In what appears to be Facebook’s efforts to encourage teenagers to use social media more (well, they already do), the social media giant has released Lifestage, an app for teenage iPhone users. “Teenagers” indicate that the users of the app should be below 21 years old. However, anyone can download the app, but the profile visits of others are limited to teens.
When the user signs up (no need for a Facebook account for sign up) using his/her verified mobile number and email ID, the questions will begin to unlock, related to his/her likes, dislikes, dance styles, or various aspects of character, which can be answered with videos.
Besides creating own bio videos, the teens can watch the clips about their classmates. To watch the clips of the schoolmates, a minimum of 20 people should be using the app from the same school. Users from the school get notified when a student upload a profile video, rather there is a feed showing them. The viewer can skip few sections of answers or swipe through them.
“Lifestage makes it easy and fun to share a visual profile of who you are with your school network. Simply capture into a field on your profile, then post it on your profile. Once your school is unlocked, you can access the profiles of others in your school community (and all over!) so you can get to know people better in your school,” reads the description of the app.
The students with more information on the profile are ranked high. Users cannot contact others directly on the people. Instead, the teens can put their Snapchat/Instagram handle below their names. Also, a student can connect with only one school and the app doesn’t allow the user to change it. There is no interference of parents or much monitoring aspects for the app, meaning only Facebook can watch what is being uploaded on Lifestage.
The youngest product manager of Facebook Michael Sayman has created the app. According to a report by Firstpost, he wanted to “replicate the good old days of Facebook with just college students on board.” Sayman is also the creator of 4 Snaps, a turn-based photo game, which is said to be a popular app developed by a teenager.
