Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that his troubled company is in the process of shifting its focus to young adults.
With the social network said to be shedding younger users at an alarming rate, Zuckerberg recently told investors that he had instructed his teams at Facebook to make young adults their “North Star”.
“So much of our services have gotten dialled to be the best for the most people who use them, rather than specifically for young adults,” said Zuckerberg (via The Verge).
As a result of this shift in focus, Zuckerberg predicted that growth among older users will slow. In other words, Facebook will prioritise young over old going forward.
It’ll be a delicate balance for the company to strike given the current controversy surrounding a whistleblower’s testimony on the company’s approach to teen mental health.
One of the key threats to Facebook in recent times has been TikTok, which has siphoned off much of the younger audience. Zuckerberg called the shorthand video platform “one of the most effective competitors we’ve ever faced.”
As such, you can expect the Facebook-owned Instagram to experience “significant changes” as it pivots towards video content. Instagram’s Reels feature – which essentially mimics TikTok – is set to become “a more central part of the experience.”
Another way in which Facebook will hope to regain the users it’s shedding, and to shift towards a younger demographic, will be its newfound focus on building out the metaverse.
Recent reports have claims that Facebook will change its name to reflect the fact that it sees its future in building VR and AR worlds, not in building out its social media empire.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.