3 minutes
Despite the real prospect of TikTok becoming the most popular social media platform among U.S. teens, a new report from Piper Sandler reveals that this is not the case.
These results are based on a survey of 10,000 teens in the United States with an average age of 15.8.
Snapchat has increased the gap with TikTok, its closest competitor.
Snapchat was voted the favorite social media platform by 35% of teens, and TikTok by 30% — this is interesting because, in Spring 2021, Snapchat (31%) and TikTok (30%) were virtually deadlocked for the title of teen favorite.
TikTok seems to have stopped growing in popularity despite being favored by GenZ and adults in general. The platform’s popularity has declined significantly from 13% to 30% of teens citing TikTok as their favorite in Spring 2020 to 30% a year later.
In the meantime, Instagram is still in decline. A mere 22% of teens voted Instagram their preferred social media platform, compared to 25% a year ago. Likewise, Facebook and Twitter are still less attractive, with only 2% choosing one or the other as their favorite social media platform.
Instagram is still ahead of the game in engagement.
According to the survey, teens spend an average of 4.2 hours per day on social media. Even though Instagram was ranked third among teens as their favorite social media platform, it still has the highest engagement — 81% of teens visit Instagram at least once a month. However, this is a decrease from the 84% who stated the same thing a year ago.
Snapchat’s monthly usage also fell slightly from 80% to 77% in Fall 2020, while TikTok engagement increased to 73% from 69% in Fall 2020.
And, once again, Twitter (38%), Pinterest (33%), and Facebook (27%) saw much lower rates of teen engagement.
Teen spending trends revealed
Piper Sandler also examined where teens spend their money. The most recent survey found that teens report spending an average of $2,274 annually, increasing 6% over last year.
Clothing accounts for 22% of teens’ purchases — 2014 was the last time it was their #1 priority. Additionally, clothing is the top-ranked item in upper-income females’ wallets, accounting for 29% — the highest since 2013.
Around two-thirds (67%) of teens identify themselves as gamers, a slight decrease from 69% last year. The report estimates that teens will spend 14% on video games in the coming year, an average of $209 per person.