One of the most widely used social networks, Facebook, continues to lose popularity among American teenagers and young people. According to eMarketer, a company that specializes in marketing research, in 2018 in the US, the number of Facebook users aged 18 to 24 years decreased by 5,8%. For teenagers 12-17 years old it is expected that the registration rate will be less than 50% of representatives of this age group. This trend will continue in 2019-2020, experts suggest.
Last year, Time Magazine conducted a survey of young people and found out that they don’t want to waste time on scrolling monotonous Facebook feed and prefer more dynamic alternatives – Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
So, why are young people replacing Facebook with Instagram? This is a very important question for brands because this social group is most active when it comes to online shopping.
- Public access to personal data turns into unexpected troubles. Former friends and loved ones, colleagues, relatives can simply go to the user’s page at any time, find information and form their own opinion. There are two solutions to this problem: make the profile private or take an alias. That can be difficult and frustrating. Seems like it’s easier to leave Facebook completely.
- Close relatives, parents, and grandparents now have their own pages on Facebook. They are usually the first to comment on the posts and make young people feel awkward. At the same time, they can post pictures of you without consent and warning making this social interaction even more uncomfortable.
- And let’s not forget about user experience. If Instagram is keeping it simple and clear, Facebook has loads of features and options and setting up the required security options seems unreal. Look at a Facebook page, it is like you’re in the airplane pilot’s cabin. People want social media to be easy-to-manage.
The Instagram audience of different ages is growing very fast. Social media now has over 800 million active users every month, while the audience keeps on increasing. A lot of new users belong to Generation Z but we shouldn’t underestimate the rising popularity of IG among older people.
What Instagram has in store for online advertising?
