Meta’s Internal Emails Reveal Facebook’s Struggle to Regain Cultural Relevance
As Meta’s high-profile antitrust trial unfolds, internal communications from 2022 have surfaced, revealing deep concerns among company executives — including CEO Mark Zuckerberg — over Facebook’s fading cultural relevance.
The unearthed emails, presented by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), show Meta’s leadership brainstorming radical overhauls to rejuvenate the platform. Zuckerberg openly acknowledged that Facebook’s foundational “Friends” model felt outdated in an era dominated by “Follow”-based networks like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Zuckerberg’s 2022 Concerns About Facebook’s Future
In the emails, Zuckerberg expressed anxiety over Facebook’s diminishing appeal:
“Even if engagement remains steady, it feels like our cultural relevance is slipping — and that could signal deeper issues ahead.”
He emphasized that even though Instagram and WhatsApp were thriving, Facebook’s health was vital to Meta’s long-term success.
“Friending is Outdated” — Rethinking the Core Structure
Zuckerberg lamented how the concept of friending had become “stale,” citing reasons such as:
- Users’ friend lists were outdated.
- Sending friend requests felt “heavyweight.”
- Facebook lacked the appeal of more culturally relevant platforms.
He theorized that Facebook’s entire structure needed modernization, stating that the app’s legacy friend-graph system had become a liability.
Proposed Overhauls: From Following to Wiping the Graph
The emails showed executives floating bold strategies, including:
- Switching entirely from friending to following, aligning Facebook with modern social media norms.
- Eliminating likes on Pages to simplify the ecosystem.
- Wiping users’ entire friend graphs and starting fresh — a “crazy” idea Zuckerberg admitted would need controlled testing in a small country before any global rollout.
“I think we’d need to do something extreme to really move the needle,” he said.
Meta’s Attempted Revival: “OG Facebook” and the New Friends Tab
In response, Meta recently introduced a revamped Friends tab as part of its push to recapture the spirit of “OG Facebook.” During the Q4 2024 earnings call, Zuckerberg reiterated Meta’s intent to restore Facebook’s cultural relevance in 2025, despite ongoing legal and market challenges.
Conclusion: Reinvent or Fade
The email exchanges expose a sobering reality: Facebook, once the epicenter of social interaction, now faces a generational and structural identity crisis. As competitors thrive on newer interaction models and algorithmic engagement, Meta is under pressure to reinvent its flagship platform or risk irrelevance.
With the antitrust trial drawing even more public scrutiny, Meta’s internal reckoning may just be beginning.
