Mark Zuckerberg Discusses Facebook's Declining Relevance

Post by : Omar Nasser

Photo : Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has been worried for some time about Facebook’s fading influence. Recent emails from April 2022, shared during an antitrust case, show that Zuckerberg and other leaders at Meta are concerned about Facebook losing its importance in today’s fast-changing digital world.

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The emails were shown in a US court as part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing case against Meta. The emails reveal that Zuckerberg is worried that Facebook, although still used by many people, no longer has the same cultural power it once had.

In one of the emails, Zuckerberg mentioned that Facebook has stable usage, but its cultural impact is not what it used to be. He explained that the way Facebook connects people through "friending" is becoming old-fashioned. Zuckerberg said that many people’s friend networks are not fresh or connected to what they really care about anymore.

He even shared that his own habits have changed. Instead of spending time on Facebook, Zuckerberg now prefers following creators and influencers on other platforms like Instagram and Twitter. He thought this shift might show that Facebook’s core way of connecting people, through "friending," may not be working as well as it used to. He suggested that Facebook might need to change to a more modern way of connecting, like the "following" model used on Instagram and Twitter.

Zuckerberg offered three ideas to try and fix the problem. One of his ideas, which he called a “crazy idea,” was to reset users’ friend lists. He thought that making people rebuild their friend lists could help make Facebook more relevant again.

Zuckerberg also talked about Facebook’s focus on building communities, like Facebook Groups. Despite years of investment, he seemed unsure if this would be enough to fix the platform’s cultural decline. He still thought that messaging within groups might help, but he was unsure how much more they could do with that idea.

These emails were sent just after Facebook launched Reels, a feature similar to TikTok’s short videos. Reels was seen as a way to attract younger users, but Zuckerberg and others at Meta were not sure if it would be enough to bring back Facebook’s cultural influence.

The emails show that Zuckerberg is concerned about Facebook’s future and its place in the digital world. Meta is trying to find ways to adapt to the changes in social media and make Facebook relevant again.