Facebook vs GenZ: Why Kids Just Don’t Want to Be Your Facebook Friend

I read a post via The Wall Street Journal about Facebook’s failed efforts to attract tweens and pre-teens to FB. The current number of teens using FB has fallen by 19% over the past 2 years and will likely fall another 45% by 2023.

WSJ went on to explain that tweens and pre-teens were guided by their elder peers and siblings to only post their best photos on platforms like Instagram. While platforms like FB were for “old people” aka people over 40 (lol). Though the concept of the “perfect grid” is slowly but surely giving way to the new (but old) “photo dump,” kids, tweens, teens, and young 20-somethings are hesitant to post online unless it’s “perfect;” perfect by whichever standards are currently in place.

So why are tweens and pre-teens not flocking to FB in the same way they do to apps like Snapchat and TikTok?

Teens and tweens are still trying to figure out their identity and the permanence of a FB post can be intimidating to them. What if you had to remember every stupid thing you did or said? What if you had to showcase to some 2.85 billion people, including close friends, family, and acquaintances, every milestone or moment no matter how embarrassing? That’s what Facebook is to kids. A stage in which every person with an internet connection and an account can view their life.

They love apps like TikTok and Snapchat because the content there feels fast and fleeting like their emotions, wants, and desires. With these apps, not only is the air of perfectionism completely dropped but there’s also a sense of openness. A willingness to show your imperfections and share in eachother’’s shortcomings. Apps like Snapchat and TikTok remind users that we’re all just human and not every moment can be perfect.

With this in mind, how will your brand or business use FB to speak to Gen-Z and Gen Alpha? Will you use Facebook at all?