Explore our Social Media Marketing Toolkit

Which social networks are most popular with teenagers? [#DigitalInsights]

Author's avatar By Susanne Colwyn 04 Aug, 2015
Essential Essential topic

It's maybe not the social networks you expect

13-17 year-olds are the 'digital natives' and with 92% of teens are online on a daily basis, if you are looking to advertise to this market, it pays to know what social platforms they are using.

So which social media platform is the most popular with teens?

The 2015 update of Mary Meeker's Mobile marketing 2015 analysis shows that it's certainly not the case that Facebook isn't used by the teenage audience, but across this heterogeneous age group, Instagram and Snapchat are growing while Facebook and Twitter have declined in popularity between 2014 and 2015.

teen social media use

A recent study from Pew Research Centre highlights that over 70% of teens are using Facebook and these 13-17 year olds are still sharing content across more than one social network. The findings show that Instagram and Snapchat are also actively being used:

Pew Research Centre social media platforms for teens

The report also identifies that there are socio-economic and gender differences in social activity, as boys use Facebook more than girls (45% vs 36%), though this reverses when looking at Instagram and Tumblr.

We were very surprised that Facebook is so popular, given they are starting to advertise to encourage this audience as they felt there were concerns amongst the teens that it couldn't provide them with privacy and anonymity. Last year both membership and activity was seen to decline compared to other networks:

social media platform membership and activity - 2014

If you're looking for broader 2015 social media marketing stats - see our compilation page which includes other recommended sources.

Author's avatar

By Susanne Colwyn

Susanne is a Marketing Consultant and Trainer, with over 20 years marketing experience in the public and private sector. She's passionate about supporting companies with practical result driven marketing, to help focus companies on evaluating and driving their marketing forward. Experienced in Integrated Strategic Marketing Planning, Data Segmentation, Customer Relationship Management Systems, Customer Insight and reviewing internal systems, data and processes, to maximise conversion strategies and the customer experience. You can connect with her via her LinkedIn or follow her @Qtymarketing.

Recommended Blog Posts