Have We Hit Peak Social?

In early August, CNBC reported that the three biggest public social media companies have a slowing or declining user base, as detailed below:

Snap reported a drop in daily active users on a quarter-over-quarter basis for the second quarter. Facebook reported a drop in monthly users on a quarter-over-quarter basis for European users, while North American users were flat. Twitter posted a small decline in monthly users on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

After years of rapid growth and prosperity, this sudden shift may indicate that further growth will get ever slower and eventually perhaps even decline. This makes sense, as after explosive growth there are much fewer people left who don't have Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook accounts than those who do. (This pertains to people in the current available markets, which represent only a fraction of all the people out there of course.)

Social media companies depend on its user bases to generate revenue, and while it may have a steady stream of revenue the reports of declining users make it apparent that future growth may be a real challenge. In response to that, Facebook and others are considering producing simpler and more restricted versions of their apps for foreign markets such as China, where government regulation is strong.

So, have we hit peak social?

In my opinion, this may be temporary, as untapped markets have potential, but it will definitely take more time before those are entered so it is a tentative "yes, for now."