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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/01/facebook-teens-leaving-instagram-snapchat-study-user-numbers
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| Teens are abandoning Facebook in dramatic numbers, study finds | Teens are abandoning Facebook in dramatic numbers, study finds |
| (5 months later) | |
| Teenagers have abandoned Facebook in favour of other social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, according to a study from the Pew Research Center. | Teenagers have abandoned Facebook in favour of other social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, according to a study from the Pew Research Center. |
| Just 51% of US individuals aged 13 to 17 say they use Facebook – a dramatic plunge from the 71% who said they used the social network in Pew’s previous study in 2015, when it was the dominant online platform. | Just 51% of US individuals aged 13 to 17 say they use Facebook – a dramatic plunge from the 71% who said they used the social network in Pew’s previous study in 2015, when it was the dominant online platform. |
| In this year’s study reported Facebook use was, according to Pew, “notably lower” than the percentage of teens who said they used YouTube (85%), Instagram (72%) or Snapchat (69%). In the previous study, just 52% of teens said they used Instagram, while 41% said they used Snapchat. YouTube was not included in the 2014-2015 survey. | In this year’s study reported Facebook use was, according to Pew, “notably lower” than the percentage of teens who said they used YouTube (85%), Instagram (72%) or Snapchat (69%). In the previous study, just 52% of teens said they used Instagram, while 41% said they used Snapchat. YouTube was not included in the 2014-2015 survey. |
| Use of Facebook was markedly higher among lower-income teens, with 70% of those living in households earning less than $30,000 a year using the platform, compared with just 36% of those whose annual family income is $75,000 or more. | Use of Facebook was markedly higher among lower-income teens, with 70% of those living in households earning less than $30,000 a year using the platform, compared with just 36% of those whose annual family income is $75,000 or more. |
| When asked which of the online platforms teens used the most, only 10% said Facebook. Thirty-five percent said Snapchat, 32% said YouTube and 15% said Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook. | When asked which of the online platforms teens used the most, only 10% said Facebook. Thirty-five percent said Snapchat, 32% said YouTube and 15% said Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook. |
| “Again, lower-income teens are far more likely than those from higher income households to say Facebook is the online platform they use most often (22% v 4%),” states the report, titled Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018. | “Again, lower-income teens are far more likely than those from higher income households to say Facebook is the online platform they use most often (22% v 4%),” states the report, titled Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018. |
| There were also some differences connected to gender and ethnicity. Girls are more likely to identify Snapchat as their most used site (42% v 29%) while boys were more likely to say YouTube (39% v 25%). Black teens are more likely than white teens to identify Facebook as their go-to platform (26% v 7%), while white teens (41%) are more likely to identify Snapchat as their most-used platform compared with Hispanic (29%) or black (23%) teens. | There were also some differences connected to gender and ethnicity. Girls are more likely to identify Snapchat as their most used site (42% v 29%) while boys were more likely to say YouTube (39% v 25%). Black teens are more likely than white teens to identify Facebook as their go-to platform (26% v 7%), while white teens (41%) are more likely to identify Snapchat as their most-used platform compared with Hispanic (29%) or black (23%) teens. |
| This is not the first study to indicate that teens are leaving Facebook. In February this year, an eMarketer study estimated that Facebook’s user base among Americans aged 12-17 declined by 9.9% in 2017 – almost three times greater than the same research firm had predicted in August of 2017. The company predicted that Facebook would lose a further 2.1 million American users under the age of 25 this year. | This is not the first study to indicate that teens are leaving Facebook. In February this year, an eMarketer study estimated that Facebook’s user base among Americans aged 12-17 declined by 9.9% in 2017 – almost three times greater than the same research firm had predicted in August of 2017. The company predicted that Facebook would lose a further 2.1 million American users under the age of 25 this year. |
| “This is something we have observed anecdotally for a long time,” said the eMarketer analyst Paul Verna, who said his own daughters – aged 17 and 14 – are the perfect representative case study. | “This is something we have observed anecdotally for a long time,” said the eMarketer analyst Paul Verna, who said his own daughters – aged 17 and 14 – are the perfect representative case study. |
| “When the 17-year-old turned 13, getting a Facebook account was a rite of passage. Not long after she got the account she realised she didn’t have much use for it. When the younger one turned 13 she didn’t even lobby for a Facebook account. It was all about Instagram for her and still is,” he said. | “When the 17-year-old turned 13, getting a Facebook account was a rite of passage. Not long after she got the account she realised she didn’t have much use for it. When the younger one turned 13 she didn’t even lobby for a Facebook account. It was all about Instagram for her and still is,” he said. |
| “It’s a big plus that Facebook owns Instagram, but this is a problem for their flagship brand and platform that they really need to sink their teeth into.” | “It’s a big plus that Facebook owns Instagram, but this is a problem for their flagship brand and platform that they really need to sink their teeth into.” |
| Teens are highly prized by social platforms for a number of reasons: people tend to take their habits with them as they age, they give platforms the “cool factor” and attract advertisers. | Teens are highly prized by social platforms for a number of reasons: people tend to take their habits with them as they age, they give platforms the “cool factor” and attract advertisers. |
| In Verna’s view, this demographic shift is a “greater existential threat” to Facebook than the privacy concerns to have emerged following the Cambridge Analytics scandal. | In Verna’s view, this demographic shift is a “greater existential threat” to Facebook than the privacy concerns to have emerged following the Cambridge Analytics scandal. |
| Other findings in this year’s Pew study include the fact that 95% of teens now say they have access to a smartphone – up from 73% in the 2015 survey. Some 45% of teens say they use the internet “almost constantly”, around twice as many as the 24% who said this in 2015. | Other findings in this year’s Pew study include the fact that 95% of teens now say they have access to a smartphone – up from 73% in the 2015 survey. Some 45% of teens say they use the internet “almost constantly”, around twice as many as the 24% who said this in 2015. |
| Despite the teen exodus, Facebook remains the world’s largest social platform with 2.2 billion monthly users. | Despite the teen exodus, Facebook remains the world’s largest social platform with 2.2 billion monthly users. |
| Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. | Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. |
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