Facebook Keeps Users Glued to the Screen 7 Hours a Month

Everyone already knows that Facebook is the biggest timesink on the web but the latest stats show exactly how much time the average user spends on the site. In the US, that's a little over seven hours every month, according to Nielsen numbers. That's more than they spend on Google, Yahoo, Microsoft sites and MySpace put together. It may not be the most visited site in the US yet, but it is definitely where people stick around the most.

It's not just the raw number that's impressive in Facebook's case, it's also the growth the social network has seen. Facebook is not only raking in more and more users, 400 million by the last official count, but it's also keeping them on the site more. Back in June 2009, users spent about four hours and 39 minutes on Facebook, even then a record number. Since then, the time spent has grown by almost 50 percent to reach seven hours. It grew ten percent from December alone, perhaps proof that Facebook's new open approach is paying off.

In terms of unique visitors, Facebook is also growing at a steady pace in the US, with a 5.80 percent rise in January from the previous month reaching 116 million visitors. It is already the fourth largest site in the country and, at this pace, should pass Microsoft sites, which had 121 million visitors in January, within a month.

It's still some way off from Google or even Yahoo, which occupy the top two spots. Google sites, the search engine, Gmail, Docs, etc. were visited by 162 million Americans last month, a small 4.10 percent rise from the previous month. Considering that the total number of Internet users in the US reached 203 million, growing by 3.8 percent in a month, Google's growth isn't exactly spectacular. Yahoo sites managed to bring in 136 million people, also a small 4.40 percent rise from December.