The youth of today: no need for Facebook?
Three years ago, Facebook was still the most used social media channel among American youths, according to research from the Pew Research Center. Now young people do not so much enjoy themselves on Facebook but on other social platforms. The increasing use of smartphones among teenagers would contribute to this. What has changed in the past few years?
Facebook less popular
Figures from Pew Research Center research, conducted among more than 1,000 American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17, show that Facebook is no longer the most popular online platform among American youngsters. Only half of the American youths surveyed use Facebook. Youtube, Instagram and Snapchat are now the most used online platforms. What is striking in the research is that young people from lower-income families use Facebook more often than young people from higher income families. Another outcome is that girls indicated to use Snapchat the most and boys on YouTube.
How do young people see social media?
An average teenager often has a smartphone in hand rather than a book. An interesting question is how teenagers themselves see the influence of social media on the lives of teenagers. In the survey, 45% indicated that social media do not, in their view, have a negative and no positive effect on peers. About a third of the American teenagers surveyed saw the effects as positive, and the other teenagers found the influence of social media negative. On the positive side of social media, the teenagers mentioned things such as connectedness, interaction and keeping abreast of everything. Bullying and gossiping were mentioned primarily as a reason among teenagers who saw social media as negative for peers.
Facebook has a big job to do if the platform is to gain popularity among young people. Perhaps the new plans of Facebook with a dating service and new music services provide something.