A rift in social-media use could be emerging between younger and older millennials.
A new survey from Ipsos, commissioned by the investment firm Battery Ventures, finds that millennials don’t use social media as much as stereotyped.
54 percent of Millennials between the ages of 20 and 35 report that they don’t use Snapchat, 41 percent aren’t on Pinterest, and 39 percent lack accounts on Twitter or Instagram.
Only 11 percent don’t have a Facebook account, but 27 percent of respondents said they use Facebook less than once a week.
As millennials get older, they’re less engaged with social media. Family and career obligations crowd out the spare time that younger millennials use to browse various platforms.
However, the survey notes that “having an account on Facebook and using it more than once a week is also more common among users with children in their households,” which reflects the aging userbase of Facebook.
Teenagers don’t want to use social media that their grandparents use. Hence, Snapchat and Instagram are much more popular with young millennials than older cohorts.
There’s also a pattern of rebellion against social media. If a millennial isn’t on Facebook, they’re likely to cite privacy, security, or trust concerns with the platform. Others quit social media due to social pressure or negative feelings that result from it.
Yet again, a simple narrative about millennials falls apart when the myth faces scrutiny. It’s difficult to reflect nuance in generational stereotypes, and millennials aren’t as addicted to social media as it’s assumed.
