Facebook Revitalizes Interface with New Features for the Youth

As of now, Facebook has been coined as the social site for the elder predominant users. This has made younger audiences, lean towards applications such as Snapchat and TikTok. At Facebook Reality, which took place in Texas, Meta reported significant changes to the interface. These updates are intended to address the concern of reaching young people.

Firstly, Facebook rolls out a new local tab for people. This tab displays content that is nearby including videos, events, and items sold in the Marketplace. At the time of writing this feature has only been localized to ten cities in the US but expansion is expected shortly.

Secondly, Meta rebranded and redesigned the ‘Explore’ feature for the application as well. In some cases, the word tab now features more locally relevant output due to an updated algorithm. Lemon8 and Pinterest inspired a new layout which is based on a grid of content.

Facebook has been facing competition from TikTok, which improves video Reels. Users are now able to watch their videos on full screen. The features presented by Meta, show that users views spend 60% of their time in videos indicating the significance of the feature.

Finally, the Facebook Groups will have ‘Group AI’ for the group’s members. For new users, this AI will search for frequently asked questions and their answers. This feature is being piloted by Meta in its American and Canadian markets only.

These updates are an effort to make Facebook more engaging and interesting to the new breeds of social users.