As a parent of a 15-year-old girl and also one who believes he is still “hip” with technology today, I try to keep on my toes about what is going on in the world of social media.
Today we talk about some more apps that a post from a 19 year-old teenager wrote about.
But first, here’s a quick update from my last post, Teen Social Media Trends – Part I:
Facebook & Instagram [update]
I have began using Facebook far less and using Instagram much more. The latter is more reliable and features much less “junk”!
Snapchat [update]
Snapchat has completely changed my mind about it! I had trouble understanding the app before, but now get why it works! To gain more understanding of why my teen loved this app, I “borrowed” her phone one night while she was sleeping.
I knew that the snaps were a see for 2-9 seconds and then gone, but I didn’t truly believe they were in fact gone. Until I dove into her phone and tried my best to find them and in fact they were gone. The “aha” moment came over me and I understood! They (teens) think that whatever they post is gone and nobody will ever find it again. While I’m sure there is a database somewhere with all the snaps of the world. The people teens are most worried about can’t access their info!
A few random observations:
- There are ads everywhere, but they are disguised as snaps for the user.
- Churches should make snaps, not just because its “cool,” but because this is the medium teens are using and it is working!
Yik Yak [update]
This app is fun, but unless a statement is favorited, one is left to just read through the minutia of people trying to be cool. I never understood the point of it and frankly still don’t.
Medium [update]
This blog site is quite cool and has some really great articles on it! I highly recommend anyone checking out and subscribing to this site!
GroupMe [update]
I had several contacts who are now in college using this app and I tried to gain understanding of why it is needed. It is a good app, though somewhat meaningless. Basically it is like a group of your contacts that you can group together and chat with and get ideas. The college kids I knew said they used it for certain study groups of people you didn’t necessarily want to be in contact with forever. It makes sense but again no necessary.
Now on to part 2…
YouTube
“I have plenty of friends who go on it daily. For an avid internet user it’s almost impossible to ignore…”
To me there is so much content on YouTube it is insane! You can find everything and anything on there and it is the place I go to find just that. It also seems to be the place where teens go when they when they are bored. I would equate this to when I was a teen, I would surf through the TV channels to see what was on, though never really watch anything at all.
Vine
“Vine is an application where I feel a lot of people in my group consume content but do not necessarily make content.”
This is completely true and when I asked my daughter about these apps before writing this article, she stated that she didn’t even have the Vine app on her phone anymore. That she just saw other people’s “vines” through Twitter or Tumblr or YouTube. She didn’t see the reason for creating a vine video because that’s what she used Instagram (video) for.
“…[I love] its ability to bring forward information I find interesting. Subscribing to subreddits makes sure that content I really care about is front and center.”
I have viewed this site here and there over the past few years and have found the site quite intriguing. I love reading through the comments and enjoy that only the good comments “make it” to my eyes. While this seems like a worthy app for a 19-year-old, it would surprise me if my 15-year-old would be reading it. There is so much content that I don’t think would interest her, but I do find it a worthwhile app to have!
Google+
“I personally do not know anyone who actively uses Google+. My only friends on Google+ are those who are more interested in technology.”
Amen brother! It seems like there are too many other great group social sites out there that Google+ still hasn’t found their niche. I love most of the Google apps, but Google+ still seems so forced to me. Since I work in a school setting, I see kids as young as 5 getting access to a computer and getting set up with a Gmail account and using Google Docs. But I don’t understand why Google+ hasn’t jumped on board with Google Docs.
Here are a few more that are mentioned, but I haven’t found useful yet.
Plague – The third most recommended app to him, it appears that you can post content and it “plagues” others with your content. They can choose to approve or disapprove of it. The problem is it accesses your location even when you aren’t using the app thus draining the battery.
Ello – A social network with no advertising and a strict policy against selling your data to other companies. Great! But there’s nobody here, so its either too underground or too last month!
Tinder – The main dating app used for those in college. My daughter as a few years till I have to worry about this app…so I’ll leave this one be.
Swarm – An interesting pivot for Foursquare. I see the point of Swarm and have used it on a few occasions, but now that every other app is using location technology. Creating a Swarm is not as useful. What would be great? Adding a Swarm like function to UrbanSpoon or Yelp so I can see who was recently at a restaurant/place rather than reading month/year old reviews.
Quora – Like Yahoo Answers, but with each question being unique, responders actually being experts in the subject. Check this one out when you have time, I have learned quite a bit in the little time I have used this app.
Myspace – Seriously? This app needs to die and be rebirthed somewhere else.
As a further note — check out what the teen who inspired these 2 articles has said after writing his posts on apps.
Also, if you have ever considered writing for ChurchMag, do it! Its fun and will challenge you in more ways than one to think in a different way. Plus you get paid for it and get to be in the “cool” crowd with church techy peeps! Check out his article – Age is just a number and everyone has to start somewhere. Why not start now?
Eric Dye says
Insightful stuff, wasn’t it?
Paul says
Just a little bit about Snapchat. Maybe most teenagers can’t find the images after they are gone, however, most of the teens I know just take a screenshot of something if they don’t want it to be temporary. Easy enough to keep something for later.