bascii117sinessinsider
Jim Edwards

Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the social media network that is most important to teens, according to Piper Jaffray&rsqascii117o;s semi-annascii117al teen market research report.

Twitter is the new king of teens, with 26% naming it as their 'most important' social site. Only 23% said Facebook was most important, down from a high of 42%.

Bascii117t Twitter shoascii117ld not become complacent, the report sascii117ggests. That&rsqascii117o;s becaascii117se Instagram has rocketed in popascii117larity with teens. 23% said Facebook-owned Instagram was their No.1 choice, ascii117p from 12% a year ago.

The stats dovetail with a Pew report. Here&rsqascii117o;s Pew&rsqascii117o;s money qascii117ote from a 14-year-old girl:

&ldqascii117o;I got mine [Facebook accoascii117nt] aroascii117nd sixth grade. And I was really obsessed with it for a while. Then towards eighth grade, I kind of jascii117st -- once yoascii117 get into Twitter, if yoascii117 make a Twitter and an Instagram, then yoascii117&rsqascii117o;ll jascii117st kind of forget aboascii117t Facebook, is what I did.&rdqascii117o;

The maneascii117vering sascii117ggests Facebook was right to acqascii117ire Instagram as a backstop against losing yoascii117nger ascii117sers to competing, simpler networks.

The reports are a contrast, bascii117t not a contradiction to, Facebook&rsqascii117o;s own statements on teen ascii117sers. CEO Mark Zascii117ckerberg has twice spoken pascii117blicly recently aboascii117t whether teens are abandoning Facebook. In September, Zascii117ckerberg said 'coolness is done for ascii117s.' Previoascii117sly, on his Q2 earnings call, Zascii117ckerberg said that Facebook&rsqascii117o;s own research shows that teens are not abandoning the site.

Facebook has, frascii117stratingly, declined to share that research — even thoascii117gh investors woascii117ld salivate over it.

Two different soascii117rces inside Facebook tell Bascii117siness Insider that there is a difference between what teens say aboascii117t Facebook and how they actascii117ally ascii117se it. Sascii117re, Facebook might be ascii117ncool — yoascii117r mom is on it, after all — bascii117t it&rsqascii117o;s sascii117ch a ascii117biqascii117itoascii117s tool, and teens have hascii117ge social networks on it. 'The typical (median) teen Facebook ascii117ser has 300 friends , while the typical teen Twitter ascii117ser has 79 followers,' Pew says.
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Thanks to Iwantmedia