Social networks are an important part of young people’s daily lives. According to the Internet Monitor, they remain loyal to their apps for a long time.
Social media platforms continue to be popular with young people. Not quite as strong as in times of lockdowns and distance learning. But the level is still high, as a current survey by Saferinternet shows. The frontrunners show that Austria’s young people remain true to their platforms: WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram remain the three most popular platforms. The Discord network, which is particularly popular in the gaming scene, is losing users in Austria. The instant photo app BeReal is a rising star.
As every year, the monitor from the Institute for Youth Culture Research was determined with the support of the Youth State Secretariat in the Federal Chancellery. For eight years, the survey has shown how social media is used by Austria’s young people. 400 young people from all over Austria between the ages of eleven and 17 took part in the online survey, which is representative of this population group.
96 percent of young people use WhatsApp, followed closely by YouTube at 94 percent. Instagram, on the other hand, seems a bit behind with 75 percent. It is followed by the video app TikTok, which has slipped into the focus of politics in recent weeks. 68 percent of young people use the app, 80 percent of them daily. The same applies to Snapchat, which recorded the strongest year-on-year increase in daily use, up nine percentage points.
Discord loses
The chat platform Discord dropped out of the top six (34 percent overall, including 40 percent daily), which lost a full twelve percentage points of its young users in a year-on-year comparison. The opportunity to meet friends again in person after the pandemic and lockdowns is reflected here. The digital pinboard Pinterest (39 percent overall, including 16 percent daily) even overtook Discord this year. The messenger service Telegram recorded a seven percentage point decline (a total of only 17 percent, of which 32 percent daily), is no longer in the top 14 for the first time and has therefore fallen out of the ranking of the Jugend-Internet-Monitor.
However, the BeReal instant photo platform, which is currently growing rapidly and is now used by 18 percent of the young people surveyed, is new in the ranking, 71 percent of whom are already using it daily. Here, users are asked every day to upload unedited photos.
differences between girls and boys
Gender usage also showed significant differences. Pinterest continues to be significantly more popular with the female target group (58 percent) than with young males (21 percent). In contrast, the gaming platforms Twitch (girls: 13 percent, boys: 38 percent) and Discord (girls: 14 percent, boys: 54 percent) are used by significantly more male adolescents. Reddit (girls: nine percent, boys: 30 percent) is also particularly popular with boys. The Roblox gaming platform, which is used with the same frequency (21 percent each), remains an exception.
For the third time, the Youth Internet Monitor surveyed which and how often music and video streaming platforms are used by young people in Austria. 75 percent of young people primarily use Netflix, 38 percent of them daily. Spotify (68 percent, of which 64 percent is daily), Amazon Prime Video (58 percent, of which 19 percent is daily), Sky (17 percent, of which 26 percent is daily), Apple Music (12 percent, of which 57 percent is daily) follow at a considerable distance. , Soundcloud (ten percent, of which 27 percent daily) and Dazn (eleven percent, of which 29 percent daily). The survey also showed that the streaming services Netflix (girls 80 percent, boys 70 percent) and Disney+ (girls 41 percent, boys 33 percent) are used by significantly more female than male adolescents.
“The study shows once again that social media is an important part of young people’s lives. That’s why it’s important for us to show that social media doesn’t always reflect reality. Often only the sunny side of life is illuminated, but also the intentional dissemination of false information is constantly increasing,” said Secretary of State for Youth Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP). Therefore, together with Saferinternet.at, a comprehensive service package was made available for young people, parents, teachers and clubs.
>>> Saferinternet.at
(APA/bagre)