Facebook: More popular than porn? 15 Nov 2007

In an article for Time magazine, Bill Tancer analyses web traffic data and concludes that Facebook is now more popular with 18-24 year olds than porn:

"...for 18- to 24-year-olds...social networks rank first, followed by search engines, then web-based e-mail -- with porn sites lagging behind in fourth. If you chart the rate of visits to social-networking sites against those to adult sites over the last two years, there appears to be a strong negative correlation (i.e., visits to social networks go up as visits to adult sites go down). It's a leap to say there's a real correlation there, but if there is one, then I'd bet it has everything to do with Gen Y's changing habits: they're too busy chatting with friends to look at online skin. Imagine."

Based on these data, Tancer certainly presents a compelling case. In reality however, he has it all wrong. Facebook is only becoming more popular than porn, because it's incorporating porn. Porn consumption isn't falling, users are simply switching from one medium (dedicated adult websites) to another (social networking websites) to obtain it. A trend that was first noted by The Economist way back in April.