The social media platform hopes to re-energize its user base and attract the newest members to its services ecosystem. Mark Zuckerberg’s platform is no longer appealing to youngsters and teenagers, who prefer to interact with their peers via TikTok or Snapchat.
During the announcement of Facebook’s quarterly results, the company’s founder, now Meta, also stated that regaining young and returning them to its flagship product was one of its top goals. Adolescents’ internet use has decreased by 13% since 2019 and is anticipated to reduce by another 45 percent in the following two years.
Instagram Facebook can now only rely on Instagram and Messenger Kids, a version of the popular instant messenger designed for children under the age of 13 that is only available in a few countries, including the United States. An internal document recognizes the issue while also indicating that the business plans to produce multiple projects aimed at youngsters aged 6 to 16, as well as “redefine current goods to take into consideration the cognitive and social development demands offered by various stages of maturity.”
The company has attempted to create Instagram Kids, a version of the program more suited for young users. However, the publication of research demonstrating the negative impact on the mental health of particular teenagers prompted Meta to halt the project.
In addition, the business must address previous security vulnerabilities with Messenger Kids. This is because people who were not allowed by their parents could join closed talks that were previously solely available to minors. Instagram According to internal Facebook studies, 7% of Instagram users have experienced harassment, with 40% of those incidents occurring in the service’s private messaging. As a result, youth versions of these apps would have practically no positive influence.
On the other hand, Mark Zuckerberg is adamant about putting his initiatives together so that he may catch an audience nearly at the cradle and make him taste his environment. While US law prohibits the sale of personal information about children under the age of 13 to third parties, nothing stops them from providing targeted advertising and developing their commercial profiles until they reach adulthood.