Watch the full session on SMW Insider: https://socialmediaweek.org/insider/sessions/state-social-teens/

1. Teens & Social Media

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Katie Minard Victor Piñeiro

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115
85
85
80
2
Out of 120 students…
(In January, 2014)

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Streaks
Bullying
Influencers
Ephemeral media
Stories
Messaging apps
Memes gone mainstream

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Our Research
300 students
12 schools
Mostly 14-18 y/os
Cultural & socioeconomic diversity

10. What We Uncovered

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It’s a two-horse race. There is no third.

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Facebook and Twitter are
“Everyone's mom
and grandparents
are on there.”
24.8%
Use it
3%
Say it’s their
favorite app
“I have the app
downloaded but I
never use it.”
33.8%
Use it
3.8%
Say it’s their
favorite app
!

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“It’s just like
Instagram just
not as
popular.”
13.2%
Use it
3%
Say it’s their
favorite app
“It's slowly
dying and many
people prefer
Snapchat or
Instagram.”
15%
Use it
2.6%
Say it’s their
favorite app
0.9%
Say it’s their
favorite app
“It is a poor
excuse for
talent.”
7.4%
Say it’s their
favorite
messaging app
The up-and-comers aren’t " either

14. Snapchat vs. Instagram

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“You can do so many
things like see what
people are doing
constantly, message
them, video chat and
more.”
87.6%
Use it
59.4%
Say it’s their
favorite app
“You can visually see
what people want to
say but rather than
words people use
pictures and videos.”
82.5%
Use it
23.9%
Say it’s their
favorite app
Is it actually a two-horse race?

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26.9%
Use Snapchat a little bit
more than Instagram
Nope. Snapchat is
26.5%
Use Snapchat a lot more
than Instagram
#
51.7%
Say Snapchat is more
popular than Instagram at
their school
$

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Snapchat is very clearly $

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Especially when it comes to Stories
70.1%
Use Snapchat Stories
3%
Use Instagram Stories
13.7%
Use both

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Though most teens use Snaps more than Stories
7%
Say they mostly use Stories
19.7%
Say they use both equally
67.2%
Say they mostly use Snaps

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And that communication is constant
26.7%
Send 10-50 Snaps per day
19.1%
Send 100 or more Snaps per
day
17.4%
Send 5-10 Snaps per day
61.6%
Have multiple Snapchat
streaks going with lots of
friends
“People are extremely protective over
their streaks. Personally, I can't wait
until I have one over 1,000 days.”
“I constantly Snapchat my streaks to
make sure our streaks are in tact.”

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So why is Snapchat so loved?
“People enjoy the instant gratification
of Snapchat. There is immediate
interaction and response, teens crave
stimuli and attention. All of which is
possible on the app.”
“Snapchat is more personal and
resembles texting, which is unlikely to
fade in popularity.”
“Snapchat is coming up with better
and more exciting ideas.”
“Snapchat is more intimate you can
watch celebrities you follow doing
everyday things and the same with
friends on their story.You can snap
memories and more people actually
prefer using snapchat's camera then
using their own camera app.”

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Why Snapchat over Instagram?
“Because I get to actually talk to my
friends not just look at their pictures.”
“It only lasts a day and people don't
have to like it or comment; you just put
it up there and people watch.”
“Because I think it is a different
platform almost, more personal with
your friends... Instagram is more public
to people you don't know that well”
“Because Snapchat is more of a
communication thing than instagram,
and I'd rather talk to people than stare
at their posts.”
“Snapchat is more of a way to
communicate with other people and
Instagram is just looking at pictures
that people have posted. I prefer to talk
to other people than just look at
pictures of their daily activities.”
“I don't really like Instagram because we are
valued by how many likes and comments
we get instead of who we really are.”

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Ultimately it comes down to this.
Communication &
Connection
Broadcasting &
Validation
VS.

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Ultimately it comes down to this.
Communication &
Connection
Broadcasting &
Validation
VS.
● Instant Gratification
● Ephemeral
● Similar to messaging
● More playful
● Conversational
● A better camera
● STREAKS
● Post & wait
● Permanent
● Popularity barometer
● Bullying space
● Aspirational self
● Rarely used as camera
● Stories…?

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Instagram is the place for celebrities and influencers
51.6%
Follow celebs and
influencers on Snapchat
84.2%
Follow celebs and
influencers on Instagram

26. Is Facebook Really %?%

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But it’s a life stage platform
“If more than just older people used it I
would say Facebook [was my favorite
social media app] due to the fact that
it's a mix of everything.”
Instagram because when we get to
college I think we won't have time for
Snapchat and we will only have time to
update instagram every once and a
while.
As I get older I feel like my generation
will start focusing more on sharing
pictures with family and such on
instagram and not so much talking to
everyone on snapchat
Because once you get older Snapchat
will sound like a little kids app , so
most of us will be using imessage.

29. What Does
This Mean
For Us?

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Teens want to talk to each other.
Above all, teens want to use social
media to truly connect with their
friends. They want to see their friends
faces (even if they’re puking rainbows)
on Snapchat, they want to trade inside
jokes over one-to-one chat, and they
want it to be private. Unlike older
generations, their social media value
doesn’t correlate to number of likes.

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Instagram = Good For Public Figures
While teens may value one-to-one
communication and connection via
Snapchat for interacting with friends,
they’d rather see broadcasts from
celebrities and influencers on
Instagram. When utilizing influencers
and creating your own stories for a
brand, Instagram is the way to go.

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Affinity Matters
Snapchat is the king of social for teens
because they genuinely love the
platform. Because of that love they
continue to use the app constantly.
And while they like Instagram, they
love Snapchat more and that is
reflected in their usage.