A report suggests that Facebook insists it is still very much alive. Young people have long held the stereotype that Facebook is just for “old people,” but the company is keen to dispel it.
Facebook may be able to promote itself as a legitimate, homegrown alternative now that its main rival, TikTok, is under more regulatory scrutiny due to increasing conflicts between China and the US.
The issue, though, is that young adults no longer seem interested, per the report.
The birth of the once-hip social networking platform predates the iPhone by about two decades. If you were a teenager when Mark Zuckerberg established the website from his Harvard dormitory in 2004, you can’t remember when Facebook wasn’t a part of your life, even if it has receded into the background a little.
Facebook is up against an unusual obstacle. There are now 3 billion monthly users. And every day, 2 billion users sign in. After twenty years, it is still fighting for survival and recognition.
While AOL formerly held sway, its clientele has matured to the point that having an email with aol.com is now passé.
Facebook has always been reluctant to provide user data that may reveal how the platform does with young people. Independent researchers, however, report a decline in this population. Facebook appears to have scaled down on adolescent recruitment in light of worries over the platform’s impact on young people’s mental health.
Last October, it was revealed that Facebook and Twitter executives, including the recently fired head of trust & safety Vijaya Gadde, met with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a regular basis to discuss censorship on a variety of issues, like coronavirus, the failed Afghanistan withdrawal, and racial justice, according to documents that were leaked.
A suit filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt against the Biden Administration says that the government colluded with Big Tech to undermine Americans’ First Amendment rights.
