But they like Facebook and Instagram too

Young people are all about social networks, whether that’s Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram.

New research from SCG, an advertising and public relations agency, surveyed 333 US high school and college students, a majority of whom were women.

Some 78% of respondents said they use Snapchat on a daily basis, which was a slightly higher proportion than said they use Instagram (76%) or Facebook (66%) every day.

Of those who use Snapchat on a daily basis, the frequency of usage was high. Roughly seven in 10 said they use it more than six times per day, and over half said they use it more than 11 times a day.

Frequency with Which US Snapchat Users Use Snapchat, by Age, Feb 2017 (% of respondents)

Separate February 2017 data from Fluent, which looked at how frequently US Snapchat users access the platform, found that over half of 18- to 24-year-olds indicated they use it all the time—more often than their older counterparts.

And as discussed in the latest episode of eMarketer’s “Behind the Numbers” podcast, young people are obsessively using Snapchat.

Not surprisingly, millennials make up the largest share of Snapchat’s US user base. eMarketer estimates millennial monthly active users (MAUs) of the platform will total 43.9 million in 2017.

US Millennial Snapchat Users and Penetration, 2014-2020 (millions, % change and % of millennial smartphone users)

Millennials will remain in the majority going forward, but their share of the total Snapchat audience will shrink each year as the app’s appeal increases among other generations. Overall, usage is being overshadowed by Instagram and its success with Stories.

Nevertheless, eMarketer predicts millennials will still account for 56% of all US Snapchat users by the end of 2020.

by Rimma Kats

Source: eMarketer, April 2017