Lately, Mark Zuckerberg has been trying to redirect the consumer’s attention from Facebook’s existing problems. He wanted people to think about the virtual world in the metaverse that they will enjoy in the future. However, he couldn’t take the people’s eyeballs off the losses that Meta was facing. The market value of tech giant “Meta” has dropped by 57% this year. It is a significant downfall compared to Apple’s plunge, which is 14%, Alphabet’s 29%, and Amazon’s 26%, according to the information provided by Yahoo!.  

Since most of Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth is tied to Meta, its losses have caused almost half of his wealth. According to Bloomberg, his net worth is now $71 billion less than before.

In addition, Meta is facing battles related to regulatory issues as well. As part of the antitrust challenge, Meta is now going through EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) investigations.

A group of States in the USA is appealing in court to restore the antitrust lawsuit against Meta’s Facebook, claiming that the company’s actions will continue to be harmful.

What’s the Root Cause of the Problem?

While analyzing the root cause of the problem, several factors which caused to bring Meta to a low level came into the picture. However, one thing’s clear – Meta’s downfall started after the tech giant’s revamping from Facebook to Meta during the last fall.

Here is the breakdown of the entire situation into some key points:   

• The image makeover is a central component that hasn’t yet fulfilled any expectations that match the hype of the case.
• Instead, it only gave rise to the travesty of superficial metaverse images and disapproval of VR hardware that only disappointed the investors.
• It’s not only Meta that is facing all these problems. A lot of other companies are facing similar issues because of poor economic conditions, rise in regulatory inspections, increase in competitors like TikTok to whom Meta is losing its users, changes in privacy features by Apple, and so much more.
• As far as Meta is concerned, it is facing issues mainly because of the bad time it has chosen to start its metaverse journey. The present conditions of the economy are not suitable for the development of revolutionary technology as the consumers are already pressurized because of inflation and the shrinking cash flow for research and development.

Is There Any Chance for Meta to Change the Course?

An event, “Connect,” will happen on the 11th of October that will give Meta a chance to shift things in its favor.

It is expected that Meta will reveal its projects like VR Project Cambria, “The Quest Pro,” VR and AR Prototypes, and updates to the Horizon Worlds.

The launch of Meta’s projects can be a deciding factor for many. It can either turn the tables to show that Meta has taken the feedback seriously by coming back with impressive results from its $10 billion investment this year or prove to be the nail in the coffin by further damaging its reputation.

Meta would act according to its name by gaining investor confidence in the future when economic conditions will also start improving.

In the meantime, Meta can prioritize digital privacy to rebuild its image and improve its reputation among consumers. It would also help him win regulatory battles as well.

Statistics

Here are the statistics by eMarketer on the average time spent per day by US adult users on social media platforms in 2022. It includes individuals who are 18 years older and spend time on multiple mediums, regardless of multitasking. For instance, if one person is multitasking and spending time on both the TV and laptop, the statistics will count the time for both platforms. Also, YouTube includes all the time a person spends watching videos or YouTube TV.

TikTok is at the top of the list as 45.8 is the average time US adults spend on it. YouTube comes second with an average time of 45.6. The average time spent on Twitter is 34.8, 30.4 on Snapchat, 30.1 on Facebook, and 30.1 on Instagram. Finally, Reddit is at the lowest position as the average time spent on it is only 23.8.

Wrapping Up

The current situation poses a severe threat to Meta, leading to many costly risks. Meta is trying to regain its position, but it will take a while to catch up. However, it should make the necessary reforms to save it from further trouble instead of diverting the public’s attention from the current issues.