15 Stats on How Gen-Z Spends Their Time on Social Media and Mobile Messaging

As the social media and mobile messaging landscape continues to evolve, so does the behavior and interests of one very important demographic: teens and Gen-Z.

Today, Snapchat and Instagram reign supreme for high school and college students, followed closely by Facebook actually. An online study by SCG gathered data and responses to answer the question: “What Social Media Platform is the most Effective in Reaching Millennials and Gen Z?”

Here are 15 highlights of the survey’s stats and insights via The Drum:

• 88% of students surveyed use Instagram and Snapchat

• 81% of students surveyed use Facebook

• 66% of students surveyed use Twitter, and 50% say they “use it often”

• Usage of Tumblr, YouTube, and Pinterest each are below 50%

• Snapchat is most valued for keeping in touch with friends (89%)

• 78% of students surveyed said they use Snapchat daily

• 76% of students surveyed said they use Instagram daily

• 66% of students surveyed said they use Facebook daily

• 71% of students surveyed said they use Snapchat more than six times per day

• 51% of students surveyed said they use Snapchat more than 11 times per day

• 90% of Snapchat users surveyed said they enjoy the Geo-Filters

• 85% of Snapchat users surveyed said they enjoy the Snapchat Lenses

• 50% of Snapchat users surveyed said they’d feel disconnected from friends if not for Snapchat

• 25% of Snapchat users surveyed said indicated Snapchat is essential to their relationships

• Top content types of surveyed students were “real stories or day-in-the-life,” videos, “Behind-the-scenes videos,” and “How-To videos.”

Earlier in the year at #SMWNYC, Victor Pineiro (SVP, Social Media, Big Spaceship) explored the juxtaposition in the marketplace between Instagram vs. Snapchat, and mapped out the major social platforms in 2017 and beyond, especially from a Gen-Z perspective.

While Instagram is trying to attract Snapchat users with new tactics everyday, it seems like teens aren’t moving, and he explains why Snapchat is so addictive in the video below.

If you want to dive deeper into Snapchat, and what 20 different marketing experts predict to see on the platform, you can read our article that details their predictions. Also, at Social Media Week in New York earlier this year, GM of Sweet, one of Snapchat’s most popular Discover channels, discussed the power of Snapchat Discover’s content experience.

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