New Study Shows Snapchat Beating Out Twitter Among Teens And Young Adults

There's been plenty of evidence streaming in that Snapchat is a rising social network, especially among teens. Now new data shows the photo-sharing service is actually beating out Twitter for participation among the 12 to 24 age group.

The findings come from a phone survey by Edison Research and Triton Digital, compiled by BI Intelligence.

The trajectory of Snapchat suggests that what once may have seemed like a fleeting trend has decidedly taken off. Among the wider base of survey respondents - all those 12 and older - Snapchat was the fastest-growing social network. In 2013, 3% of respondents 12 and older said they ever used Snapchat. This year, 13% said the same.

A recent report from BI Intelligence pointed to the value for brands of getting on social networks early, even before it's clear whether the social network is truly ascendant. Brands that wait will be left in the dust. Recent forays by brands like McDonald's on Snapchat now seem like a prescient strategy.

Here's a look at the most notable findings from the Edison Research survey:

• Forty-three percent of 12 to 24 years old said they ever use Snapchat, and more than half of the survey's respondents in the same age group said they have an Instagram account.
• Only 36% of teens and young adults said they ever use Twitter, seven percentage points less than ever use Snapchat.
• Twitter takes the lead over Snapchat when looking at all respondents 12 and older. Sixteen percent of total respondents said they ever use Twitter, compared to 13% with an account on Snapchat. That's actually a surprisingly narrow lead, given how much longer Twitter has been around.
• Having an account on Instagram was still more common across all age groups, at 19%, than ever using Twitter, at 16%.
• Facebook still matters. It is by far the most popular social network, with 80% of respondents between 12 and 24 years old and 58% of all age groups saying that they have a personal profile on the social network.

You can see a break down of how the different social networks stack up by age group in the BI Intelligence chart at the bottom of this post.

The survey's results are particularly interesting in light of a recent survey highlighted by BI Intelligence that found that college students are highly open to brand marketing on Snapchat.

It's important to note, the Edison Research survey used different language to ask about some of the different social networks. For example, respondents were asked whether they "ever use Twitter" versus whether they have a "personal account on Instagram." But BI Intelligence believes these phrasings are reasonably comparable, and give a sense of how usage is beginning to stack up.

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