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In connection with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) anti-bullying Spirit Day on October 15, Thursday, Facebook Research announced that the number of Americans who "come out" as homosexual on the social network is higher and increasing. The social media giant's post included details such as numbers and locations of people coming out, which included those who changed their sexual orientation status. The daily average of new LGBT community members has tripled during the past year.
Facebook reported that 6 million of the social network's U.S. users identify themselves as LGBT, including 800,000 coming out in the past year, according to USA Today. The daily average of Facebook users newly identifying themselves as gay or lesbian is three times higher than one year ago.
In addition, the number of status changes skyrocketed on the day that the U.S. Supreme Court made same-sex marriages legal nationwide, in June. The figure of "out" people surged 250 percent compared to last year's National Coming Out Day.
The social network defines "coming out" in two ways. People can update their Facebook profile to show same-gender attraction, or choose a custom gender.
Facebook Research also reported that the number of Likes and follows for pro-LGBT pages and organizations are also increasing.
The statistics of Americans coming out online differs in various regions. New York and Nevada have the highest figures, while Mississippi and Alabama have the lowest numbers, according to NBC News.
Earlier this year Gallup released a nationwide poll revealing Americans believe that 23 percent of the country is gay or lesbian. However, it was a major overestimation. Just 3.8 percent of the population identifies themselves as a LGBT community member.
