Counting Down To 2012, One Trend At A Time: Twitter Takes Over

We follow youth culture and media trends closely throughout the year, and we’re seeing some significant shifts in Millennial attitudes and habits that will have an impact going into 2012 and beyond. We’ve picked up on these trends by paying attention to expert opinions, by talking with students and watching their habits, and through our research of what matters to Millennials. Look back at this week’s posts to read about all five trends.

Trend #5: Twitter Takes Over

While Facebook is still the leader in social media, young people are increasingly using Twitter as a sort of social media filter. Millennials have been on Facebook for the majority of their teen lives, having amassed several hundred friends on the site — they’ve friended just about everyone, from random acquaintances to parents to brands. They don’t want to unfriend people (that’s not nice), so they’re turning to Twitter as a means to follow just the people and brands they actually care to hear from on a regular basis. Although the network is more open, it feels more private because they’ve managed their connections on Twitter, unlike their approach to Facebook.

While this trend is starting small, it will gain steam as more Gen Yers join the network to be where their best friends are. Twitter won’t replace Facebook, but young people will spend more time with it because it fills a particular niche.

As with any new technology or site students adopt, it has to make their their lives easier for them to make the effort to use it daily. Gen Yers have joined Google+ because it was the cool thing to do when the site launched. They thought the new network was full of possibility, but in fact, Google+ has failed to differentiate itself from Facebook, giving students little reason to visit often or invest their limited time in cultivating a presence there. Google+ isn’t giving up, still adding new features, but as of now, it’s fighting a losing battle. We’re looking forward to seeing how things shake out in 2012!

Students use social media to say updated and involved with social causes that matter to them. We learned that students give both money and time when we asked them about the causes they’re involved in. As a holiday gift from Ypulse, today only, you can download the full Ypulse Report: Social Causes for free!