Teens & Tech

Phil: And if you look at the stats again there's this new report that just came out about teens and social media. And what we've seen from 2014 to 2022 is Facebook has dropped from 71% of teens using Facebook down to 32%. Instagram up 52% to 62%, TikTok 67%. But can you guess what the number one social media outlet is for teens? 

Sally: What's that? 

Phil: It is YouTube. You know, we've long talked about YouTube being the new search engine and how powerful it is. And you know, there's no question that whether you be teens or baby boomers or anything in between, you know, more people are gravitating towards TikTok. But when I read this study, what I really worried about is, and we don't know if this gonna happen or not, but Elon Musk, with this whole Twitter phenomenon. And if in fact he does buy it, in 2014, 33% of teens use Twitter. Now in 2022, it's down to 23%. So I'm just wondering how teens, and, you know, you could ask Eli and Rosalee, how they feel or what they think about Elon Musk, you know, is this gonna bring back, you know, teens to Twitter? Or is it just, you know, another flash in the pan here.

Sally: Well, it will be interesting to see the Twitter app, isn't in my opinion, much of a rival to TikTok or YouTube, where kids are really enjoying the video aspect of it. And, you know, it's funny bringing up Facebook and the drop in interest with younger people on Facebook. You know, my kids will say things to me like, "Oh, mom, are you a Facebook mom?" You know, they think it's for old people and it's not interesting to them, but you know, they do. They wanna see those quick videos and they wanna be entertained. And I'm not sure that even though Elon Musk is kind of a superhero to younger kids for his inventions and his ideas, the platform of Twitter doesn't really have what TikTok and YouTube have. 

Phil: No. And especially when we look at food, for example, I mean, some of the food videos that are on TikTok are exceptional and YouTube as well. But when I look at these food influencers on TikTok, it blows me away. They're creative, they're fun, there's new ideas all the time. And yeah, I'll bet you that, you know, TikTok is gonna continue to become even more important with this generation and every generation.