Everyone today seems to be using Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg has successfully connected multiple generations, races, ethnicities, economic and social classes, etc. through Facebook. Anyone can use the website, and it seems today like almost everyone does. According to Statista, at the end of 2014, Facebook had 1.35 billion users worldwide.
However, not everything is going as planned with Facebook. The demographics of the site seem to be changing, as teens are beginning to leave the site for media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. This is happening for the following reasons:
- Privacy
- Simplicity
- Parents on Facebook
It is no longer “cool” to be on Facebook in high school, where school resource officers and nearly every students parents seem to be monitoring what kids are doing on Facebook. Facebook is no longer a place for kids to post whatever they please. For this reason, kids are jumping to social media outlets like Snapchat, where they can quickly send “private” photos or messages to friends. The image below shows research from IS Strategy Labs, presenting Facebook’s demographic problem:
In youth aged 13-17, Facebook user growth was -25.3%. In youth aged 18-24, Facebook user growth was -7.5%. However, Facebook users over 55 grew by 80.4%. This data presents the exact problem discussed above, as parents and grandparents flock to Facebook, kids move to new social media sites.
Overall, Facebook is continuing to see an expanded user base in emerging markets and countries outside of the U.S. However, Facebook’s youth problem is something it will struggle with in years to come.
