Meta just unveiled its plan for Facebook to win over a surprising demographic: Gen Z.I say surprising because it’s widely known that Facebook is “for old people” — many teens and young people think of it as something their mom or grandma uses. According to a 2023 Pew survey on teen internet use, only about a third of US teens ages 13-17 used Facebook. Compare that to Pew’s 2014 survey, when 71% of teens used Facebook.Meta’s new plan for Facebook — and winning over younger people — revolves around two prongs:
First, more discovery in the feed. This basically means more recommended content like Reels and other posts in the feed instead of posts from friends and family — sort of like how the Instagram feed has lately been more about the discovery of people you don’t follow. That’s a big reversal from the 2018 change to Facebook’s news feed that prioritized posts from your friends and family over publisher content.Secondly, Facebook is hoping to lure back young adults with offerings like Marketplace, Dating, Groups, and Events.Note that Facebook is looking for “young adults” rather than teens — this may be partly because Meta is anxious about promoting its products too directly to teenagers when the company is facing serious scrutiny and lawsuits about its apps’ effects on teen mental health. It might not be a great look to be courting a teen audience at the moment.But Facebook also has more to offer “young adults” than teens. In rolling out the latest changes, Facebook gives the example of a recent college grad, maybe 22, who has just moved to a new city. They need to furnish their apartment on the cheap — so they use Marketplace to get a used couch. That person might find fun things to do through Events and join some local Groups. They might also use Facebook Dating. And maybe they hang out on the app and watch some entertaining Reels in their feed, too. (Video accounts for about 60% of time spent on Facebook, according to Meta.)Don’t laugh — I think this actually might work. The real secret power here is Marketplace, the swap meet-like service that’s incredibly useful for lots of people. I know several people who reluctantly joined Facebook just to be able to use Marketplace. I use Marketplace all the time.Some of Facebook’s plan does sound a little overly positive. I’m sure Meta would prefer us all to think of Groups as a nice place to find tips about houseplants rather than remembering Groups like Stop the Steal. And I don’t think Facebook Dating is a huge hit. (Meta says Dating numbers are up 20% year-over-year but doesn’t say how many people are using it.)And there’s another thing really going for Facebook that I won’t be surprised if young adults, joining for the first time, are pleasantly surprised by: The site works pretty well. That sounds like a really low bar, but consider what it’s competing with: Craiglist, Evite, Reddit. Not exactly the most user-friendly sites. What a 22-year-old who finally joins Facebook might discover is something of an “everything app” (much to Elon Musk’s dismay, I’m sure).Maybe it’s not so much a social network anymore; it’s a place to accomplish basic tasks and watch some video. It might not keep you glued to the app for hours when you’re trying to go to sleep like TikTok does, but growing a younger demographic by offering utility is a good long-term strategy.Not long ago, Instagram seemed against the ropes, mired in millennial avocado toast cringe. But it managed to get its mojo back and compete against TikTok, even with teens. Mark Zuckerberg has even managed to turn his reputation largely by wearing some new clothes. I know it seems improbable that Facebook could become cool for Gen Z, but don’t count it out — they just might pull this off.
