Are Teens Moving Away From Facebook?
Are Teens Moving Away From Facebook?

by Cian Laurence

It is no secret that Facebook is the most globally accepted social networking platform.

An estimated one billion people log in to Facebook daily. It continues its exponential growth with about 700,000 profiles created daily. It seems like all generations are participants in the Facebook phenomenon, but that does not necessarily mean that the platform is everyone’s first choice.

When Facebook first launched in 2006, it was targeted at college students exclusively and later expanded its accessibility to include the general public. Prior to Facebook, millennials got their first taste of social networking from MySpace. Facebook’s popularity grew quickly amongst this population over the past 10 years with young people adding friends and classmates to their profiles. The platform was new, fresh and exciting. No one had ever used such a concise, interactive and personal social networking site before. Having a Facebook profile was more than just an account; it was a huge social trend that swept millions across the country and around the world.

However, teens today have a different view of Facebook. While the platform is not exactly passe, it doesn’t have the huge appeal it did a decade ago. The sense of immediacy and accessibility of plenty of social networks have captured the appeal of teens and their short attention spans in ways that Facebook has failed to. Here’s where teens are going:

Instagram

With more than 300 million active users, teens gravitate towards Instagram for its visual layout. Only photos and videos can be posted on this platform which sparks more of a creative fire than for those using Facebook. Teens today may favor Instagram because they are able to have a profile that displays their life without having to input where they go to school or where they live.

Snapchat

Imagine an app where you can immediately update your friends on what you’re doing via photo or video and have it disappear twenty-four hours later. Snapchat just does that, and it’s taking teenagers around the world by storm. Unlike other social platforms, users can’t comment or like posts. The app provides a sense of realness that makes teens feel less self-conscious about posting small details about their lives. Snapchat was built for today’s generation, digital natives.

Twitter

Although each Twitter post is limited to only 140 characters, it’s enough for teens today to flock over to the platform to post about how their day is going, boast about the things that interest them or rant about what’s bothering them. With the ability to retweet topics and information you like and stay up to date with current events and trends, Twitter is extremely popular among the youngest generation. Many teens favor Twitter to express themselves without having the pressure of their family members seeing their posts.

Social media is increasingly the most popular mode of communication for teens and the three key players are Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Facebook will most likely always be a cornerstone when it comes to social networking, but that doesn’t take away from the wild popularity of these newer platforms. 

 

Cian Laurence, a Brooklyn-based writer hailing from Dublin, has a passion for technology & apps and uses free Wi-Fi whenever it's available.

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