Internal docs: Instagram spent the majority of its global annual marketing budget since 2018 targeting teenagers, as it worries about losing its user “pipeline”
The app, hailed as Facebook's growth engine, has privately wrestled with retaining and engaging teenagers, according to internal documents.
New York Times
Related Coverage
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- Instagram spends the majority of its $390 million global advertising budget on targeting teens, according to a new report Insider · Aaron Holmes
- Instagram Fretted About Retaining, Engaging Teenagers: NY Times Bloomberg · Deana Kjuka
Discussion
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@sheeraf
She-Ra Frenkel
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NEW- even while Instagram researched whether their app was good for teens, their marketing teams focused almost exclusively on getting teens to use the app (and stressed, over the last year, when they didn't). https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@rmac18
@rmac18
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Instagram tracks an internal metric called “teen time spent” and is worried that it's losing cachet with teens. We took a look at Instagram's obsession to keep teens on the platform. Latest w/ @sheeraf and @MikeIsaac. https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@puiwingtam
Pui-Wing Tam
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These reader comments! “I teach 9th graders. Four years ago they all had Instagram. Now those seniors rarely post.” “My 13 year old daughter said it perfectly, “Instagram is nothing but big businesses promoting their products. What's fun about that?"" https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@kantrowitz
Alex Kantrowitz
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Getting harder to call Facebook a monopoly with a straight face: https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@bioturbonick
Nicholas Bauer, PhD
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The inevitable pathway for these services: - pure service hits a sweet spot of novelty and usefulness - company attempts to monetize it as much as they possibly can - users increasingly frustrated and annoyed, priming them to jump to the next thing https://twitter.com/...
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@cynthiamlummis
Cynthia Lummis
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My friend @RepKenBuck has had a bead on Big Tech for years. Grateful for his work to bring these issues to the fore. https://twitter.com/...
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@senblumenthal
Richard Blumenthal
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Facebook/Instagram need to come clean—& disclose all the docs on strategy to lure & hook young teens, despite secretly knowing the dangers to kids. I'm demanding transparency, but so far Zuckerberg has refused & dodged—betraying trust & undermining parents.https://www.nytimes.com…
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@mollyjongfast
Molly Jong-Fast
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Remember when Tobacco companies used a cartoon character camel Joe to advertise cigarettes? https://twitter.com/...
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@donie
Donie O'Sullivan
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Hook 'em young. https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@melissaryan
Melissa Ryan
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So gross and yet not at all surprising. https://twitter.com/...
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@drpanmd
Dr. Richard Pan
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A $900 billion dollar corporation is intent on doing whatever it takes to keep your children hooked on their product. Sounds familiar? @instagram is owned by #Facebook which is entirely controlled by #Zuckerberg . #PutKids1st #MentalHealthMatters #AccountabilityNow https://twitte…
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@modestproposal1
Modest Proposal
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Facebook is massive, but acutely aware of their vulnerabilities. It's why they rightly behave like only the paranoid survive. Google meanwhile is like 😴 which says a lot about the nature of the two businesses! https://twitter.com/...
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@modestproposal1
Modest Proposal
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Can add to these stats https://twitter.com/...
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@modestproposal1
Modest Proposal
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Some good stats in here, wish there was less editorializing. Marketing at Instagram was. 6%/revs in 19 vs 1% in 21, mostly aimed at teens. Insta DAUs up 24% y/y in Sep 2020. Time spent for teens reached 3-4 hours during Covid up 2x vs 30-45 mins for adults https://www.nytimes.com…
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@dsilverman
Dwight Silverman
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Wisdom from the kids. Indeed @instagram has so many ads, and products being shamelessly pimped by “influencers,” that the joy is gone from it. Classic case of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. https://twitter.com/...
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@moonalice
Roger McNamee
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Instagram, a site designed to create envy and then profit from it, is losing traction with young teens. There is hope. https://twitter.com/...
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@hypervisible
@hypervisible
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“'If we lose the teen foothold in the U.S. we lose the pipeline,' read a strategy memo, from last October...” 😐 https://twitter.com/...
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@dmccabe
David McCabe
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“Starting in 2018, it earmarked almost its entire global annual marketing budget — slated at $390 million this year — to targeting teenagers, largely through digital ads...” https://www.nytimes.com/... via @sheeraf @RMac18 @MikeIsaac
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@sunoppositemoon
@sunoppositemoon
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If you're wondering why IG seemingly doesn't care about the imposter accounts, well here is where their priorities lie: “If we lose the teen foothold in the U.S. we lose the pipeline.” Instagram Struggles With Fears of Losing Its ‘Pipeline’: Young Users https://www.nytimes.com/..…
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@senmarkey
Ed Markey
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More internal Facebook documents show that when Instagram sees kids and teens, they only see dollar signs. Congress needs to act and stop Facebook and Big Tech from utilizing the tobacco playbook of manipulating users to hook them when they're young. https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@katherinemiller
Katherine Miller
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This data point is a real “we're not all using our phones in the same way” (that probably applies to many things, not just insta) https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
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@repkenbuck
Rep. Ken Buck
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Mark Zuckerberg knew Instagram was dangerous for teenage girls, yet the company spent $390 million attempting to attract teenagers to the platform. Big Tech = Big Tobacco https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@martinsfp
Martin Sfp Bryant
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Nothing too surprising here, but some additional details about Facebook's efforts to grow its teenage userbase via Instagram. https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@sheeraf
She-Ra Frenkel
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NEW : Instagram's internal marketing documents show they are struggling with fears of losing their “pipeline” of teenagers. With @RMac18 and @MikeIsaac https://www.nytimes.com/...