If your Facebook feed is like mine there are only one or two people using the FB Stories feature at any given time. Instagram and Snapchat pretty much own the story market but Facebook is still chasing that “all inclusive social media app” unicorn. Today, the app updated to include the ability to go live from the FB Story camera, to turn your images/video into a nifty GIF, and to share text over a colored background. (Much like the text status backgrounds available on your FB timeline.) It’s a bit surprising that the story feature hasn’t caught on as quickly on Facebook as it did on Instagram which has more users on Stories than Snapchat has over their entire app. There are more people using Facebook every day but they seem to prefer the timeline method to the 24-hour stories.
One thing is certain, however, the apps that are popular with the younger crowd are the ones that get the most out of their stories feature. Facebook is, obviously, trying to attract that same crowd again since their average user’s age has increased over the past several years. Buffing up Facebook Stories is an attempt to reach out to that exact demographic. We’ve seen a small surge in the number of younger users to join or re-join Facebook but it’s nowhere near the growth that we’ve seen on Instagram and Snapchat.
What Parents Should Know
You still can’t take Facebook off of your apps to watch list. Your kids most likely prefer Instagram or Snapchat (if you allow them to use it) but some of these new features, which are designed to attract the teen and pre-teen demographic, could draw some kids back to Facebook. My advice is for parents to have their teen’s login information and to check in every now and then. You’ll want to see what messages they’ve received and what is showing up on their and their friend’s story. For many younger people, the fact that their parents use Facebook is a deterrent for them but some of the camera features and other new additions could cause them to change their minds. It’s important that you know if they have a Facebook account and keep an eye on what is going on there.