It 's an Internet feud between polar opposites : East Coast vs. West Coast , old school vs. new media , Ivy League gravitas vs. Silicon Valley geekery . In one corner is Princeton University . In the other , Facebook . At stake is the credibility of Princeton 's research and -- gasp ! -- the future viability of Mark Zuckerberg 's network . Or , at least , the hearts and minds of the thousands of observers taking sides on social media . It all started last week when a group of Princeton researchers published a paper that suggested Facebook could lose a whopping 80 % of its users by 2017 . They based their projection on epidemiological models , typically used to chart the spread of disease , using the demise of Myspace as a case study . Data `` suggests that Facebook has already reached the peak of its popularity and has entered a decline phase , '' the researchers wrote in the paper , which has not been peer-reviewed . Recent research has suggested , and Facebook has admitted , that younger users are abandoning Facebook for other social platforms . Even so , many observers were skeptical of Princeton 's methodology . `` It 's an old journalistic trick : Just add the words 'research ' or 'study ' to a sensational claim for instant credibility , '' wrote Slate 's Will Oremus , who criticized news outlets for reporting uncritically on the paper . `` Best of all , you 're absolved of any responsibility for verifying its truth , since everyone knows journalists are n't qualified to dispute scientific findings . '' On Thursday , Facebook fired back . But instead of a canned statement or a point-by-point renunciation of the researchers ' methods , they took a more playful tack . `` Using the same robust methodology featured in the paper , we attempted to find out more about this 'Princeton University ' -- and you wo n't believe what we found ! '' Facebook data scientist Mike Develin wrote in a blog post on his page . An examination of Facebook and Google patterns spells bad news ahead for the university , Develin said , tongue firmly planted in a sarcastic cheek . `` This trend suggests that Princeton will have only half its current enrollment by 2018 , and by 2021 it will have no students at all , agreeing with the previous graph of scholarly scholarliness . Based on our robust scientific analysis , future generations will only be able to imagine this now-rubble institution that once walked this earth , '' he added . `` Although this research has not yet been peer-reviewed , every Like for this post counts as a peer review . Start reviewing ! '' By Friday afternoon his post had attracted more than 8,100 likes and comments such as `` well played ! '' `` You come at the king of social media , you best not miss , '' wrote Chris Taylor on Mashable . CNET called it `` the comeback of all comebacks . '' The smackdown also spilled over to Twitter , where the Huffington Post called it a `` nerd brawl '' and most observers gave credit to Facebook for having a sense of humor . A Princeton University spokesman did not immediately respond Friday to CNN 's request for comment . In reality , neither institution is in danger of wasting away any time soon . Princeton received 24,498 applicants for its current freshman class and accepted only 7.4 % of them , reaffirming its status as one of the nation 's elite universities . And as of September 2013 Facebook had 1.2 billion monthly active users .
Facebook pokes fun at Princeton University over controversial social media study . The study suggested Facebook could lose 80 % of its users by 2017 . Facebook : Research shows Facebook will run out of students by 2021 . Observer : ` ` You come at the king of social media , you best not . ''