The recent Morgan Stanley Report regarding teen usage of social media has generated a lot of discussion. What caught my eye was twitter and the statement, “Teens don’t use Twitter because no one is reading their tweets. Twitter is totally different when you have thousands of people following you versus only a handful of your co-workers.”
This, in turn, got me thinking (never a good idea) - I spent a semester talking to students about social media (JB 4520) and Twitter was a big part of the discussion. In fact, as part of an assignment they were, “required” to use Twitter. If teens don’t like twitter, are any of these students still tweeting?
So I sent the class an email and asked them if they still used twitter. While I had their attention I tossed in a few other questions – a virtual, non-scientific focus group of sorts. The questions and answers, when applicable, are below (email went to 43 students, eleven responded. Additional responses will be added as they arrive):
You used twitter during your involvement with the social media class. Do you still use it?
Overwhelmingly the answer to this question was yes, at least to some degree. Of all the respondents only one wasn’t using twitter at all. Without giving anything away, this person dropped the class after the first few weeks. Perhaps the continual usage is the result of being taught how to use twitter to their benefit. Here are some of their comments:
- Sometimes use it..i more use it for my internship at a tv station then i do personal use.
- Yes. I use Twitter occasionally, but I recently used Twitter a lot when I went to Bonnaroo. (A music festival in Tennessee) I continually updated friends about the bands I saw and who put on the best concerts. I also used the Bonnaroo hash tag to find out what others where doing.
- Yes, every day
- Not on a regular basis
- I use Twitter still, but in a different way. I used Twitter more to tell what I’m doing and to vent my frustration about summer school classes! When I was in the class I would use it more to communicate with the PR world (I’m trying to get back to doing that..)
- Yes, but less often
What do/did you like about twitter?
- Short and to the point messages. Moderate to high interaction with others around the world. Feeling like I have a voice where companies: corporations, nonprofits, etc. can listen and respond. A great source for searching and quick updated information in one place.
- I like being able to see what everyone is doing and especially following celebs. I read my news now on Twitter, if I find an article interesting I just click the link.
- nothing
- Good PR advice, connects me with important people
- I have found Twitter to be the fastest and easiest means of gathering news
- I like can go to one place for me info. I also like how easy it is to communicate with a large group.
- I like getting information that I feel I would be left out of the loop on. Pretty much all of the articles and studies that people link to.
- easy way to keep ppl updated like esp with news stuff and columns its fun and interesting
- Yes. I love it.
- It allows individuals to spread snippets of information very quickly to a lot of people.
- Reading everyone else’s thoughts, following the links they posted
- Easy, cuts information down to vital facts, fun, get information/news/gossip very very fast, simple way to get yours or someone else’s message out
- Quick, brief & effective. Learn a lot from others throughout world & others are willing to help you with any questions you have.
- Somewhat…I’ve been busy this summer and it hasn’t been a huge priority. I still try to update and look around a couple times a week.
What do/did you dislike about it about twitter?
- That its down all the time, and the spam
- When people’s status updates aren’t entertaining or important- especially when I can’t think of any that are.
- I haven’t found anything that I like about Twitter, sometimes I accept the wrong people to follow and his/her tweets can get annoying, but then i’ll just unfollow them.
- It seems to still have some kinks…i.e. It says “Twitter is over capacity” frequently, and can be slow at times
- I hate most of the celebrities. I don’t follow Ashton, Shaq, or John Mayer
- it’s toooo traffic like…full of junk
- i dislike people that follow me that are from trashy web sites. i also dislike people that use twitter only for their own gain. i don’t see it often but i know it’s out there.
- compared to facebook there is no way of knowing if the person really is who they say they are. Usually happens in the case of celebrities. Oh and I don’t like that I have to remember people’s user names when I want to send a DM or reply. It’s almost too much of a hassle to look it up.
- Almost everything. What once had potential to be something great has turned into a collection of billboards to feed their collective egos. It needs to separate the users into categories: Serious posts and questions, and the random people that feel the need to let everyone know they hate cleaning cat boxes but love green bananas.
- If you don’t have Internet on your phone, you can’t keep up with the conversation
- It’s becoming too jumbled with people’s random updates and seems to be less about networking, more about # of followers you can get.
- I like the networking aspect of it. I had a job offer in OKC as a media relations inter from a follower, but wasn’t able to accept because of summer classes
- Tired of being followed by companies who I have no real connection with. Examples: weddings, mattresses, calculators, etc.
Do you use facebook?
The majority still use facebook but a few commented they don’t or for only certain reasons.
- sometimes not as much as i use to
- No, I canceled my account when they started changing it to look more like twitter. I may reopen my account someday.
- Yes, but I only use it for pictures and chat
Do you use texting?
Overwhelmingly the students use text with only one not using it because of phone limitations (the horror).
- all the time…my main use of communication
- Yes, I work for AT&T and have seen a dramatic increase in texting, while at the same time a lot of people are decreasing their talk time. I have a customer who has four daughters, his 15 year old sent 26,000 + texts in may.
- No. Phone doesn’t receive text.
- 5,000+ a month
Do you have a smart phone?
About 70% have a smart phone and the kind used, when provided, was mixed among a variety of styles. Blackberry and Iphone were at the top of the list.
- No, but i NEED one! If only my internship was paid!
- Yes, the Blackberry Bold. Motorola just introduced a non-smart phone that is being touted as a social networking phone. It is called the Karma. It has Myspace, Facebook and Twitter pre-loaded.
Which do you use more, facebook, twiter or texting? (if there is another service/tool you use please include it here)
Texting wins hands down on this. What I found interesting was, for those who provided it, the criteria for which each was used.
- texting
- It depends on who I’m talking to. I text my close friends, tweet business and local folk, and use facebook for my more distant (emotionally and physically) friends.
- For direct contact, texting. For interaction, Twitter. For catching up or getting to know someone, Facebook. I guess I use texting the most but that’s with a select group of people where as I use Twitter often but in conversation with people I don’t know and Facebook I use sporadically with good acquaintances and friends.
- i think texting. then twitter. then facebook.
- Texting and Myspace
- Texting, but if I had a smart phone I would tweet more
- Twitter/texting
- I use texting most regularly
- Probably texting
- Facebook then Twitter.
- Facebook and texting.
- Texting, but facebook is used a lot, too.
- I use texting the most to connect with close friends instantly, but I use the many services that facebook offers to connect with my extended group of friends.
Are you actively engaged in any other social media tools/tactics (i.e. blogging, friendfeed, linkedin, etc.)
For the most part they aren’t. Blogging, by the way, was part of another assignment for the course.
- yes and no if i am its more work related then personal
- no
- Not anymore
- i did have a blog for class. i havent updated in a long time but i want to start again.
- I blog sporadically, am listed on LinkedIn, but I’m not very active. I also create Ning sites for different organizations for fun.
- Every now and then I engage in linkedin, but not nearly as much as Twitter
- No, not actively engaged. I have accounts on other services but rarely update them.
- Faintly involved with myspace to keep up with my camp kids. Sporadic blogger
- no
- I blog for work, not much on my personal blog, but I would like that to change. I’m on linkedin, and I have friendfeed but I rarely use it.
- I haven’t blogged since social media class was over, but I’m planning on using it once school starts again.
- I have a blog but I read others’ blogs more than I update my own.
- no
So, there you have it, from the mouth of teens. The one thing I took from it was this – they are engaged in all kinds of (social) media, including twitter, but how they use it probably has more to do with their knowledge of the tool than anything else. If they find value (which if you review their comments on why they like twitter you will notice almost all surround some kind of value to the user) they will continue to use it.No surprise there, just an affirmation of what we already know about human nature.
Tell me your thoughts.
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i think the real question is, what is a 15-year-old boy doing in an internship and why is he suddenly an authority?
A (too) long series of responses:
“What was Morgan Stanley’s purpose in publishing this report? They say this 15 year old’s work is the “clearest and most thought-provoking insights we have seen.” To quote SNL, “Really?!?” They say teens don’t Twitter, “Really?!?””
Yeah…I do not know. Perhaps- just perhaps- they were trying to sound hip and in-the-know by writing something about Twitter? The report doesn’t really seem to have a purpose.
“What about the age difference? If memory serves the boy is 15. But that begs the question, why the substantial change in attitude about Twitter from his friends to my students? Is it simply reflective of older teen attitudes?”
Yes. I really think there is such a leap in attitudes and values between the age groups that it makes the reports in this case incomparable.
“What if the 15 year old were given twitter with a purpose, would that make a difference in their use.”
Of course it would make a difference- we use what best serves our purposes. If their purpose is to tell their friends what music they’re listening to and show off a picture they took of themselves in the mirror, than Twitter doesn’t really serve it.
“By the end a large percentage were – because they had found value in the tool and were part of a community in which they could engage and receive value.”
I think the teens that aren’t using Twitter- and probably even the ones that are- are already part of a community where they recieve the kind of value they are looking for. (Facebook, etc.)
Your JB4520 students were almost all already getting the same value as younger teens do from Facebook- but we had another need- not only to share, but to receive information. I think that is the main difference. We aren’t focusing on just self-expression so much as information sharing. And you taught us how to use it in a way that forms a “two-way, symbiotic relationship!” (You like that?) But teens’ lives are based on their schools and the people there. They probably care more about just what their friends are doing and what their friends think- not locals whom they don’t know.
I think if teens were looking for a niche group in the community (like PR professionals, or ballet dancers, or athletes or artists), they would have a lot more reason to be on Twitter. They could see who’s on that scene locally. They could see what other enthusiasts are saying. But they are used to a format more like Facebook, so most probably haven’t figured out how to use Twitter effectively yet.
OK, I’m done for now. My “comment” feels more like a novel!What do you think?
Allison, thank you for your comment. You are 100% correct, it isn’t an apples to apples comparison. In fact, the only thing which could be accurately compared is the (lack of) scientific nature in which the data was collected not to mention any real in-depth analysis or further research. Making a business decision on either the Morgan Stanley report or the one above is, by the way, very dangerous.
Some considerations:
What was Morgan Stanley’s purpose in publishing this report? They say this 15 year old’s work is the “clearest and most thought-provoking insights we have seen.” To quote SNL, “Really?!?” They say teens don’t Twitter, “Really?!?”
What about the age difference? If memory serves the boy is 15. But that begs the question, why the substantial change in attitude about Twitter from his friends to my students? Is it simply reflective of older teen attitudes? What if the 15 year old were given twitter with a purpose, would that make a difference in their use. If it did, how would it change the report – or would ever see it?
I think the last paragraph of my post is the most important (yep, I buried the most important info at the end – my bad). The first day of JB4520 hardly anyone had used twitter. By the end a large percentage were – because they had found value in the tool and were part of a community in which they could engage and receive value. The value was determined by the user. I assure you each student’s use was different from another.
So what does that tell us about the use of Twitter by an organization? If you work for a PR firm what are the considerations of recommending twitter to a client (or facebook, texting, website, brochures, apps, etc.). What if your client was focused on young individuals age 15 – 20? What if you had the MS report and the above information?
In my humble and sometimes accurate opinion it all comes back to education and value, not necessarily in that order.
Thoughts?
I find this report interesting, but I am wondering whether it should be compared to the Morgan Stanley report, simply because of the age difference. If I understand correctly, the original report on teen tweeting cited the attitudes of a 15-year-old intern at the company. I would argue that his experience and his idea of “teens” are closer to ages 13-17, a school-age group that has different interests than 18-21.
I think young adults are more interested in twitter because they are looking to learn more about the world around them, about their community, about their areas of expertise, and to make meaningful connections. The younger teen group that I think the Morgan Stanley report was referring to places more value on things like self-expression and sharing with a smaller community of frieds. Twitter doesn’t feed those values as much as Facebook, MySpace, etc.
Does that make sense? Am I understanding the report correctly?
i figure if they are considering email the first form of social media these days (http://bit.ly/cV7rv) then texting counts too. and with all the airport updates and campus emergency texting. ok. fine. you win. #billhandywins
I consider texting social media inasmuch as I consider using twitter with all your updates blocked social media. In my opinion it fits the basic criteria, just not on an open platform. Most studies on social media will include this tool.
Regarding age of those who answered, it is in the range of 18 – 21.
I’m glad to see your blog has not taken the summer break I had suspected.
I question some of these “teens” (aren’t they 20/21?) college education based on a few answers. I’d like to highlight my fav response: “I haven’t found anything that I like about Twitter, sometimes I accept the wrong people to follow and his/her tweets can get annoying, but then i’ll just unfollow them.” Profound.
However, some of the other answers seem to be on target.
Do you consider texting social media?