Youth and Social Media: 

What’s Hot, What’s Not!

Cindee CaseDirector, Office of Youth & Young Adult Ministry,

Diocese of Youngstownccase@youngstowndiocese.org

What is Social Media?Definitions:

(2004 added to Merriam-Webster) :  forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)

Oxford says: noun [treated as singular or plural]websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

Which ones can you name???

Which do you use???

What do you think….

…is the average age of a child/youth to

regularly consume

online media?FYI: Facebook has a 13 year

old minimum age ‘requirement’

8http://socialmediachimps.com/infographics/social-media-impact-on-youth/

• 90% have used social media

• 75 % Have social networking accounts (although MAY be a parent using under child’s name)

• Facebook has 5 million profiles for users under 10

• (lying about age 13 at sign up?)

39% of online teens Admitted

to falsifying their age in order to gain access to a website or account

Female (age 14): “I got mine [Facebook account] around sixth grade. And I was really obsessed with it for a while. Then towards eighth grade, I kind of just-- once you get into Twitter, if you make a Twitter and an Instagram, then you'll just kind of forget about Facebook, is what I did.”

http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensSocialMediaandPrivacy_FINAL.pdf

How OFTEN are teens using Social

Media?

What do you think….

 Another study found that 22% of teenagers log onto their favorite social media sites more than 10 times a day

What is Hot by Gender?

"Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort. When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable."

A very quickLook at some

Social Networking History….

Not as new as you might think,

but rapidly changing

YouTube – February 2005Facebook public in 2006

Twitter – March 2006Tumblr – February 2007

Instagram- October 2010SnapChat (Picaboo) – July 2011

Vine – June 2012

Just so we all know…Twitter is a microblogging site that allows users

to post brief, 140-character messages -- called "tweets" -- and follow other users' activities.

Why it's popular: Teens like using it to share quick tidbits about their lives with friends. It's

also great for keeping up with what's going on in the world -- breaking news, celebrity gossip, etc.

Instagram is a platform that lets users snap, edit and share photos and 15-second videos -- either publicly or with a network of followers.

Why it's popular: Instagram unites the most popular features of social media sites: sharing, seeing and commenting on photos. Instagram

also lets you apply fun filters and effects to your photos, making them look high quality and

artistic.

Snapchat is a messaging app that lets users put a time limit on the pictures and videos they send

before they disappear.

Why it's popular: Snapchat's creators intended the app's fleeting images to be a way for teens to share fun, light moments without the risk of having them

go public. And that's what most teens use it for: sending goofy or embarrassing photos to one

another. Snapchats also seem to send and load much "faster" than email or text.

 Vine is a social media app that lets users post and watch looping six-second video clips. This Twitter-

owned service has developed a unique community of people who post videos that are often creative and

funny -- and sometimes thought-provoking.

Why it's popular: Videos run the gamut from stop-motion clips of puzzles doing and undoing

themselves to six-second skits showing how a teen wakes up on a school day vs. a day during summer.

Teens usually use Vine to create and share silly videos of themselves and/or their friends and family.

Tumblr is like a cross between a blog and Twitter: It's a streaming scrapbook of text, photos and/or videos and audio

clips.

Google+ is similar to Facebook, and teens starting to use for the real-time

video chats in Hangouts (virtual gatherings with approved friends).

Wanelo (Want, Need, Love) combines shopping, fashion blogging and social

networking all in one. It's becoming popular among teens, allowing them to discover, share and buy products they

like.

Up & coming in some parts of the US:Ask.fm is a social site that lets kids ask

questions and answer those posted by other users -- sometimes anonymously.

Kik Messenger is an app-based alternative to standard texting that kids use for social

networking. It's free to use but has lots of ads.

Oovoo is a free video, voice, and messaging app. Users can have group chats with up to six

people for free

Pheed is best described as a hybrid of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube -- except that you

can require others to pay a premium to access your personal channel.

Others?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/common-sense-media/11-sites-and-apps-kids-are-heading-to-after-facebook_b_3991614.html

What do you think….

….are the most popular Social Media apps/

programs with teens?

With Young Adults?

While we will discuss it’s waning a bit, by far the most

popular remains:

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-Social-Media-And-Privacy/Main-Report/Part-1.aspx

http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensSocialMediaandPrivacy_FINAL.pdf

The typical (median) teen Facebook user has 300 friends,

79 Twitter followers.

Focus group discussions with teens show that they have waning enthusiasm for Facebook, disliking the increasing adult presence, people sharing excessively, and stressful “drama,” but they keep using it because participation is an important part of overall teenage socializing.

More leads to more…• 65% of teens with more than 600 friends on Facebook say that

they visit social networking sites several times a day, compared with 27% of teens with 150 or fewer Facebook friends.

• Teens with more than 600 Facebook friends are more than three

times as likely to also have a Twitter account when compared with those who have 150 or fewer Facebook friends (46% vs. 13%).

• They are six times as likely to use Instagram (12% vs. 2%).

Drake University incoming freshmen surveyed last year Class of 2017

• They still like Facebook, but they LOVE Twitter. They still see value in Facebook, but they prefer to post content to Twitter (where it’s acceptable to post more often and where there are less family members to comment on everything they post).

• When they do post to Facebook, they’re doing it so family members can see what they are up to. So maybe a photo here or there. But they are definitely self-censoring.

• They spend more time on their smart phones than they do their computers. 94 percent of them have a smart phone.

• They enjoy following celebrities on social media and feeling connected to those celebrities.

More from the Drake students

• The social network they feel most positive about? 

1. YouTube (although many of them don’t see it as a SNS)

2.  Snapchat. 3.  Instagram.

• Why Snapchat? A combination of it’s newness and the fact they can be themselves and not worry about being judged (because posts disappear after they are seen).

• They absolutely love Instagram. It’s quick, simple, and it puts a smile on their face.

• They use Pinterest as a search engine. And when someone suggested they just use Google, the Pinterest users made it clear that Pinterest gave them much better results.

• Tumblr? Not so popular. LinkedIn and Foursquare? Huh? ;-)

http://chrissniderdesign.com/blog/2013/09/03/what-the-class-of-2017-thinks-about-social-media/

Drake Freshmen rated 12 social networks from 5 (love it) to 1 (hate it)

 

Network Avg. rating Love it (5) Hate it (1)

Youtube 4.46 56 0

Snapchat 4.04 47 6

Instagram 3.99 44 2

Twitter 3.93 37 1

Vine 3.81 31 2

Facebook 3.71 14 1

Pinterest 3.65 34 7

Tumblr 3.44 26 6

Google+ 2.85 7 8

LinkedIn 2.71 3 10

Foursquare 2.59 2 13

Myspace 1.82 1 46

http://chrissniderdesign.com/blog/2013/09/03/what-the-class-of-2017-thinks-about-social-media/

How would YOUR

youth rate these?

Why shifting? "The key is that there are fewer adults, fewer parents and just simply less complexity,"

said Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Research Center, one of the study's authors.

"They still have their Facebook profiles, but they spend less time on them and move to places like

Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr."

94 % of teens who are social media users have a profile on Facebook

26 – 30% percent of teen social media users were on Twitter.

That's more than double the figure in 2011 of 12 percent.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/poll-teens-migrating-twitter

A few local insightsHT: overwhelming majority of kids have smart phones- the surest way

to contact them is to text the students and parents- if there is a longer message I would text them to check Facebook or email,

otherwise anything sent there may go unseen for several days. Most students have twitter accounts and seem to use them primarily

to express emotion (frustration, anger, drama, laughter, etc. ) Instagram accounts are there mostly as online photo albums.

AM: In my high school youth group, most of them use Twitter frequently. Facebook seems to be less popular. They have a ton of

friends on Facebook but they don't post very often. I would say Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are way more popular than

Facebook.

NU: My college students use snap chat to send pictures of them making funny faces with messages all the time. We use remind101

and groupme to send out group text messages. This seems to be the primary way to get n touch with people. Email rarely gets

checked, especially by my first year students. We do update our Facebook page regularly as well.

What Do You Think?…What percentage of time do you think that Children

access the following online?

Social networksCasual games

Pornography/erotic materialsIllegal software

GamblingForums and chats

Web mailOnline stores

World Wide

  The sites most often visited by children worldwide

According to the 2013 statistics, porn and erotic sites (16.8%) were overtaken by social networking sites (31.3%) where today’s youngsters spend most of their

time. Unexpectedly, online stores broke into the Top 3 (16.7%), far outstripping seemingly popular categories such as chats and forums or web mail.

Exposure to inappropriate advertising online

is one of the many risks that parents, youth advocates, and

policy makers are concerned about.

Found last year that 30% of online teens say they have received

online advertising that is “clearly inappropriate” for

their age.

http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensSocialMediaandPrivacy_FINAL.pdf

Safety Please!

In what may be a concern to parents, more than 60

percent of the teens with Twitter accounts said their

tweets were public, meaning anyone on Twitter — friend,

foe or stranger — can see what they write and publish.

About one-quarter of kids said their tweets were

private and 12 percent said they did not know whether their tweets were public or

private.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/poll-teens-migrating-twitter

Help them be savvy about privacy!

Teens are also sharing much more than in the past:

More than 90% of teen social media users said they have posted a picture of themselves up from 79 percent in 2006

70% disclose the city or town where they live, up from about 60 %

20 % disclose their cell phone number up sharply from a mere 2% in 2006.

Safety, continued“parents need to understand that social networking

sites can be a source of many threats from potentially harmful content to various shady characters who might

show unhealthy interest in their children.”http://www.securelist.com/en/blog/8103/What_are_children_doing_online

Nothing truly disappears completely from the internet, even SnapChats – and teens are learning this:

More than half of online teens (57%) say they have decided not to post something online because they were concerned it would reflect badly on them in the future.

http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensSocialMediaandPrivacy_FINAL.pdf

If you are a parent:1. Do you know what your kids are posting? (Have ground rules?)2. Do you have a caring adult or two or twenty who let you know if

they see any inappropriate or risky posts?3. Do you check their friends/followers/circles?4. Do you talk regularly about how your son/daughter feels about

their social media? (Bullying? Sad? Affirmed? Popular? Left-out? Meh?)

5. Do not be afraid to look for support and assistance. https://faithandsafety.org/, http://www.parenting.com/gallery/social-media-monitoring-kids, http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/educate-families

 Also, just be on the look out for: sexting, cyberbullying, and other forms of online harassment.

Teens’ Facebook friendship networks largely mirror their offline networks

(so be concerned with safety but not obsessed!)

98% of Facebook-using teens are friends with people they know from school. 91% of teen Facebook users are friends with members of their extended family. 89% are connected to friends who do not attend the same school. 76% are Facebook friends with brothers and sisters. 70% are Facebook friends with their parents. 33% are Facebook friends with other people they have not met in person. 30% have teachers or coaches as friends in their network. 30% have celebrities, musicians or athletes in their network. http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensSocialMediaandPrivacy_FINAL.pdf

Some of the Upsides of SNS

Enhances: Social & identity development

CommunicationCreativity

CollaborationLeadership Abilities

Technological proficiency

Teens claiming is strengthens friendships: 52%

(only 4% says it hurts),

Strengthens Family relationships :37% (only 2% said hurts)

More Good News

According to Barna research,

the most common way Millennials

(currently ages 18 – 29) are blending their faith

and technology is through

digital reading

of Scripture https://www.barna.org/barna-update/millennials/640-how-technology-is-changing-millennial-faith#.UtAP_PRDthZ

Digital Scripturejust as many YouVersion (the free Bible Phone app) downloads as there are from Instagram

70% of practicing Christian Millennials read Scripture on a screen. (Do they connect to USCCB.org readings of the day?)

One-third of all Millennials says they read sacred Scripture on a phone or online.

https://www.barna.org/barna-update/millennials/640-how-technology-is-changing-millennial-faith#.UtAP_PRDthZ

Even More Good News

Millennials are also heavy users of online videos pertaining to faith54% of practicing Christian Millennials31% of all Millennials

About one-third of Millennials are using online search to scope out a church,

temple or synagogue online—56% of practicing Christian Millennials who do the same.

It may be that for Millennials, checking out a faith community online, from a safe distance, is a prerequisite for the commitment of showing

up in person. https://www.barna.org/barna-update/millennials/640-how-technology-is-changing-millennial-faith#.UtAP_PRDthZ

Just quick note on adult usage

Do the youth you know identify themselves as Catholic on their social networks?

A few more comments ….

Female (age 15): “I have two [Facebook] accounts. One for my family, one for my friends.”(Parents, keep monitoring as you can!)

Female (age 16): “And so now I am basically dividing things up. Instagram is mostly for pictures. Twitter is mostly for just saying what you are thinking. Facebook is both of them combined so you have to give a little bit of each. But yes, so Instagram, I posted more pictures on Instagram than on Facebook. Twitter is more natural.” (More is more…)

Female (age 15): “I have a Facebook, a Tumblr, and Twitter. I don’t use Facebook or Twitter much. I rather use Tumblr to look for interesting

stories. I like Tumblr because I don’t have to present a specific or false image of myself and I don’t have to interact with people I don’t

necessarily want to talk to.” (Different perspectives and new technologies will keep a-comin’)

A few quick quotes from http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensSocialMediaandPrivacy_FINAL.pdf

What do you think….

Are the 3 best ways to communicate with youth?

So, Social Media is 3rd….texting is 2nd…

Female (age 17):

“I don’t go on Facebook, Twitter

or Instagram, I prefer like talking to people face-to-

face. Like I don’t – I honestly

think that – I probably like only like talk to people

that I’m really close to…”

But in person is still best! So, build personal relationships, and use texting and social media as reminders and to help maintain the personal relationships!

OY&YAM Connections

Facebook

Google+

/ Pinterest

Blogsite

Twitter \

A Communications Prayer

Holy Spirit, you blessed the first disciples with the power to spread God’s love throughout the world. Give me a new power to proclaim your word through my own unique gifts and through the channels of clear communication.

Make me willing to receive that word as it enters my daily life.

Bless all who use their talents in the field of communications.

Guide those who send out the message and those who receive it,

so that all people may come to know your truth and be renewed by your love.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

(from the National Catholic Communications Office)