The Week UK: Facebook facing UK youth exodus

The Week UK
UK News

Facebook facing UK youth exodus
Feb 13, 2018
Social media giant now favoured by over-55s as teenagers defect to newer platforms

          whatsapp
    facebook
      twitter
           google+
      linkedin
      email

Joe Klamar/AFP?getty Images

Facebook is facing a UK youth exodus, just as it becomes a favoured destination for over-55s.
See related
Experts call on Facebook to pull Messenger Kids app
Facebook acts to stem user exodus

According to eMarketer, teens and young adults are defecting to newer platforms such as Snapchat, just as older users are flocking to sign up. It’s a worrying development for the social media giant.

Some 700,000 young UK users are forecast to leave, while over-55s will become the second-biggest demographic of Facebook users this year.

“There are a couple of factors at play here,” Richard Broughton, an analyst at Ampere told The Guardian. “One is that older people tend to be late to the internet party, but adoption tends to find its way through the demographics eventually. And with Facebook’s video and photo experience it is a platform they want to be on to keep up with the social lives of their kids and grandchildren.”

Bill Fisher, UK senior analyst at eMarketer agrees that “Facebook has a teen problem [and] this latest forecast indicates that it is more than just a theory”.

The report will make uneasy reading for Facebook, coming as it tries to address concerns it was manipulated by Russia in the run-up to the 2016 US elections and looks to improve the experience of spending time on the platform following a change to its news feed.

Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg described last year as a “hard one” - but although the company remains the world’s most popular social network, with more than two billion users worldwide, it may need to reinvent itself to appeal to a new generation of digital natives.
Advertisement

Read more: UK News
Facebook
Snapchat
Technology
Advertisement
Advertisement
You are here:

    HomeFacebook facing UK youth exodus

Related Articles

    Facebook has had a tough year
    One-Minute Read
    Facebook facing UK youth exodus
    Former International Development Secretary Priti Patel in South Sudan last year
    In Depth
    Oxfam crisis: what does the UK spend its aid budget on?
    Oxfam aid workers have been accused of paying Haiti earthquake survivors for sex
    One-Minute Read
    Oxfam’s deputy CEO resigns over overseas sex scandal
    City Airport
    Reaction
    London City Airport shut over 500kg WWII bomb
    Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service carries upside-down black Isis flag
    One-Minute Read
    Isis dilemma: should 800 UK jihadists return home for trial?
    One-Minute Read
    Grand Canyon crash: three Britons dead
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose at Kensington Palace
    Prince Harry
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share wedding details
    10-year-old Jon Venables after he was charged with murder in 1993
    One-Minute Read
    James Bulger murder, 25 years on

Advertisement
Exclusive savings
Plus FREE UK delivery
VIEW
Portfolio

The experts' guide to good living

    Syria: A Conflict Explored at IWM North
    Aurora hunters: on the trail of the Northern Lights
    Valentine's Day 2018: the best last-minute holidays

Read more
Popular

    ‘Poacher’ eaten by lions he was tracking
    Africa
    North Korea cannot pay UN fees because of sanctions
    World News
    Tesla Model 3 vs Nissan Leaf: which is the best budget EV?
    Motoring
    14 classic love poems for Valentine's Day
    Culture
    Self-cloning marbled crayfish spreading across the world
    Science & Health

Trending Topics

    Islamic State
    Donald Trump
    Brexit
    Jeremy Corbyn
    Gold price
    Jeremy Clarkson
    Oil price

Daily Briefing

Ten things you need to know today
In partnership with Rolex

    May heads to Belfast as power-sharing hopes rise
    Oxfam faces loss of funding over sex scandal
    More ice and snow forecast

Read more
Our Latest Offers, Competitions and Events

    SAVE £30 on tickets for our Wine Pairing Dinner
    Save 10%: The Week in conversation with Bremont
    SAVE on our February wines with Corney & Barrow

FIND OUT MORE
Back to top

    FacebookTwitter

    NewsBusinessTechnologyCars MoneyPortfolioPeopleSportSubscriptionsOffers

    The Week US
    Email newsletter
    Privacy
    RSS
    Sitemap
    Contact us
    Authors
    About us

© Copyright The Week Ltd which is a subsidiary of Dennis Publishing Limited.
The Week incorporates The First Post. The Week™ and The First Post™ are trademarks of Felix Dennis.

    Felix DennisJobsMedia InformationSubscription EnquiresBooksAppsYour Online Choices

Sign up for our daily newsletter
Newsletter