Facebook might be losing its appeal among teens, with other social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube emerging as the new hot destination in the US, the latest research conducted by Pew has revealed. Among these, YouTube emerged at the top of the heap with 85 percent respondents said they visit the site most often.
Coming second in popularity is Instagram that is favored by 72 percent of those polled while Snapchat comes in at a close third with 69 percent user base. The most striking development is, of course, Facebook which has slipped to the fourth slot with a 51 percent rating.
All of this also marks a significant shift in user preference given that Facebook used to be the most preferred destination for the teens in the 13 to 17 years age group. That was according to a survey conducted in 2014 and 2015 when 71 percent said they used to frequently visit the site.
The survey also revealed the teen’s shift in preference can somehow be attributed to the rise in usage of smartphones. As has come to the fore, its 95 percent teens said they now have access to a smartphone. That again makes for a jump of 22 percent points given that 73 percent teens in the US got to use a smartphone about three years back. Further, 45 percent of the teens said they are online almost always, compared to that being 21 percent three years back.
The change in usage patterns also makes for an interesting development for Facebook. For a while, the social site is witnessing a huge drop in its usage among the teen community, that sort of is getting made up by the rise of Instagram during the same time. However, there still is stiff competition from Snapchat in the process, many of whose signature features have again been blatantly copied by Instagram.
Another revelation that the Pew research has revealed is that gaming is still a male bastion, with almost cent percent being into it. However, the girls aren’t too far off either, with 83 percent said they too have been playing games.