CEO Mark Zuckerberg has stated that the future of Facebook will be aimed at capturing a younger audience, in order to future-proof the company. Find out more here.

A decline in teen and young users has prompted Zuckerberg to make appealing to younger users its “north star”. Amidst spending billions of dollars in order to serve a rebranding and focus on the “metaverse”, there will be a heavier emphasis on Instagram Reels.

Specifically, Facebook will try to aim at 18-29 year olds, rather than a larger audience of older users. Citing TikTok and Snapchat as its serious competitors, it’s unsurprising that Zuckerberg wants to push Reels harder. He said the company “expect[s] to make significant changes to Instagram and Facebook in the next year to further lean into video and make Reels a more central part of the experience.”

Reels has certainly been used as a tool to combat the fierce competition with TikTok. In July, Facebook increased the maximum length of Reels, in a bid to keep up in the game.

The increased focus on Instagram rather than the main Facebook app is not wholly unexpected. Speaking as someone from perhaps the last generation of young Facebook users, it’s difficult to find anyone below the age of 21 who favours the Facebook app above all others. The future of Facebook as a main app is unclear, since its an apparent hit among boomers.

Data collected by Statista earlier this year highlighted Facebook as the favourite among users of the age of 56.

A survey by Piper Sandler found that teens used Instagram the most, but the Facebook app the least. 10,000 participants were surveyed. 81% said they used Instagram, 77% and 73% used Snapchat and TikTok respectively. Meanwhile, just 27% claimed to use Facebook’s main app.

Attempting to keep hold of their young Instagram audience, the move towards more video content makes complete sense. Zuckerberg admitted that TikTok is “one of the most effective competitors [they’ve] ever faced.”

Recently leaked documents reinforced concern for the future of Facebook, relating to a decline in usage of young people. A further sharp decline has also been predicted further down the line.

Currently, plans and ideas are mostly theoretical. However, Facebook claims its transitioning journey is very much underway.