In this episode, we’re casting our minds back to 2004, when NASA landed the Spirit rover on Mars; the last episode of Friends aired; George W Bush was re-elected US president, and the number one hits were LMC’s Take Me To The Clouds Above in the UK and Hey Ya! By Outkast in the US.

Over at Harvard University, computer science student Mark Zuckerberg is coding in his dorm room. Lately, he’s been nurturing a reputation as a minor enfant terrible on campus after creating the shortlived site FaceMash, which allowed students to rate each other’s hotness.

Today, Wednesday, 4th February, he’s about to push “publish” on TheFacebook, which would later become simply Facebook.

So what does Facebook look like at 20, and what can we learn from this social networking phenomenon?

To help me answer this and more, I’m joined by Jason Mander, Chief Research Officer at leading global consumer research platform GWI, to dive into their vast research platform and take a deep dive on Facebook at 20.

Here are the key statistics Jason mentioned on the podcast, extracted from the GWI platform.

• 75% of people in the UK use Facebook monthly, 66% use it weekly, and 50% use it daily
• Boomer Facebook usage has increased 20% over the last decade, with around 66% of boomers currently using it
• Gen Z and student Facebook usage has decreased compared to 10-20 years ago, though around 66% of Gen Z still use it
• Half of 13-14 year olds are on Facebook, despite declining usage among younger generations
• TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular platforms among children
• Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger – the top 4 platforms in the UK
• 15% of UK residents purchase secondhand items online weekly
• Around 50% of Brits use eBay for selling items, 25% use Facebook Marketplace, and smaller percentages use sites like Gumtree
• Three quarters of Millennials and Gen X in the UK use Facebook, with stable usage over the last 10 years
• Instagram ranks as the 4th most used social media platform in the UK, used by around 60% of people
• Facebook Messenger ranks 3rd for pure messaging platforms in the UK
• iMessage overtakes Messenger among younger Gen Z
• 96% of Gen Z in the UK use at least one Meta platform like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp
• Boomers’ Facebook usage is up 20% in the last decade

More on Jason

Jason on LinkedIn
Jason on Twitter

You can listen to the episode with GWI Tom Smith here.

Your Host: Actionable Futurist® & Chief Futurist Andrew Grill
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