Zuckerberg’s Radical Plan to Fix Facebook: Wipe Everyone’s Friends List?

For years, Facebook has been the social media giant that defined online connection but lately, it’s been losing its grip. Internal emails from 2022, revealed during Meta’s ongoing antitrust trial, show CEO Mark Zuckerberg openly worrying about Facebook’s fading cultural influence. Despite steady user engagement, he admitted that the platform no longer feels as essential as it once did.

Zuckerberg’s concerns weren’t unfounded. Younger users have flocked to TikTok, Instagram, and even Twitter (now X), leaving Facebook feeling like a digital relic. The problem? Facebook’s core model built on “friending” rather than “following” now feels outdated. As Zuckerberg himself noted, people’s friend lists are often stale, filled with old connections rather than the people they want to engage with.

The “OG Facebook” Revival Plan

In January 2025, Zuckerberg announced a bold strategy: a return to “OG Facebook”—the early days when the platform was purely about connecting with friends. The first major step? A revamped Friends tab, which strips away algorithm-driven recommendations and instead surfaces only posts from actual friends—birthdays, life updates, and shared memories.

This move isn’t just cosmetic. It’s an acknowledgment that Facebook’s shift toward viral content, news, and marketplace features diluted its original purpose. “The magic of friends has fallen away,” Meta admitted in a blog post. By bringing back a simpler, friend-focused experience, the company hopes to recapture what made Facebook special in the first place.

But is nostalgia enough?

The “Friending” Problem

One of Facebook’s biggest hurdles is its fundamental structure. Unlike Instagram or Twitter, where users freely follow public figures and creators, Facebook’s “friending” system requires mutual approval a model that now feels cumbersome.

Zuckerberg even floated a radical idea in internal emails: wiping everyone’s friend lists clean and letting users rebuild their networks from scratch. While this idea was deemed too risky (imagine the backlash!), it highlights just how desperate Meta is to modernize Facebook’s social graph.

Other proposed fixes include:

• Ditching “friending” entirely in favor of a “following” model, even for private accounts.
• Phasing out “liking” Pages, which have become less relevant as users engage more with influencers on other platforms.
• Doubling down on Groups, though Zuckerberg admitted that after years of investment, they still haven’t replaced the core social experience.

The Bigger Challenge: Competing with Itself

Ironically, one of Facebook’s biggest competitors is its sibling, Instagram. Emails show Zuckerberg wrestling with how to differentiate the two platforms without cannibalizing their audiences. “Right now, IG is doing well on cultural relevance, and FB isn’t,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, TikTok’s algorithmic feed has redefined social media consumption, making Facebook’s reliance on friend-based content feel archaic. Even Meta’s own Reels—designed to compete with TikTok haven’t fully solved the problem, as Zuckerberg noted that they often feel less “social” and more like passive consumption.

Will “OG Facebook” Work?

The revamped Friends tab is just the beginning. Meta plans to roll out more retro-inspired features this year, betting that users crave the simplicity of early Facebook. But the real test will be whether younger generations—who grew up on TikTok and Instagram—will even care.

Zuckerberg’s gamble hinges on one question: Can Facebook reclaim its cultural relevance by going backward instead of forward? If the answer is no, Meta may need to consider even more drastic changes—or risk watching Facebook fade into irrelevance.

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