If you didn’t already suspect it, now a survey has officially declared that Instagram is more popular than Facebook among young people.
The survey was carried out by Piper Jaffray, an investment bank and asset management company, as part of their biannual investigation. After asking 8,600 American teens, their results revealed that just over a third of teens were using Facebook at least once a month – a significant 52 per cent decrease since spring 2016, when monthly usage was at 60 per cent.
It’s not too much of a bother for Zuckerberg, who also happens to own Instagram, However, the survey found teens declared their dislike for Facebook above all other social media platforms. Many have accused the platform of spreading “fake news”, disrupting political campaigns and harming democracy. Contrary to the belief that Snapchat (also owned by Facebook) is dead, even this app exceeded Facebook’s popularity, with 46 percent of teens saying the instant picture messaging app was their favourite way to connect online. We do know that Snapchat has had some weird effects on its users though, as we previously reported on a concerning number of young people turning to cosmetic surgery to look more like the app's filters, in cases of ‘Snapchat dysmorphia’.
The social media giant still has 2.23 billion viewers, but has taken a serious blow to it’s facade of sharing and inclusivity this year. Following on from scandals like Cambridge Analytica, when whistleblowers Chris Wylie and Shahmir Sanni exposed the website as a threat to democracy with the Brexit vote and serious cases of data harvesting, many have grown to distrust the site. Also, as previously reported, ‘seen’ messages on Facebook mess with your mental health, so no wonder teens are steering clear.