Snapchat Cements Its Position As Teens’ Favorite Social Network

October 24, 2016

This article is included in these additional categories:

Digital | Media & Entertainment | Social Media | Teens & Younger | TV Audiences & Consumption | Video

piperjaffray-teens-favorite-social-platform-oct2016Snapchat is separating itself from the pack and establishing itself as the social network for teens, at least according to recent survey results from Piper Jaffray. In its latest bi-annual teen survey, Piper Jaffray found 35% of respondents naming Snapchat their favorite social platform, well ahead of the next-closest competitor, Instagram (24%).

Just 6 months earlier, Snapchat and Instagram had been in a virtual tie in teens’ assessments of both their favorite and most important social platform.

As for Facebook, whose days at the top in 2013 feel like an age ago, the news isn’t as positive. Just 13% tabbed it their favorite social platform, on par with Twitter. Moreover, Facebook engagement is on the decline: just 52% said they use it at least once a month, down from 60% in the prior survey. That 52% figure not only trails Twitter use (56%), but is far behind monthly engagement on Snapchat (80%) and Instagram (79%).

The Piper Jaffray results follow an earlier study from Edison Research and Triton Digital in which more 12-24-year-olds reported using Snapchat (72%) than Facebook (68%) and Instagram (66%). Facebook’s stronger showing in that report is likely due to the broader age range that includes young Millennials. Indeed, the Piper Jaffray research shows that Facebook use tends to be lower among younger teens: only about one-third of 14-year-olds claimed to use the platform, while more than 60% of those aged 17 and 18 said the same.

Even though its user base skews heavily towards youth (70% of its adult audience is aged 18-24, per comScore), Snapchat is “breaking into the mainstream,” according to a recent comScore study [download page]. As the third-fastest-growing mobile application of the top 25 (with a 52% year-over-year increase in unique visitors), Snapchat’s reach has increased to 41% among 25-34-year-olds and to 14% among adults aged 35 and older.

In other results from the Piper Jaffray survey:

  • Amazon Prime adoption continues to rise across all income brackets, with its reach extending from 51% of teens’ households in the last survey to 58% in this latest edition;
  • Amazon maintains its position as the most preferred website among upper-income teens;
  • YouTube (26%) overtook cable TV (25%) in daily video consumption share for the first time, with both still trailing Netflix (37%); and
  • Pandora, local radio, CDs and Sirius all lost ground in share of teen music consumption as on-demand streaming services such as Spotify increased market share.

About the Data: The latest biannual report from Piper Jaffray surveyed 10,000 US teens with an average age of 16.

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