Really – Facebook demographics are shifting as over 55’s flock to it and teenagers leave in droves for Snapchat and Instagram.
Facebook is facing a “teen problem” as more young people are signing off and heading to rival platforms such as Snapchat, according to a new study. The 13 to 17 teen demographic showed a 40.8 percent decrease in 2017 while the 55 and over folks grew by 46.4%. Seems the older folks are getting more technically adept. You can see the full report and chart here.
Facebook is predicted to lose more ground with users aged between 12 and 17 in 2018 while over 55s are set to become one of its largest demographics, according to eMarketer. The study reinforces perceptions that Facebook is becoming a less appealing space for teenagers as it becomes increasingly crowded with their parents and grandparents.
The company estimates that Facebook will lose 2 million users under 25 in the US this year. Meanwhile Instagram is predicted to gain 1.6 million users in that demographic, whereas Snapchat was will add 1.9 million users in that age group.
While Snapchat appears to be winning the battle for younger users, Instagram is predicted to grow more overall in the US – by more than 13 per cent to 104.7 million users. Snapchat is estimated to grow by 9.3 per cent in 2018 to 86.5 million users overall.
While Facebook remains by far the largest platform in the US in 2018 with 169.5 million users. Snapchat could eventually experience more growth in older age groups as it’s currently redesigning its platform to be easier to use.
A blast from the past, here’s how “Facebook” used to look.
Mark Zuckerberg and his co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin launched Facebook while at Harvard University in February 2004. Back then it was called “The Facebook” and was only available to students on the Harvard campus. My, my, my – how things have changed.
