Refusing to embrace its true identity as the prime way moms embarrass their adult children on the internet, Facebook is launching a new app called Lifestage to compete with Snapchat for teenagers' attention.
Though anyone can download Lifestage, its full features are only available to those 21 and under. Once you turn 22, the app — which asks users biographical questions they answer with brief videos — will only permit you to view your own profile.
The app's creator is 19-year-old Michael Sayman, a Facebook product manager. Aside from dinging Snapchat, his goal was to revive the kids-only feel of early Facebook, when user accounts required a college email address. "What if I figured out a way to take Facebook from 2004 and bring it to 2016?" Sayman said, explaining his thought process. "What if every field in your profile was a full video?"
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Fortunately for those of us older than 22, we'll never have to find out.
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