Teens Are Ditching Facebook In Droves But Mark Zuckerberg Isn’t Scared Yet


deleting facebook

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A new study found that teens are ditching Facebook in droves probably because their parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are on Facebook sharing Fry squinty eye memes from 2010 and embarrassing photos from their childhood on their walls. Pew released the results from their “Teens, Social Media & Technology” survey and it shows a noteworthy departure from Facebook by teens.

The survey demonstrates a massive departure from Facebook by teens since their last social media survey back in 2015 when Facebook dominated. In 2018, 51% of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use Facebook, much lower than three years ago when the social network took the top spot with 71% usage. Facebook dropped from the most-used social media platform to the fourth spot in only three years.

The social media platforms teens say they use the most in 2018:
YouTube: 85%
Instagram: 72%
Snapchat: 69%
Facebook: 51%
Twitter: 32%
Reddit: 7%
None of the above: 3%

The social media platforms teens say they use the most in 2015:
Facebook: 71%
Instagram: 52%
Snapchat: 41%
Twitter: 33%
Google +: 33%
Vine: 24%
Tumblr: 14%

RIP Google+, Vine, and Tumblr. Despite losing major ground in the coveted battle for future users, Mark Zuckerberg might not be as worried as one would think. That is because Facebook owns Instagram. So while Facebook slipped in teen users, Instagram picked up the slack. Almost like a Facebook Jr.

Another reason why Zuckerberg isn’t losing much sleep is that Facebook owns three of the top 10 U.S. iOS apps: #4 Instagram, #6 Messenger, and #8 Facebook according to App Annie. Plus, Facebook is growing its Watch video platform to take on YouTube and has already has deals with news corporations, entertainment shows, and video personalities.

Another takeaway from the Pew survey is that 95% of teens now report they have a smartphone or access to one. With all this internet access at the tips of their fingers, it has fueled an addiction-level of online activity with 45% of teens saying they are online on a near-constant basis.

Of the teens surveyed, 31% said social media was a mostly positive experience, 45% said it was neutral, and 24% said it was mostly negative. Gaming was a given for boys where 97% played video games versus 83% for girls. Once parents start using Instagram and Snapchat more and more, teens will flock to a new social media network that might not even exist yet.

[FastCompany]