More giving up Twitter and Facebook for Lent By Charles Passy, MarketWatch, Mar 10, 2014 The Christian season of Lent is one of personal sacrifice. But could it also be a financial hit for such social networking giants as Twitter and Facebook (FB) ? As strange as the question may seem, its perhaps worth asking in light of the sizable number of followers of the faith who are vowing to forego social media as part of their 40-day Lenten fast (the season started last week). A recent survey by the Barna Group, a California research firm, found that 16% of those who observe Lent planned to curtail their use of sites like Facebook and Twitter. By contrast, some other well-known vices--swearing and smoking, for example--were cited by no more than 2% of Lent observers as their abstention item of choice. (Chocolate remained the biggie--30% said they were banning the sweet stuff from their diet throughout Lent.) Further proof of the abstaining-from-social media trend: Twitter is running third in OpenBible.infos annual list of the top 100 most-mentioned Lenten sacrifices (the list is compiled by reviewing what people are saying on Twitter, oddly enough). And the broader category of social networking itself is ranking seventh. (Chocolate holds the number-two top spot in OpenBible.infos list.) All that said, its difficult to put a hard figure on how many Christians are abstaining from social media during Lent, researchers note. But theres at least one way to approach the math. The Gallup polling organization reports that 75.2% of Americans identify themselves as Protestant, Catholic or other Christian--a percentage that equates roughly to 236 million individuals, based on the current U.S. population. Even if just a fraction of that group observed Lent and, in turn, chose to forego social media, the figure would be fairly large--as in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of social media abstainers. In any case, says Barna Group vice president Roxanne Stone, its a pretty significant number who are doing it. But how that number affects the bottom line of social media companies--or chocolate makers, for that matter--is a more complex issue. In the case of social media companies, Wall Street analysts are skeptical of the impact, saying that its a seasonal one at best and it can easily be offset by gains in the number of users--or more important, in advertising dollars--at any given time. I dont pay attention to user trends. At a certain scale, it doesnt matter, says Brian Weiser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group who tracks social media companies. Facebook and Twitter representatives did not respond to comment for this story. Of course, there are businesses that stand to profit from Lent as well: Think restaurants that specialize in seafood or add seafood items to their menus during Lent. Thats because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays throughout Lent. But while the rule has been in place for centuries, it seems to have been especially embraced of late, says Bret Thorn, who covers the dining industry for Nations Restaurant News, a trade publication. He points to chain eateries from Panda Express to Popeyes that have recently decided to bolster their seafood offerings. Thorn says resurgence in the Christian faith, particularly among millennials, may have something to do with the culinary shift. But theres also the fact that fish is becoming increasingly integrated into the American diet. Were looking to eat more seafood, he says. But the biggest financial beneficiary of Lent may be the faithful themselves. Lovemoney, a British financial website, estimates that giving up cigarettes for the 40-day stretch can save a person more than $350. Even foregoing chocolate bars can equate to a $33 bonus. Its a good time of the year to take stock of your life and weed out any bad habits, says the site. -Charles Passy; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones Subscribe to WSJ: online.wsj?mod=djnwires (END) Dow Jones Newswires 03-10-14 1024ET Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 14:57:52 +0000
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