Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018
Comment of the Day

June 04 2018

Commentary by Eoin Treacy

Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018

This article by Monica Anderson and Jingjing Jiang for the Pew Research center may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

Until recently, Facebook had dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth – but it is no longer the most popular online platform among teens, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Today, roughly half (51%) of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 say they use Facebook, notably lower than the shares who use YouTube, Instagram or Snapchat.

This shift in teens’ social media use is just one example of how the technology landscape for young people has evolved since the Center’s last survey of teens and technology use in 2014-2015. Most notably, smartphone ownership has become a nearly ubiquitous element of teen life: 95% of teens now report they have a smartphone or access to one. These mobile connections are in turn fueling more-persistent online activities: 45% of teens now say they are online on a near-constant basis.

Eoin Treacy's view

Capturing the attention of teens is a never-ending challenge which is why Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram was such a coup. However, many kids are now using Kik and Telegram which is a sign that the metrics for measuring user engagement is a constantly moving feast.

Facebook hit a new closing high on Friday and a clear downward dynamic would be required to question medium-term scope for additional upside.

Alphabet has bounced back from the psychological $1000 level and is rapidly approaching the previous peak near $1200.

Twitter broke out to new recovery highs today.

Snap has steadied from the region of the $10 area following the collapse in May but will need to sustain a move above the trend mean to confirm a return to demand dominance beyond the short term.

Mary Meeker’s annual report on trends in the tech sector makes a particular point of highlighting the fact that internet penetration is now above 50% globally. The cost of new user acquisition is rising as a result. That is why companies like Facebook and Google are so interested in developing satellite internet coverage for the global but most especially Africa where the bulk of population growth is coming from.

Shopify also broke out to new all-time highs today to reassert its uptrend.

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