the site experienced a considerable amount of success in Japan, easily besting Facebook’s numbers.

While it seems like Americans might be slightly losing interest in the Tweet, the reformatted layout has been a success. US pageviews significantly increased since the new UI was introduced this fall.

What might surprise some are the companies that Twitter is on par with when it comes to user numbers. The site can’t touch Facebook or even MySpace, and it’s more along the lines of Yelp and LinkedIn. And while Twitter has incredibly devoted users, some are musing that it could be facing some challenges in the near future. Business Insider recently identified what it thinks will be the major issues for Twitter, including the fact that few registered users become daily users, and its struggles with implementing advertising. Now that the aforementioned sites offer status updates in addition to their other features, Twitter could find itself having to fend off more competition for the 140-character post.

Is it possible the Twitter has peaked? Probably not quite yet; the site still has a solid international fan base and a bidding war that recently pushed its value to $4 billion. Twitter likely has some tools in its arsenal to combat its lack of US growth. Question is, what are those tools and how will they change the site?

Editors' Recommendations

Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
Twitter Circle is coming soon. Here’s what you need to know
A Twitter icon on a blue background on a smartphone's screen, all on a white background.

Instead of just live tweeting their thoughts to everyone all at once, more Twitter users are now able to set some tweets to only be visible to specific people.

While Twitter announced that it began testing its Twitter Circle feature earlier this month, it appears that the social media platform has now expanded its test to more users. This past weekend, Android Police reported that the feature is now live for more users and shared a series of screenshots showing how Twitter Circle will appear. Twitter Circle is still not available for everyone, however, despite the expanded rollout.

Read more
The best MacBook to buy in 2024
Apple MacBook Pro 16 downward view showing keyboard and speaker.

Now that Apple has started outfitting its laptops with its M3 generation of chips, it's time to take another look at which is the best MacBook to buy in 2024. That’s not always easy, though, as buying the newest MacBook isn’t always the right decision. Apple has several tiers of performance, as well as various sizes, which can further complicate the matter.

What’s more, you can also still get M1 and M2 MacBooks, some from Apple’s own website and some from third-party retailers. But are they still worth your money? Our guide should help you decide.

Read more
9 best laptops of 2024: tested and reviewed
The MacBook Air on a white table.

To earn the crown as the best laptop in 2024, a device needs to have it all: gorgeous design, killer performance, a productive keyboard, long-lasting battery life, and much more.

Each of the laptops below has been vetted thoroughly by Digital Trends. Whether it's an affordable Chromebook or a top-of-the-line gaming laptop, they've all been subjected to real-world testing, as well as benchmark and battery tests, to collect enough data to objectively pit them against each other.

Read more