Trouble in Paradise: Youngsters are ‘snapping’ out of Facebook!

In 2018, Facebook will lose 2 million users aged 24 and younger to Snapchat and Instagram

By: Shweta Ganjoo |
February 12, 2018 7:45 pm

Facebook might have started gaining attention around 2008-09, but the social media platform ain’t hip anymore — not for Gen Z. According to a research by New York-based firm eMarketer, younger people are increasingly ditching Facebook and flocking to Snapchat.

If the analysis by eMarketer is to be believed, Facebook could lose 2 million users aged 24 and younger this year to migrate to other social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.

The firm estimates that of the 2 million young users who will ditch Facebook this year, not everyone will migrate to Instagram. The company estimates that while 1.6 million users are expected to migrate to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, 1.9 million users are likely to flock to the rival Snapchat. The firm further predicts that ‘Snapchat will continue to have more users ages 12 to 24 compared to Instagram’.

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The number of Facebook users in the US aged 11 and younger will decline by 9.3 percent, the firm said. “Additionally, the number of users ages 12 to 17 and 18 to 24 will decrease by 5.6 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively,” the firm found out.

Facebook recorded 2.13 million active users in the final quarter of 2017 and the research suggests that the trends are likely to continue in 2018 as well. The firm wrote that the social media giant is still adding monthly users overall, however, these numbers are mainly coming from older age groups.

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“Snapchat could eventually experience more growth in older age groups since it’s redesigning its platform to be easier to use,” eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson said. “The question will be whether younger users will still find Snapchat cool if more of their parents and grandparents are on it. That’s the predicament Facebook is in,” she added.

Do you still find Facebook cool? Tell us what you feel in the comments section.