Snapchat: The Most Popular Social Media Among U.S. Teens

The Briefing

• Snapchat is the most popular social media app among U.S. teens
• 34% of teen respondents picked Snapchat as their favorite platform, compared to 29% who chose TikTok, and 25% who chose Instagram

Snapchat: The Most Popular Social Media Among U.S. Teens

The teens have spoken, and they’ve chosen Snapchat as their favorite social media platform.

When asked to pick their favorite social media platform in a recent survey, more than a third chose Snapchat:

This is slightly lower than last year when 41% of teens picked Snapchat as their favorite. Despite a small dip, the company still holds its dominance in the U.S. teen market over rivals Instagram and TikTok – at least for now.

Teens are Keeping Snap Alive

Snapchat has Gen Z to thank when it comes to keeping the company afloat. Since Snap’s IPO in 2017, the company has faced a mountain of challenges from competitors, including the rollout of Instagram Stories and ad monetization.

In March 2017, Snap entered the public market at $27 a share, and right off the bat, shares entered a downward spiral. The lows were met at the $5 range in December 2018, -81% from the IPO.

Yet today, potentially thanks to its dedicated U.S. teen fanbase, Snap is at all-time highs. The company is now valued at $73 billion and has managed to convert those same headwinds into considerable tailwinds.

Snap has 249 million daily active users, and their average revenue per user stands at $2.73 as of Q3’20—over double the $1.21 figure in Q1’18.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Piper Sandler’s 40th Semi-Annual Taking Stock With Teens Survey Fall 2020, via Marketing Charts
Notes: 9,800 teens were included in the survey, across 48 U.S. states.