When it comes to which social media platforms resonate most with U.S. teens, the battle between Snapchat and Instagram continues. But the latest report on teens from Piper Sandler (formerly Piper Jaffray) shows that a new player – TikTok – has made its way onto the scene and is quickly becoming a favorite with teens. In its latest biennial survey of 5,200 US teens, Piper Sandler reveals that Snapchat remains at the top of the list of favorite social platforms, cited by a leading 36% share of respondents, as reported by Adweek. Snapchat has remained the favorite among teens since 2016. However, Instagram, which is currently the favorite social platform for almost one-third (31%) of teens surveyed, has been narrowing the gap between platforms over the past couple of years. New to the list of options presented to the teens in this latest edition of the study is TikTok. The app, which is used by one-quarter of U.S. consumers ages 12-34, is the favorite platform for 13% of teens surveyed. Previous research has indicated that the likelihood of teens (ages 13-16) using TikTok matches that of those using Facebook and Twitter, it has already surpassed these two platforms in Piper Sandler’s research, as both were the favorite of only 4% of teens each. Instagram Leads in Overall Adoption A full 85% of teens surveyed report using Instagram at least once a month, making it the top social platform for monthly engagement. Previously, teens have noted that Instagram is the best way for brands to engage with them. Last year, Quintly found that brands are stepping up their use of videos on Instagram, which were found to achieve more interactions than photos and carousels. That said, TikTok, which allows users to create and share short videos, debuts as the platform with the 3rd highest engagement among teens, with 6 in 10 (62%) saying they use the app on at least a monthly basis. This is likely a key reason why more advertisers are increasing their spend on the platform this year. Meanwhile, Snapchat (82%) retains its position as the #2 platform for monthly use, while other older platforms like Twitter (41%), Facebook (34%) and Pinterest (27%) are experiencing significantly less engagement
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