Documents presented during the US Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust trial against Meta have highlighted internal discussions from 2022 regarding concerns over Facebook’s declining cultural relevance.

Emails disclosed during the trial show that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives recognized that Facebook’s “Friends” structure was becoming outdated.

They noted that other social media platforms were shifting towards “Following” models. In response, Zuckerberg suggested resetting users’ friend lists to refresh the Facebook’s approach.

The ongoing trial has provided insights into the internal struggles faced by Meta as it seeks to adapt its platforms to changing user preferences.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Social media engagement divergence reveals fundamental platform evolution

The data shows dramatic engagement differences across platforms, with TikTok achieving a 5.69% engagement rate while Facebook struggles at just 0.06% and Instagram at 0.47% 1.

This engagement gap isn’t just about features but reflects a shift in how users interact with social content, such as Facebook’s friend-focused model compared to TikTok’s algorithm-driven discovery approach.

TikTok’s success in attracting 3,092 likes per post compared to Instagram’s 395 demonstrates how effectively its recommendation engine connects users with content beyond their immediate social circles 2.

Higher education content on TikTok reaches remarkable engagement rates of 16.26%, highlighting how certain communities are finding new ways to connect beyond traditional social graphs 3.

2️⃣ Facebook’s crisis reveals the limits of friend-based social networking

Zuckerberg’s 2022 emails recognize a critical insight: while Facebook’s engagement numbers remain stable, its cultural impact is diminishing—potentially a leading indicator of future problems 4.

His specific concern that the “Friends” structure feels outdated as other platforms focus on “Following” reflects a shift in how users want to engage with content 5.

Despite Facebook still leading in average monthly time spent per user, its declining engagement metrics suggest users may be passively consuming content rather than actively participating in the community 6.