Social media usage changes with age.

As we grow older, our social media usage shifts. This may not sound like huge news, but it is of note to anyone in the industry looking to reach people. Especially people in that holy grail demographic: the kids.

The kids are moving away from Facebook slightly and spending more time on Tumbr where they aren't bombarded by ads, photos of abandoned dogs, and endless babies.

In a recent survey conducted by Survata, a consumer insights start-up, the 13-18 year olds shows 61% are using Tumblr, compared to Facebook's 55%. Small drop in the bucket, perhaps. But once we survey the 19-25 crowd, their usage is even lower.

Furthermore, Survata's investor Gary Tan, posted the findings of the sruvey on his first to advertise on a platform, a paltry 13% of 13-18 year olds, and 4% of 19-25 year olds are on Snapchat. Even allowing for a margin of error among the results, Snapchat doesn't sound like the place to get the most eyeballs on your product.

Advertising on any "new" social media site is a gamble. Even if the sole purpose is simply getting earned media in the form of PR. By the way, what good is this kind of earned media? Isn't it better to have people talking about the ads, rather than people talking about the fact you have ads?
I digress.

Looking at the results here, even if they were taken from a small sample, is one more thing to consider as we create ads for this age group, on these platforms. As our tweens and teens mature, they are spending less time on certain sites as they grow older. Not more.

It paints a more detailed picture of how we're using social media by age group so we can shift the thinking to the most appropriate site.

Which as is stands, will never be Snapchat. And for that matter, if the trajectory continues, Instagram might need a rethink, too.