Guess the favorite social media of young Americans! Does Meta, which has been eliminated, still have a chance?

It is learned that according to the latest survey released by Forrester, the usage of TikTok among young people in the United States has surged, but the usage of Instagram has decreased.

Social media popular among young Americans

Data shows that this year, 63% of American teenagers aged 12 to 17 use TikTok weekly, compared to 57% for Instagram. In 2020, Instagram took the lead among this group, with 61% using the platform, compared to 50% for TikTok.

When looking further into these trends, Forrester found that users rated TikTok as more “fun” than Instagram and had a more positive experience overall.

However, TikTok is not the number one social media app among Generation Z in the United States, and YouTube is still the most commonly used social media app by American teenagers. Forrester said that 72% of American teenagers use YouTube weekly in 2021, up from 69% in 2020. 54% of American Generation Z use Snapchat weekly, the same as in 2020.

Overall, this seems to reveal the social media usage trends of young Americans. YouTube and TikTok are now leading in their respective fields (although YouTube is also trying to eat into TikTok's market share through "short videos"), while Instagram and Facebook have fallen further behind, and the negative news surrounding Facebook and its appeal to older users have weakened its overall competitiveness.

Meta’s Turnaround

Meta recognized the threat of TikTok early on and launched Instagram Reels in Brazil in late 2019, but the arrival of Reels did not slow down TikTok's expansion. Facebook has also raised security concerns related to the Chinese-owned app with U.S. government officials and has since launched Reels on Facebook. However, TikTok continues to snatch young users and relegate Instagram to a secondary position.

This is a major focus for Meta, especially as it looks at its massive Metaverse transformation. A key factor in all technology trends is youth adoption and getting younger, more tech-savvy, more trendsetting users on board.

Meta needs to maintain its hold on young people to maximize its chances in the next phase. It still has a chance to win, especially if it can establish itself as a fundamental supporting layer for the wider metaverse and the worlds that other developers and platforms build in virtual space. However, there are some major risks if Instagram continues to lose ground.

The question then is can Meta actually win back younger users, or is it too late as TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat have all replaced its popularity among teenage users in various ways? This will be a key factor to watch in 2022, but there’s no denying that Meta will continue to make inroads with young people.

Editor ✎ Xiao Zhu/

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