‘Facebook’s not cool anymore’

File picture: Dado Ruvic

File picture: Dado Ruvic

Published Dec 8, 2015

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San Francisco - American teenagers think Facebook has definitely lost its cool factor, but they use it as much as ever.

A survey released on Monday by Forrester Research found 78 percent of US teenagers use Facebook, a figure unchanged from last year.

That's more than any other “social” site except the video-sharing service YouTube, used by 80 percent of teens.

The cool factor isn't there for the leading social network, Forrester found: 65 percent of online users ages 12 to 17 say Facebook is cool, far less than services such as YouTube (80 percent), Snapchat (79 percent) and Facebook-owned Instagram (78 percent).

“Sure, young people don't think Facebook is cool - but that doesn't mean they've stopped using it,” the report said.

Forrester analysts said Facebook “generates more hyper-usage than any other social site” adding that a third of teen Facebook users say they're on the site “all the time”, far more than any other social site.

“Facebook is a key way for young people to keep in touch with friends,” they wrote.

The report said the billion-plus member social network can be an important tool for marketers who want to connect with youth, but they need to fine-tune their approach with tools such as “social relationship marketing” to build brand awareness and loyalty.

The research firm surveyed 4 485 teens ages 12 to 17 in April 2015. The margin of error was estimated at 1.5 percentage points.

AFP

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