The Facebook phenomenon goes like this: Teens created it, and became the primary users. Then it spread to the “grown-ups,” and the kids are quickly losing interest, according to information from a recent earnings call that cited “a decrease in daily users specifically among younger teens.”
Is the same thing happening to Twitter?
The reverse, actually. Twitter began as a platform used by a “decidedly older group,” according to research cited by the New York Times a few years ago. As traditional early adopters, this older group was unusual for a digital platform.
And these days it’s the kids who are adopting it and making it their platform of choice, according to Peter Kafka of AllThingsD.com.
“Now Twitter is enjoying a youth movement,” says Kafka, who shares data from comScore to support the claim.
It appears that Twitter is the number one social platform for young people ages 13-34 in the United States. It is edged out by LinkedIn by the time they reach 35, and Facebook never breaks into the top spot in any age category. World-wide user data shows similar results.
Kafka is leaning toward bullish on Twitter’s future, pointing to the platform’s move toward mainstream. “If kids are coming to it now, that has to be a good thing, right?” he ponders.
Perhaps, although the key remains to see how Twitter can make money. We wonder if the kids will become jaded with the commercialism, and how much of a role adverts have played in Facebook’s fall from teen grace.
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