Is Facebook finally growing up?

Recently Facebook revealed a startling fact in its latest earnings announcement, it was seeing a “decrease in daily users, specifically among teens”. Suggesting although teenagers are still using Facebook, they're using it a lot less than they once did. This is especially surprising because teenagers usually point the way to the next big thing, particularly in new technology.

Young people are gradually moving over to messaging apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat, as their interest in Facebook begins to wane. Now that Facebook has nearly 1.2 billion monthly active users, everyone from their younger brothers to their grandparents can be found sharing cute animal photos and inspirational quotes. It is no surprise that teenagers are turned off by their parents using Facebook, it is no longer the place for uninhibited updates and messaging amongst friends if your mum can comment on your night out pictures. All teenagers rebellious fun now takes place elsewhere, on their mobiles.

Messaging app WhatsApp emerged in 2009 and by 2012 mobile operators are estimated to have lost up to $23bn in SMS revenue due to these apps. These apps host free instant messages through a phone's data connection, which these days is often unlimited. However, these apps are becoming a threat to established social networks too.

The most popular in the UK is WhatsApp which is on half the country's iPhones and has more than 350 million monthly active users globally. That makes it the biggest messaging app in the world by users, with even more active users than social media powerhouse Twitter, which counts 218 million.

We can put part of the success of these services down to the elder generation gate crashing the social media party. However, it is also a result of another thing these apps offer: private chatting with people you are actually friends with in real life. These apps promote dynamic real-time chatting with groups of real-life friends, real life because having their mobile number is required to begin the conversation. In an era where young people are accused of having virtual lives and friends, this is a way for them to reassert their privacy and shun corporate advertising.

How these apps will develop is still uncertain, some expect them to be bought out by the likes of Google. However, the main internet giants each have their own version of these messaging services, including Facebook, Apple and Google. Whether these services survive or thrive will depend on who can actually make money from them. We are a long way from any of these apps raking in the $2.1bn that Facebook pulled in in the last quarter. There is little doubt that these apps will continue to grow in popularity, probably at the expense of Facebook, and with many of the older generations joining, the chances are they’ll probably go out of fashion with the next generation of teenagers in search of the next big thing too!