Snapchat is no longer the most-used social app among teens

Instagram has dethroned Snapchat (SNAP) as the most-used social media platform among teens, according to a Piper Jaffray’s 36th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey.

“The survey provided some good and some bad news for [Facebook],” according to Piper Jaffray. “Instagram is now above Snapchat as the most used social platform by teens (85% use at least once per month). Core Facebook, however, continues to exhibit declining engagement among the teen demographic; only 28% of 15 year olds use Facebook, down from >40% in Fall-16.”

The firm surveyed 8,600 teens with an average age of 16 across 48 states.

Results from the survey revealed that 85% of respondents used Instagram, while 84% preferred Snapchat, 47% used Twitter and only 36% of teens used Facebook on a monthly basis. Meanwhile, results from one year ago illustrated a different picture. Eighty percent of respondents used Snapchat, while 79% preferred Instagram, 56% used Twitter and 52% used Facebook.

Nevertheless, when teens were asked for their overall favorite social media platform, 46% of respondents still liked Snapchat, while 35% responded Instagram, 6% said Twitter and 5% liked Facebook. Snapchat jumped ahead of Instagram as teens’ favorite social-media platform in Spring of 2016 and has since carried a healthy lead.

On the other hand, the survey found that brand engagement was stronger through Instragram, pushing Snapchat to second place. “Instagram continues to show dominance in selling, as teens overwhelmingly prefer brands contact them on Instagram vs other channels … Instagram engagement has improved among the youngest cohorts, who showed momentary weakness in the spring, but have since recovered,” the report stated.

Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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