Is Facebook losing its appeal among the teenage crowd? COO Sheryl Sandberg weighs in. November 22, 2013 7:51 AM PST (Credit: CNET) Facebook isn't on the outs among teenagers, at least according to its chief operating officer. In an interview with AllThingsD published on Friday, Sandberg responded to concerns that the social network has seen a drop in its teenage population. Those concerns were triggered a few weeks ago following comments by CFO David Ebersman. "Our best analysis on youth engagement in the US reveals that usage of Facebook among US teens overall was stable from Q2 to Q3, but we did see a decrease in daily users, specifically among younger teens," Ebersman said during the company's third-quarter conference call. But Sandberg said the reaction to Ebersman's comment has been "blown out of proportion" and insisted that US teenage use of Facebook is stable. "The vast majority of U.S. teens are on Facebook" she said. "And the majority of U.S. teens use Facebook almost every day." Sandberg did concede that the social network faces a challenge because it's now ten years old. "That means that we're not the newest. And often, particularly in our space, newer things are shinier and cooler," Sandberg told AllThingsD. Facebook is not trying to be the coolest or the newest but instead the most useful, Sandberg said. And looking at the way teenagers use Facebook, the site remains useful to them, she added.
Is Facebook losing its appeal among the teenage crowd? COO Sheryl Sandberg weighs in.
(Credit: CNET)
Facebook isn't on the outs among teenagers, at least according to its chief operating officer.
In an interview with AllThingsD published on Friday, Sandberg responded to concerns that the social network has seen a drop in its teenage population. Those concerns were triggered a few weeks ago following comments by CFO David Ebersman.
"Our best analysis on youth engagement in the US reveals that usage of Facebook among US teens overall was stable from Q2 to Q3, but we did see a decrease in daily users, specifically among younger teens," Ebersman said during the company's third-quarter conference call.
But Sandberg said the reaction to Ebersman's comment has been "blown out of proportion" and insisted that US teenage use of Facebook is stable.
"The vast majority of U.S. teens are on Facebook" she said. "And the majority of U.S. teens use Facebook almost every day."
Sandberg did concede that the social network faces a challenge because it's now ten years old.
"That means that we're not the newest. And often, particularly in our space, newer things are shinier and cooler," Sandberg told AllThingsD.
Facebook is not trying to be the coolest or the newest but instead the most useful, Sandberg said. And looking at the way teenagers use Facebook, the site remains useful to them, she added.
