Facebook, one of the original social networks, has become known as the platform for parents and grandparents, while young adults use photo and video apps such as Instagram and TikTok. Meta, the company that owns Facebook, aims to change that.
While Facebook originally focused on helping users stay in touch with family and friends, the future is in helping people expand their networks and make new connections, which aligns with how younger generations use the service, said Tom Alison, Facebook’s director at Meta. .
“We see young adults turning to Facebook when they make a transition in life. When they move to a new city, they use Marketplace to furnish their apartments. When they become parents, they join parenting groups,” Alison said during a interview in Austin, Texas, before an event on Friday with content creators.
During the event, Facebook announced two new tabs called Local and Explore, which are currently being tested in select cities and markets and which aggregate content from across the platform. The Local tab shows users nearby events, community groups, and local items for sale, and the Explore tab recommends content based on the user’s interests.
A greater focus on young adults will be key to attracting new users, as Facebook faces major competition for their attention. The short-form video app TikTok has 150 million users in the US and is very popular among Generation Z, prompting Meta to introduce its copycat product called Reels in 2021.
Young adults on Facebook spend 60% of their time watching videos and more than half watch Reels daily. The company said it would also roll out an updated video tab in the coming weeks that collects short, live and longer videos in one place.
Facebook’s dating feature, launched in 2019 and allowing users to browse suggested profiles, has seen a 24% year-over-year increase in conversations started among young adults in the US and Canada, the company said. At the pop-up event in Austin, a small brochure summarized the platform’s positioning for the future: “Not Your Mom’s (Facebook),” the headline read.
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