Is it the beginning of the end for Facebook?

Last week saw a seismic shift in the digital realm as the company who changed its name to Meta only a few weeks ago saw a catastrophic 25 per cent share-price collapse.??

The loss totalled $240 billion. Just take a moment and let that sink in… $240 billion.??

To put that into perspective, it’s more than the annual GDP of all but the 43 richest nations on earth, gone, in almost an instant.??

It wasn’t the only damning news to come California either. More worryingly, for the first time in Facebook’s history, its daily active users had fallen. Share prices can recover but receding users, that’s a different story.??

So, does this mean it’s the beginning of a long, drawn-out end for Facebook? It’s no secret that numbers have stagnated in Europe and US recently, although the brand’s strategy of targeting Africa and South America had been working, until now. But there’s a wider problem here than Facebook alone.??

Mark Zuckerberg, who was adventurously dubbed, ‘the blank-eyed, sociopathic Ming the Merciless of Meta’ by The Times’ Giles Coren, blamed the rise of TikTok and YouTube for the fall in numbers. It was a point that Coren, who rose through the journalistic ranks as a food critic, believes is the end of social media as we know it.??

He may be right too. Shares in Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest have fallen sharply in recent times but this doesn’t necessarily spell the end. Covid’s played its role in the recent peaks and troughs of share prices and this couldn’t be more evident than with Netflix, whose share price recently halved with a mind-numbing $150 billion wiped off its value.??

As we’ve tip-toed out of the Pandemic and its restrictions, we’re spending less time locked in the general safety of our homes comatose on the sofa, binging box sets. It’s the same with social media. Who’d have thought we’d all prefer a few hours away from screens rather than perpetually scrolling through feeds, but does this really mean the end??

Depending on which side of the fence you sit when it comes to social media, don’t start celebrating or worrying too much yet. The haters often fall back on the founded argument of toxicity, hate and division that festers on social platforms, while lovers talk about community, innovation, human development and freedom… who can forget the Arab Spring, after all. Neither side should react yet though because this isn’t the end of social media, it’s the evolution.??

Gen Z have a seemingly-endless option of niche channels to facilitate their social needs, and many are flocking to the likes of Discord, as well as TikTok and Youtube. The point is that as more channels become available, and more niche audiences are built, it’s inevitable the big channels will have to work a lot harder to entice new users… especially when their mother’s the first friend request or follow.??

It's far from over for the likes of Facebook though. Web3 is here with its boundless potential and if Meta pulls off its audacious plan of being the primary conduit between these digital realms, they’ll be integral to society’s development for generations to come.??

This still looks likely at the moment but there are other innovators looking to accomplish the same goal – innovators who do not hold the same negative connotations for Gen Z. This was a contributing factor behind the name change but will it be enough? Off the back of last week’s news, it’s easy to say no.??

Don’t forget Meta’s tentacles spread far and wide in the world of digital though. WhatsApp users number 2 billion worldwide, Instagram boasts nearly 1.4 billion and in April 2020 Meta purchased 10% of Jio Platforms, India’s largest and hugely ambitious mobile operator.??

Web3 will drastically change how we digest digital over the next decade and segmented audiences will enjoy their own like-minded communities in their own, bespoke digital realms but if Meta succeeds, it will be the gateway to them all – so don’t write Facebook off just yet.??