Facebook faces a fresh challenge – its waning popularity with Generation Z, according to latest figures.
Since its launch in 2004, Facebook, part of Meta, has amassed billions of users and asserted its position as the core of the social media landscape.
However, the once ‘go-to’ platform’s popularity has plummeted as it struggles to engage its younger audience ahead of its social media opponents, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
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Digital media marketer Tash Driver said Gen Z is leading the way when it comes to social media.
“They are the true digital natives. They have grown up in a world saturated with smartphones, ceaseless connectivity, and social media platforms catered to their every desire, but when it comes to millennials, they are more fearful, they are likely to stick with what they know, being Meta, the platform that they grew up with,” Ms Driver said.
Ms Driver said Gen Z wants a more valuable experience when it comes to how they consume and interact with social media.
“Platforms like TikTok are capturing their attention because they offer entertaining content and the ability for its users to engage with creators and other audience members through its collaborative and creative nature,” she said.
A YouthSense report underlined the social media trends of Gen Z, with 89% reporting they use Instagram (also owned by Meta), 75% Snapchat, and a further 60% use TikTok, while just 56% reported they use Facebook.
The report showed a pattern that Facebook is less important to Gen Z compared to the newer platforms.
“I think it’s just an age thing now, no one wants to see what their aunts are doing when they use Facebook as their weirdly public diary,” Gen Z member Kassandra Gadd said.
“I think it is desperately trying to hold onto that popularity as much as it can with, like, reels, that is really evident but the content like videos on the other platforms are a lot better than on Facebook, and apps like Instagram are so much easier to be involved with just posting random photos.