Could Facebook actually be the cool dad?

These days, Facebook is trying hard to be the cool house where all the friend group hangs out. And it seems to be working.

The social media platform yesterday revealed that 40+ million US and Canadian adults aged 18–29 are using Facebook daily, its highest number in three years. This caps "five quarters of healthy app usage growth" among young adults, a company spokesperson said.

Why it matters: Young adults are a highly coveted demographic for advertisers (Facebook’s main source of revenue). And, like birds flying south for the winter, they’ve been leaving the platform in droves for platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

• 71% of teens (ages 13-17) use YouTube at least once per day, while 58% use TikTok at least once per day, according to data from Pew Research.
• By comparison, 33% of teens say they used Facebook in 2023. That number was 71% in 2014.

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According to the company, user behavior shows young adults coming to Facebook initially to use features like Marketplace, Groups, and Dating at key moments in their lives – then, while there, “they check out stuff that's going on in Feed or from Reels," Meta's head of Facebook Tom Alison, told Reuters. Think: furnishing an apartment – go to Marketplace for a couch, stay for the memes.

👀 Looking ahead… Facebook is focused on three major initiatives to continue making inroads with young users: better discovery of relevant content in Feed, more of an emphasis on shortform video via Reels, and becoming more creator friendly.