Teens Don't Use Facebook

New Kids On The Block

Facebook has about 1.23 billion monthly active users, but that big number does not necessarily include teenagers. According to a recent study by Piper Jaffray it has come to light that teenagers use Facebook less and less, preferring other social media networks.

The study reveals that only 45% of the 7,200 students interrogated answered 'yes' when asked whether they used Facebook or not. It is not surprise that the number has gone down significantly, Facebook is now almost 10 years old and no longer the young and hip social media network it used to be. Not all is lost for Facebook though because teenagers prefer using Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. According to this study, 76% of teens admitted to using Instagram. It is almost impossible to predict teenagers movements, but it seems like most parents are flocking to the 10 year old social media network, so that may be one of the reasons why teenagers are abandoning Facebook.

My parents have discovered the joys of Facebook and even Twitter but yet to have found out about Instagram, perhaps because it seems a lot harder to use than other social media networks. Furthermore it is a lot harder to find people's accounts on Facebook than on Instagram unless you're a social media wizard, which most parents aren't. Instagram provides a space to post pictures without worrying about your parents seeing it, which may be one of the reasons why it is so popular among teens.

Other social media networks such as Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Reddit's numbers have remained the same since the previous study. However, only 12% of teens use Google+, which is not a surprise as Google+ has not taken off with any age groups.

Another unsurprising statistic is that 67% of teenagers own an iPhone and 73% expect their next phone to be an iPhone. This is incredibly good news for Apple who has successfully managed to continually rebrand and redesign itself to keep on being cool to teenagers. Individuals that use Apple products as teenagers will probably continue to use choose Apple products throughout their lives.

It will be interesting to see what the next generation of teenagers will be using, as in the next ten years Facebook could have completely disappeared and Instagram will be considered old and uncool.

Laura Veit

Laura is a recent graduate from University of East Anglia in Film and Television Studies, currently interning as a content writer but hoping to one day live off her writing. Follow her @LauraAtSMF.

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