In the past couple of months, it has been difficult not to stumble across a new report or a news article suggesting or exploring why teenagers aren’t using Twitter. A good example is a long story in the New York Times that opines that teenagers don’t have a need for Twitter.
So, here are some theories on why we are so obsessed with teenagers not using Twitter:
1. Teens are seen as leading edge or bleeding technology users so the fact they’re not jumping on the Twitter bandwagon suggests Twitter is not cool or interesting.
2. Teens love instant messaging and SMS so, in theory so shouldn’t they be be all over Twitter given its a short form messaging platform.
3. Teens love Facebook, which was the hottest social media service in 2007, so we’re puzzled why they don’t also love Twitter, the most popular social media service in 2009.
4. Teens are always looking for new friends, even if they’re digital. With Twitter, you can find new friends and attract followers so how come teens don’t use it more.
For an interesting look at methodologies used in online surveys and it relates to monitoring the activities of teenagers online, check out Fred Stutzman’s post.
5. Most teens are far from articulate to Twitter’s 140 character or less medium is ideal.
What do you think? Why are we so fascinated with teenagers and Twitter?
3 Comments
It is a rather interesting development – with so little teens using Twitter. In my own opinion – they like the interactivity of Facebook far better. Facebook, essentially, has status updates like Twitter – along with all the other bells and whistles. Great thoughts though. Really enjoyed.
I think it's because most new internet fads, traditionally, tend to grow fastest when the teen market jumps on board. As others have pointed out, there's numerous reasons why Twitter has yet to find mainstream appeal with that demographic, hence the concern about Twitter's potential for growth.
The way I see it at the moment, Twitter is something that people grow into. It's a medium that rewards people for being informative and bringing value to a conversation. While there are teens out there capable of using Twitter in this fashion, it's probably true to say that the vast majority of teens are more concerned with ephemera and triviality. They probably expect more of a "reaction" to whatever they have to say (even if it's just hundreds of friends posting "LOL!" to their latest Facebook status update), so when their few dozen followers on Twitter (probably all bots/spammers) completely ignore their latest "what I had for breakfast" update, they see no perceived value in the service and move on.
I have my own theory to help answer point 4 here:
http://sociallymediated.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/…
As for why the media fascination? Anytime something goes against "received wisdom", it shocks the public and therefore becomes a newsworthy story.