Dive Brief:

• Facebook has released a new standalone iOS app called Lifestage designed for users that are 21 years-old and under. 
• The app creates profiles using only video clips of the user showing their happy face, sad face, likes, dislikes, best friends, and a lot more, according to TechCrunch. The app doesn’t include any messaging features and instead has a line in user profiles called “Reach Me,” where they can connect another social account or some other type of contact info.
• Lifestage is geared toward high school students. As part of the sign-up process, it asks new users what high school they attend and only begins showing users other people when at least 20 users from their high school have signed up. 

Dive Insight:

With Lifestage, Facebook aims to innovate its approach to social media for teens. As Snapchat becomes increasingly mainstream and its user base trends older, there may be an opportunity for Facebook to attract some of the Gen Z audience that have adopted Snapchat in droves. 

“What if I figured out a way to take Facebook from 2004 and bring it to 2016? What if every field in your profile was a full video?” Facebook’s 19-year-old product prodigy Michael Sayman told TechCrunch about Lifestage. “I wanted to work on an app that my demographic would relate to, or at least that my friends would want to use.”

This isn't the first time that Facebook has tried to go after Snapchat's core demographic. Just a few weeks ago, Facebook-owned Instagram launched a new feature called “Stories” that's almost identical to Snapchat's own "Stories" feature. Facebook hopes Instagram Stories can provide users with an easier-to-use Snapchat-like experience in its walled garden.