REUTERS/Anushree Fadnav
- Twitter and Facebook are teenagers' least favorite social media platforms, a new survey found.
- Instagram and TikTok were their favorites, and 81% of respondents said they used the former.
- Teens are assets to social media companies as they seek to recruit more users.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
The youngsters have spoken, and their verdict? Twitter and Facebook are their least favorite social media platforms.
Piper Sandler published its bi-annual "Taking Stock With Teens" survey Tuesday, which asked 10,000 US teenagers a wide range of questions about various brands and services cross a plethora of industries.
One of them was which social service they favored most, a title that went to Snapchat. 35% of respondents said the app was their favorite, followed by 30% for TikTok and 22% for Instagram.
Just 2% said Twitter or Facebook was their favorite.
Twitter has become a hotspot for politicians, journalists, and celebrities, while Facebook has been overrun by Baby Boomers as users in the younger generation flock for photo and video-sharing platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Instagram was the most used service among teens, according to the survey, with 81% saying they use the platform. Snapchat and TikTok came in second and third, respectively.
Social media companies are hard-pressed to tap into the next generation of young users and recruit them to use their services. Facebook's Instagram has copied TikTok, beloved by Gen Z-ers, and added a short video feature to its platform.
Instagram was also working on a separate kids-centric app before pausing those plans due to backlash from lawmakers and critics. Whistleblower Frances Haugen gave internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, which showed that Facebook was aware Instagram had negative mental health effects on teenage girls and failed to disclose those findings to Congress in previous hearings.
Instagram said its kids-focused app would equip parents with special mechanisms to help them supervise their children while using it.