Is Twitter Too Public for Teens?
It's hard to think of Twitter as the underdog, but it certainly isn't in the cool crowd. The micro-blogging site is defying long-held beliefs that it takes a teenage army to bring popularity on the Web. That's right: Twitter hasn't caught on with teens, yet.The New York Times reports only about 11-percent of Twitter users are between the ages of 12 and 17. So, just how has Twitter become a social phenomenon without the younger set? There's no simple answer. Since many people use Twitter for business purposes (like marketing and keeping up with news) some teens view it as 'lame' or too grown-up. Twitter is also a very open and public form of communication, which is something many youngsters avoid, of their own volition or at protective parents' behest.
Another reason for Twitter's popularity with adults, or unpopularity with teens, might just be the simple fact that the users of social networking sites are getting older. The Times reports that a study released Tuesday by Forrester Research found that social networking in the 35- to 54-year-old age bracket increased 60-percent over the last year. Those numbers are hard to ignore, especially when you take into account that the teenage demographic -- which launched social networking sites' popularity -- now makes up only 14-percent of MySpace users and 9-percent of Facebook users.
So, maybe adults aren't as technologically inept as kids would like to think. For Twitter, that's certainly good news. Adults are a more steady demographic, anyway. Besides, pretty soon those kids will grow up and start tweeting, themselves. [From: NYTimes.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
seriousam7 said 1:02PM on 8-27-2009
Ok, do you want to know the real reason now? Twitter is seen as a gimped Facebook. With everything removed except for status updates, it's like a lite Facebook that's easy enough for older people who don't understand Facebook to use. Facebook came first, and we understand it, and like it. Why would we want to join yet another social networking site that has LESS features than the one we're used to?
Also, from another point of view, Twitter is seen as 'texting with a keyboard,' sort of, for people(mostly older people), who cant/don't like texting on a phone. And with
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seriousam7 said 1:05PM on 8-27-2009
Oh great, dunno how that happened. But what I was gonna say is that, with less characters allowed per message, why would we Twitter instead of text?
In conclusion, Twitter IS Facebook, stripped of most of its features, so it is an unnecessary site. I don't see why people who use Twitter understand all this.
seriousam7 said 1:08PM on 8-27-2009
Bah, correction to the last sentence. "I don't see why people who use Twitter *cant* understand all this."
Chad said 1:17PM on 8-27-2009
You don't have any friends do you?
seriousam7 said 2:59PM on 8-27-2009
Yes, I do, and I hang out with them and do stuff with them in REAL LIFE, I don't need to be in touch with them on 5 different networking sites.
Chad said 6:04PM on 8-27-2009
WHOOSH
I was referring to the fact you keep replying to yourself as if to be carrying on a conversation.
seriousam7 said 6:25PM on 8-27-2009
Cool story bro