But teens in rich families are less likely to use Facebook
Facebook is still the top social media platform among Americans aged 13 to 17, according to a survey about teens and social media published Thursday by Pew Research Center.
Though many recent reports have suggested teens are increasingly ditching the site for Twitter and Snapchat, Pew’s survey indicates that not only is Facebook the platform used by the most teens (71%), it’s also the platform teens say they use the most (41%).
Interestingly, Facebook isn’t the platform on which teens themselves are most popular. Pew surveyed teens on their numbers of friends or followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and found that the typical teen had the most followers on Instagram (145 followers). It’s also worth noting that over one-third of teens had no idea how many friends or followers they had, which pushes back against the stereotype of the “narcissistic millennial” who celebrates milestone follow-counts:
Still, Facebook’s lead over competing platforms gets smaller as teens’ household incomes increase, Pew’s survey said. Whereas Facebook was the most used platform for 51% of teens in homes with less than $30,000 of income, it was the most used platform for only 31% of teens in homes with over $100,000 of income. In the latter bracket, Instagram is a close second to Facebook at 25%, though they’re not exactly rivals—Facebook acquired the photo app back in 2012.