My daughter’s pug has his own social media site.
We parents relentlessly post pics of our kids on Facebook and Instagram. We post pictures of our food. And yes, our dogs and cats. Do you take a look at your kids FB pages? I’ve noticed they are rarely used in my family. Kids are “snapchatting away,” something I have no clue about. I notice my daughter looking at her phone, typing hectically away and then laughing. I ask her what she’s doing. “Shapchat,” is invariably the answer. It’s a group thing, friend thing, a thing she does every day. Facebook is used to memorialize the big events in her life while Snapchat is a tool to communicate daily.
In the article “Facebook may have a grown-up problem: Young people leaving for Instagram and Snapchat” writer Jessica Guynn spells out the numbers:
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook will see a decline among teenagers in the U.S. this year, says market research firm eMarketer.
EMarketer predicts 14.5 million people ages 12 to 17 will use Facebook in 2017, a decline of 3.4% from the previous year, as they migrate to Snap’s Snapchat and Facebook’s Instagram.
Monthly Facebook usage among those under 12 and ages 18 to 24 will grow more slowly than previously forecast, too, according to eMarketer.
The forecast suggests young people are turning away from the world’s most populous social network, which reached 2 billion users this year.
You may wonder what the big deal is about kids not using Facebook as their main source of so dial media. It means advertisers aren’t getting the clicks they want, nor will they in the future. Kids who are growing up preferring other social media aren’t all of a sudden going to become FB junkies when they’re adults.
The article continues:
“What’s more: There are now “Facebook nevers,” children becoming tweens who are skipping Facebook altogether.
Snapchat usage is expected to increase this year, with the U.S. user base to grow 5.8% to 79.2 million monthly. EMarketer increased growth projections for all age groups except the oldest, with the biggest jump in young adults, ages 18 to 24 increasing nearly 20%.
Similarly, monthly Instagram usage in the U.S. will grow 23.8% in 2017 to 85.5 million. Within that figure, Instagram will expand its user base among those under 12 years old by 19% and those ages 12 to 17 by 8.8%.
I post pictures from my morning walks on Insta and FB.
In a contrary article called “Are Young People Leaving Facebook: Not Even Close” you’ll read the opposite. This was written by Kurt Wagner and is dated March 30, 2016:
“There has been a general perception over the past few years that millennials are abandoning Facebook in search of greener, less parent-friendly pastures like Snapchat and Instagram.
Not. Even. Close.
A new comScore report released Wednesday highlights data on a whole range of Internet trends. Included in the report was this chart, which shows the percentage of 18- to 34-year-old Internet users who frequent each major social network each month. It also shows how much time those users spend with each service.”
What do you see with your own kids? Do they use Facebook as much as Instagram or Snapchat? What other types of social media do they use? Do you check on what they post?
I also post pictures on FB of my kids and pets.
