Facebook now has 1 billion users, though a fair proportion of those users are fake in one way or another. Still, it’s an impressive statistic from the public company whose stock hasn’t fared so well to this point; one which means it’s safe to assume that most of those people reading this are on Facebook.

Those 1 billion people must be doing something on Facebook, otherwise there are a lot of inactive accounts sitting there going to waste. Luckily we have the MakeUseOf readership – an attractive, intelligent bunch if ever I saw one – to poll on this topic. And we did just that for last week’s We Ask You column.

What Do You Use Facebook For?

We asked you, What Do You Use Facebook For? Although we didn’t get 1 billion responses, we did get dozens, which is pretty good going. The mix of comments made was wide and varied, with some taking the opportunity to take a pop at Facebook while others detailed exactly what they used Facebook for.

Reading the whole thread suggests a somewhat negative vibe surrounding Facebook at present. There are a swathe of people that actively dislike the website, and for a number of different reasons. Many feel it is boring, meaningless, and not as good as it once was. Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest are amongst those sites listed as being alternatives, though the sheer number of people on Facebook means actually deleting yourself from Facebook remains a big step.

Of those who do use Facebook regularly, their activities on the site include sharing photos, connecting with friends, remembering birthdays, reading pages, getting involved in groups, discovering news, checking for local deals, maintaining a network, and playing games. The latter seems to be the number one activity amongst those who read MakeUseOf.

Comment Of The Week

There were a number of great comments made, including those by Vipul Jain, Ryashini Krish, and Laga Mahesa. But Comment Of The Week goes to Koshy George, who, as well as the respect of myself and hopefully everybody reading this, receives 150 MakeUseOf points to use for Rewards or Giveaways for this short-but-sweet gem:

Procrastinating

It may be just a one word comment but it says so much about how Facebook is used. I suspect Koshy isn’t alone in using Facebook for procrastinating. I’m guilty of doing so myself, often choosing to read random updates, contribute to groups, or (more likely) playing another round of Angry Birds than do anything productive with my time.

We will be asking a new question tomorrow, so please join us then. We Ask You is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. We ask you a question and you tell us what you think. The question is open-ended and is usually open to debate. Some questions will be purely opinion-based, while others will see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps for your fellow MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without your input, all of which is valued.