There has been a lot of discussion recently about whether or not teens are using Twitter. In a recent article, the New York Times shares some interesting statistics about teen’s usage of the popular micro-blogging platform as well as other social media sites. The New York Times sites that just 11% of Twitter’s users fall into the teen category.
While 11% is indeed a small make-up of the Twitter population, when compared to teen usage of other online networks its in perfect line with typical trends. Teens make up only 14% and 9% of MySpace and Facebook user base respectively.
The New York Times article points out that “the notion that children are essential to a new technology’s success has proved to be largely a myth”. Adults have been the driving force behind that success of Twitter.
Because of adults, Twitter has evolved into a tool of mass connecting. While teens would just as soon use online social networking as an extension of their offline social circles, adults have harnessed the power of Twitter and turned it into something much more – teens weren’t necessary.
So, are teens using Twitter? Well, yes they are, in the same rate as they are using any other social network. But honestly, who cares? Teens are largely using the network to extend their personal relationships even more - not create new ones, not to connect with their favorite brands and not to share knowledge and information. To teens, Twitter is nothing more than “what they are doing”.
This post also appears on the MGH WOM Blog at http://mghwom.com/blog/2009/08/26/do-teens-really-not-use-twitter/
