If you know our family, you know that we have 10 iPhones / iPads in use and everyone is a heavy user of social media. I have seen my 3 oldest migrate from one social media forum to the next over the last 5 years. Really kind of amazing to see the movement.
There is a group think mentality to these movements. It is what I call “network utility” (I think I made up this term long ago but it may have been used elsewhere). "Network utility" is the idea that something has utility (or is useful) simply because others are using it. The preference to use one social media site/forum/app over another is NOT based on the capabilities or features of the site/app but simply because others are using it. It is group think.
For what it is worth, this is what I told the reporter regarding which social media forums are the biggest with the 19 and under crowd on January 2, 2014:
- Twitter - This is number one - no doubt. It is what Facebook was years ago - the dominate social media forum for the teenage set. As Facebook stated to become saturated with adults the kids moved to Twitter. There are a number of reasons for this movement. First, everyone “cool” is on Twitter - Katy Perry, LeBron James, Justin Bieber, President Obama and (most importantly) all your teenage friends. The second reason is a little more subtle. On Twitter you can “follow” people without the baggage of being a “friend” with that person. Therefore, maybe there is someone that you are curious about or you find entertaining but you do not really want to be associated with that person. Maybe they are the “bad kid” at school or a celebrity that is continually making a name for themselves for all the wrong reasons (think Charlie Sheen). You can follow that person on Twitter without the sigma of them being your “friend.” It is a small but sometimes important subtlety for kids that are constantly concerned about what others think. Third, 140 characters or a picture forces succinct communication - perfect for the teenage attention span. Finally, most parents have not migrated to Twitter but continue to live on Facebook. That might be the number one reason Twitter continues to be the dominate social media forum for teens.
- Instagram - As you may know, Instagram is a photo sharing app that started as a iOS app. Noelle downloaded and was using Instagram in early 2011 because we would not let her get a Facebook account. Little did we know that this was the next big social media forum for teens. (As you may know, Facebook now owns Instagram). Now, Instagram is a social media mainstay for teens. That is particularly the case for the under 16 crowd who (for some reason) had an Instagram account even before it was big. Even though Instagram is an app and therefore limiting its user base to those that have a smartphone. This is not a problem for teenage adoption. Almost all teens have a smartphone and almost everyone has Instagram on that smartphone. Teens are using Instagram to communicate with pictures and short videos. These digestible bits of communication are perfect for the teenage attention span. Another reason that teens like Instagram is that your Instagram account can link to other social media sites that you may not prefer use but want to maintain your follower. For example, Instagram links to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Finally, Instagram recently released a feature called Instagram Direct. This allows users to send photos to a specific person or group instead of all your followers. This feature was viewed as a response to the popularity of Snapchat - the next forum on my list.
- Snapchat - This is the new kid in town - inviting, edgy, and different with exploding popularity. Like Instagram, Snapchat is an app and is the hottest social media forum for teenagers. Snapchat lets users send pictures, messages, and videos that are deleted seconds after being received. Originally viewed as a "safer" method for “sexting” - the app initially struggled to gain traction because teens did not want to explain to their parents why they had a sexting app on their phones. Now it seems that Snapchat has gone main stream and is just another method to communicate. I am not sure why it is so popular. Maybe because teens say and do stupid things and are attracted to the fleeting nature of the communication. This helps reduce drama because people are not able to “prove” that someone said something or posted an embarrassing picture. Again, remember this is a crowd that is sometimes oblivious but always concerned about what others think. Maybe this is just the next new thing. Whatever it is, Snapchat is huge right now. An important footnote on Snapchat is that, just in the last few days hackers were able to get the names and phone numbers of 4.5 million Snapchat users. Not exactly stellar press for a company that is founded on private communication. Note that according to several media reports, Snapchat (along with Vine and Candy Crush) was the most downloaded app of 2013.
- Vine - Another wildly popular app is Vine (owned by Twitter). Vine allows people to make 6 second repeating videos clips. Like the other 3 social media forums listed, this short communication is perfect for teens. However, the real attraction of Vine is the entertainment value. Vine is not about communication but is about entertainment. People make Vines to make others laugh or show an amazing happening. People do stupid things to be recorded under the pressure to "Do it for the Vine." I must say, there is some real creativity that comes in the form of Vines - these short interesting or funny videos. Vine is social media but with a different purpose - entertainment (not communication). Think of Vine as the alternative to YouTube for those with immensely short attention spans.
So there you have it. The social media du jour for teens.
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