In the social media war, Facebook wants to win back generation Z

Facebook was born as an exclusive social network for Harvard students. Today, however, it is difficult to find college students in the United States who still use the platform.

Over the past 10 years, the number of American teens on Facebook has fallen from 71% to 33%. A new design seeks to bring these young people back, focusing on popular features, such as Groups and Marketplace, in addition to creating a TikTok-style “Explore” page. But a simple redesign may not be enough to reignite Gen Z's interest.

What was once considered the pinnacle of technology is now seen as a network “of the past” by many young people. This is evident in the difference in numbers: in 2023, only 33% of North American teenagers used Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center. In comparison, 68% of adults continue to use the app, making it the second most popular social media app among U.S. adults.

The company seems to recognize this drop. In May, Facebook held an event focused on the “next 20 years” of the platform. “We’re still for everyone,” said Tom Alison, head of Facebook at Meta, according to Mashable. “But we also recognize that to stay relevant, we need to create with Gen Z in mind.” Meta did not respond when contacted for comment.

There are several reasons for generation Z's lack of interest. The platform has been involved in political scandals since 2016, the year that marked the first major election that many young people of this generation witnessed.

There was the Cambridge Analytica case, the “Pizzagate” and, more recently, the flood of AI-generated political content on feed. These problems are not likely to disappear anytime soon, as former President Donald Trump continues to claim that Mark Zuckerberg would have promised support for his candidacy for 2024, something that Meta denies.

While Facebook offers photo and video options, much of the content is still text-based, a format that Gen Z is moving away from.

Among the four apps monitored since 2014, only Facebook and Twitter – also focused on text – registered a drop in use among teenagers. Snapchat and Instagram, more focused on images and videos, saw growth. And YouTube remains unbeatable, with 93% adoption among young people.

Users' main reason for accessing Facebook is to connect with other people. This appears in the data: among the platform's users, 93% say they use the app to keep in touch with friends and family. If your Gen Z colleagues aren't there, this role loses relevance.

A 2023 survey by Savanta showed a steady decline in motivation to “stay in touch” over the past eight years. In 2015, 82% of young people used Facebook to connect. In 2023, that number dropped to 45%.

CAN THE REDESIGN WIN BACK GENERATION Z?

With the redesign, Facebook wants to take advantage of what has always attracted Gen Z. Marketplace, for example, is one of the most popular resources among young people, seen as a place to find great second-hand products.

Among four applications monitored since 2014, Facebook and Twitter registered a drop in use among teenagers.

The new Local tab will bring together content from Marketplace, Groups and Events to create a feed more focused on location.

The app is also looking to attract TikTok users by unifying content on the infinitely scrollable Explore page. Facebook Reels will be featured on this page. The platform is not the only one betting on this strategy: recently, Snapchat also announced a redesign with a single feed of vertical videos.

We still don't know if these new features will be enough to attract Generation Z. It's difficult to shake off the reputation of being a “technology dinosaur”. But if Facebook wants to survive longer, it will have to try.

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Henry Chandonnet is a writer and editor based in New York. He currently works as an editorial intern at Fast Company, where he covers… find out more

---