{"id":1161,"date":"2021-11-23T00:14:55","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T23:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/11\/23\/facebook-wants-the-young-people-back-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2021-11-23T00:14:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T23:14:55","slug":"facebook-wants-the-young-people-back-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/11\/23\/facebook-wants-the-young-people-back-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook Wants the Young People Back &#8211; The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cfbc967f0983488262956e73eca9483a\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3859091246952232\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- blok -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3859091246952232\" data-ad-slot=\"1334354390\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p>Advertisement<br \/>Supported by<br \/>the on tech newsletter<br \/>The social media giant is making bonkers money. But it aims to turn itself inside out to get more young people.<br \/><strong>Send any friend a story<\/strong><br \/>As a subscriber, you have <strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">10 gift articles<\/strong> to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.<br \/><span class=\"byline-prefix\">By <\/span><span class=\"css-1baulvz last-byline\" itemprop=\"name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/shira-ovide\" class=\"css-mrorfa e1jsehar0\">Shira Ovide<\/a><\/span><br \/><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. Here is a collection of <\/em><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/on-tech\" title=\"\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">past columns<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">.<\/em><br \/>On Monday, the public got a glimpse into <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/29\/technology\/meta-facebook-zuckerberg.html\" title=\"\">Mark Zuckerberg<\/a>\u2019s fear that <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/31\/business\/media\/media-tech-companies-facebook.html\" title=\"\">Facebook<\/a> might shrivel into irrelevance.<br \/>In a conference call to discuss Facebook\u2019s financial results, Zuckerberg said that he planned to overhaul the company to make its apps more appealing for people under 30. \u201cWe are retooling our teams to make serving young adults their North Star rather than optimizing for the larger number of older people,\u201d he <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/s21.q4cdn.com\/399680738\/files\/doc_financials\/2021\/q3\/FB-Q3-2021-Earnings-Call-Transcript.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>. He said it would take years to make this shift.<br \/>Many organizations are obsessed with staying connected to the young and cool, so perhaps this declaration wasn\u2019t a surprise. And Zuckerberg, who always seems to be worried about <em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">something, <\/em>has a habit of making bold statements about <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/29\/technology\/meta-facebook-zuckerberg.html\" title=\"\">Facebook<\/a>\u2019s priorities that sometimes turn out to be mostly talk.<br \/>The reality is that <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/28\/technology\/facebook-rebrand-meta.html\" title=\"\">Facebook<\/a> for years has been losing popularity with young people, but it hasn\u2019t really mattered. The company was attracting more users overall and making oodles of money. And it adapted to appeal to younger people, including by buying Instagram nine years ago and copying features of Snapchat and TikTok.<br \/>Zuckerberg\u2019s comment, and recent reporting <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/16\/technology\/instagram-teens.html\" title=\"\">by my colleagues<\/a> and <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-10-25\/facebook-files-show-growth-struggles-as-young-users-in-u-s-decline?sref=Qk91czAc\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">other journalists<\/a>, suggest that <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/22743744\/facebook-teen-usage-decline-frances-haugen-leaks\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">perhaps<\/a> this time is different. Dread appears to be lurking inside of Facebook, including in Zuckerberg\u2019s corner office, that the social media giant must turn itself inside out to attract the youngs \u2014 with an implied \u201cor else.\u201d<br \/>Zuckerberg knows well that dominant companies in technology don\u2019t tend to stay that way for long. The reshuffling he outlined raises the question: Does Zuckerberg worry that the disinterest of younger people will fulfill a longstanding prediction by tech watchers that the company is doomed to become a has-been?<br \/>Let\u2019s see what happens. Facebook may be able to rise to the challenge again and win over the youth. (Insert the meme, \u201c<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/knowyourmeme.com\/memes\/how-do-you-do-fellow-kids\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">How do you do, fellow kids<\/a>?\u201d)<br \/>Facebook executives on Monday didn\u2019t describe a grand plan to win back young people. They talked vaguely about <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2021\/10\/25\/22745622\/facebook-young-adults-refocusing-teams\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">more emphasis on Reels<\/a>, which is Instagram\u2019s riff on TikTok, and about Zuckerberg\u2019s latest fixation <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/19\/technology\/facebooks-new-bet-on-virtual-reality-conference-rooms.html\" title=\"\">with virtual reality and the \u201cmetaverse.\u201d<\/a><br \/>A teeny part of my brain also wonders if Zuckerberg\u2019s flash of fear on Monday was intended to portray Facebook as a cowering weakling rather than the unbeatable internet star that its critics say it is. As my colleague Kevin Roose has written, Facebook can be <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/04\/technology\/facebook-files.html?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">both a dominant power and fearful about its future<\/a>.<br \/>And as much as the company appears to care about young people using Instagram, Facebook and its other products, it can stay rich for a very long time without them.<br \/>The most important factor in Facebook\u2019s financial success is its ability to collect lots of information about what people \u2014 mostly those of us in the United States and other rich countries \u2014 do online and then harnessing that data to help businesses more effectively sell us pajamas, filing cabinets or apps. Young people can flee in droves and Facebook will still be raking in those advertising dollars, at least for quite a long time. Seriously, as we saw from its earnings statement on Monday, <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/25\/technology\/facebook-profits-earnings-q3-2021.html\" title=\"\">Facebook is so good at making money<\/a>.<br \/>But the company\u2019s internal deliberations about younger people may turn out to be among the most important artifacts in the reams of Facebook communications and <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/25\/business\/frances-haugen-facebook.html\" title=\"\">documents scooped up by Frances Haugen<\/a>, a former Facebook product manager.<br \/>Reporting on those<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/facebook-instagram-kids-tweens-attract-11632849667\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> documents<\/a> and other company discussions show that Facebook is worried that<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/16\/technology\/instagram-teens.html\" title=\"\"> teens are spending less time on Instagram<\/a> this year, that its <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kantrowitz\/status\/1453001434337890312\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">user base is aging fast<\/a>, and that young people who love Instagram <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/s.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/documents\/teens-young-adults-on-ig-and-facebook.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">aren\u2019t gravitating to the Facebook app<\/a> as they get older.<br \/><strong>A tech giant in trouble.<!-- --> <\/strong><span>The leak of internal documents by a former Facebook employee has provided <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/04\/technology\/facebook-files.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">an intimate look<\/a>\u00a0at the operations of the secretive social media company and renewed calls for better regulations of the company\u2019s wide reach into the lives of its users.<\/span><br \/><strong>How it began.<!-- --> <\/strong><span>In September, The Wall Street Journal published The Facebook Files, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/17\/business\/dealbook\/facebook-files-whistleblower.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">a series of reports based on leaked documents<\/a>. The series exposed evidence that Facebook, which on Oct. 28 assumed the corporate name of Meta, knew Instagram, one of its products <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/01\/technology\/facebook-instagram-teenagers.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">was worsening body-image issues among teenagers<\/a>.<\/span><br \/><strong>The whistle-blower.<!-- --> <\/strong><span>During an interview with \u201c60 Minutes\u201d that aired Oct. 3, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/03\/technology\/whistle-blower-facebook-frances-haugen.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">Frances Haugen, a Facebook product manager <\/a>who left the company in May, revealed that she was responsible for the leak of those internal documents.<\/span><br \/><strong>Ms. Haugen\u2019s testimony in Congress.<!-- --> <\/strong><span>On Oct. 5, Ms. Haugen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/05\/technology\/what-happened-at-facebook-whistleblower-hearing.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">testified before a Senate subcommittee<\/a>, saying that Facebook was willing to use hateful and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/05\/technology\/haugen-facebook.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">harmful content<\/a>\u00a0on its site to keep users coming back. Facebook executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, called her accusations untrue.<\/span><br \/><strong>The Facebook Papers.<!-- --> <\/strong><span>Ms. Haugen also filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission and provided the documents to Congress in redacted form. A congressional staff member then supplied the documents, known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/25\/business\/facebook-papers-takeaways.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">Facebook Papers<\/a>, to several news organizations, including The New York Times.<\/span><br \/><strong>New revelations.<!-- --> <\/strong><span>Documents from the Facebook Papers show the degree to which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/22\/technology\/facebook-election-misinformation.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc\">Facebook knew of extremist groups on its site<\/a>\u00a0trying to polarize American voters before the election. They also reveal that internal researchers had repeatedly determined how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/25\/technology\/facebook-like-share-buttons.html?action=click&#038;action=click&#038;pgtype=Article&#038;state=default&#038;module=styln-facebook-meta&#038;variant=show&#038;region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&#038;block=storyline_levelup_swipe_recirc&#038;module=RelatedLinks&#038;pgtype=Article\">Facebook\u2019s key features<\/a>\u00a0amplified toxic content on the platform.<\/span><br \/>But seeing the concern in private deliberations among underlings or a marketing document is one thing. Zuckerberg sounding the alarm in public is a whole other level.<br \/><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">More reading about The Facebook Papers:<\/strong><br \/><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/how-to-fix-facebook-according-to-facebook-employees\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">How to fix Facebook, according to its employees<\/a> \u2014 Wired<br \/><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2021\/10\/facebook-failed-the-world\/620479\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook failed the world<\/a> \u2014 The Atlantic<br \/><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/restofworld.org\/2021\/facebook-papers-reveal-staggering-failures-in-global-south\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Facebook Papers reveal staggering failures in the Global South<\/a> \u2014 Rest of World<br \/><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/25\/technology\/facebook-like-share-buttons.html\" title=\"\">Facebook wrestles with the features it used to define social networking<\/a> \u2014 The New York Times<br \/><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Facebook\u2019s hot seat with securities regulators: <\/strong>Frances Haugen submitted internal documents that she collected to make the case that Facebook misled investors with a rosier picture of the company than it knew to be true. My colleague Cecilia Kang <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/26\/technology\/facebook-sec-complaints.html\" title=\"\">examines<\/a> the legal strength of this argument.<br \/><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">The predictable script of internet shutdowns: <\/strong>During this week\u2019s <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/25\/world\/africa\/sudan-military-coup.html\" title=\"\">coup in Sudan<\/a>, access to the internet was disrupted in the country. My colleague Andr\u00e9s R. Mart\u00ednez writes that Sudan\u2019s former dictator also <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2021\/10\/25\/world\/sudan-coup#sudan-has-a-history-of-cutting-internet-access-to-silence-opposition-voices\" title=\"\">blacked out the internet<\/a> to try to silence opposition. This is a <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/09\/02\/world\/africa\/internet-shutdown-economy.html\" title=\"\">common tool for government repression.<\/a><br \/><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Flying a helicopter from two iPads: <\/strong>Yup, my colleague Cade Metz tried out a copter equipped with technology <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/25\/technology\/automated-flight-helicopter-skyryse.html\" title=\"\">meant to simplify and<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\"> <\/span>eventually automate the operation of passenger airplanes<\/a>. Is this the future of flight, and is this a good idea?<br \/>Here are <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/h0Hd3uWKFKY\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Debbie Harry and Kermit the Frog singing \u201cThe Rainbow Connection<\/a>.\u201d (Hat tip to Tony Fratto for <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TonyFratto\/status\/1449172475640782848?t=UeQ-rW8txoMmxTW1diL1AQ&amp;s=09\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">tweeting this<\/a> gem.)<br \/><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think of this newsletter and what else you\u2019d like us to explore. You can reach us at <\/em><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"mailto:ontech@nytimes.com?subject=On%20Tech%20Feedback\" title=\"\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">ontech@nytimes.com.<\/em><\/a><br \/><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">If you don\u2019t already get this newsletter in your inbox, <\/em><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/newsletters\/signup\/OT\" title=\"\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">please sign up here<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">. You can also read <\/em><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/on-tech\" title=\"\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">past On Tech columns<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">.<\/em><br \/>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/26\/technology\/facebook-young-people.html\">source<\/a><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AdvertisementSupported bythe on tech newsletterThe social media giant is making bonkers money. But it aims to turn itself inside out to get more young people.Send any friend a storyAs a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.By Shira OvideThis article is part of the On Tech [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow1sXXCw:productID":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}