So much is talked about of the Millennial Generation, those born between 1981 and 1997. But what about those that are coming after them? What about those born after 1997? What about Gen Z and social media?
As it turns out, Instagram is the most popular website among today’s teenagers. As of fall 2015, 33% of teens use Instagram. That’s triple the percentage of teens who used it back in fall 2012, only three years ago. The second and third most popular social media sites among Gen Z’ers are Twitter and Snapchat. Twitter has been steady over the past three years, but Snapchat usage has skyrocketed. But one statistic really caught my eye. In fall 2012, the percentage of teens who don’t social network at all was seven percent. Guess what that number is in fall 2015? Zero percent! Then there’s Facebook. In the fall of 2012, Facebook was the most popular social media site among teenagers. Over half logged on Facebook on a daily basis. By 2015, Facebook is ranked fourth among teens. Only 15% use it on a regular basis today. Other social media sites getting lower scores are Tumblr, Pinterest, and Google/YouTube. The ‘other’ category got eight percent.
What is most shocking is Facebook’s decline among teenagers. I think I know why the numbers are so low among Gen Zers. It’s because Facebook is getting so popular among their parents. Facebook usage among adults 18-49 has skyrocketed lately. And the kids today can’t have that, can they? ?But Gen Z is our future. Facebook needs to do something to get this demographic back. In fact, it’s obvious all social media need to cater to this demographic. These statistics prove that nobody under 18 is refusing to use social media. In school, they’re even teaching elementary school children the Internet and social media to get them comfortable in using it. My elementary school days consisted of Oregon Trail. So this is a demographic social media firms can’t ignore, if they want to stay in business for the long run. What can they do to make that happen?