Hottest Social App Trends for Teens

Teens stay connected with these popular apps

By
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Freelance Contributor
  • University of Ontario
  • George Brown College
Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on April 15, 2024
Reviewed by
Christine Baker
Reviewed by Christine Baker
Christine Baker is a marketing consultant with experience working for a variety of clients. Her expertise includes social media, web development, and graphic design.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

Social networking is constantly evolving. Gone are the days when MySpace ruled the web. Now, practically everyone's gone mobile, with more than 95 percent of teenagers owning a smartphone.

With Facebook skewing toward older users, what are the social networking and messaging services drawing younger people? Here's a look at the top social app trends for teens.

Warning

Parents should be sure to educate themselves and their teens on the dangers of online child predators. 

01
of 09

YouTube

Three iOS YouTube screens
What We Like

  • Huge variety of topics.

  • Innumerable amount of videos.

  • Can add commentary and reviews to videos.

  • Can save videos to a watchlist for later viewing.

What We Don't Like

  • Many videos have ads.

  • YouTube has problems with commentary and child predators.

  • No way to really filter undesirable video topics.

You might think YouTube would be the granddaddy in this bunch, but you'd be wrong. YouTube is wildly popular with teens and tweens, who visit the site at a level that's almost doubled in the past three years. YouTube added a strong influencer and vlogger base to what was once primarily a passive content-consumption website, and the teens love it.

02
of 09

Snapchat

Three iOS Snapchat screens
What We Like

  • Simple interface.

  • Can take pictures or video.

  • Share your pics with friends or the public.

  • Fun avatars created through Bitmoji.

  • More real-time communication.

  • Lots of filters and lenses make chatting fun.

What We Don't Like

  • If using location services, it can be intrusive.

  • Ads show up in the Discover part of the app.

Snapchat is a popular private messaging app known for photos and short videos that are automatically deleted after they're viewed. For teens, this "self-destructing" feature is a big part of what makes Snapchat so appealing, encouraging them to interact more frequently, safe in the knowledge that all their previous snaps disappear.

Snapchat isn't just a media-sharing app. You can even use it to send money to your friends.

Privacy, sexting, and screenshot saving have posed some issues for Snapchat, but it remains one of the hottest apps with teens.

03
of 09

Instagram

Three iOS Instagram screens
What We Like

  • Great place to share photos and videos.

  • Easy to post photos and videos.

  • Edit images and add filters for visual effects.

  • Fewer ads than its counterparts.

  • Easy messaging integration with Facebook.

What We Don't Like

  • Quite a few spam or illicit accounts.

  • Can't post clickable URLs.

Facebook may rule social photo-sharing on the web, but Instagram is arguably the mobile social photo-sharing leader. Although it doesn't openly share how many of its users are teens, it's easy to see that this mobile social platform is filled with young people. Check out the photos on the Explore Page or search through some popular hashtags to get a glimpse of how young the dominant demographic truly is on Instagram.

While Instagram is primarily used as an app on iOS and Android devices, it's also possible to view your account via a web browser. Instagram also makes it easy and seamless to merge your Instagram and Facebook social lives. For example, you can direct message your Facebook friends through Instagram or find Facebook friends who are also on Instagram to follow.

04
of 09

WhatsApp

Three WhatsApp screens on iOS
What We Like

  • End-to-end encryption.

  • Can edit pics with clipart, filters, and more.

  • App allows two different accounts on Android.

What We Don't Like

  • App needs all parties involved to use WhatsApp.

  • Earlier versions were prone to crashes.

Lots of kids still use Facebook Messenger to get in touch with their friends, but Facebook also owns another messaging app called WhatsApp.

WhatsApp boasts 1.5 billion users as of early 2021, and the app's users aren't just texting. WhatsApp also lets you post status updates, send videos, share your location, and make voice and video calls over the internet. The platform is completely isolated from Facebook, so teens don't need to worry about the two overlapping.

WhatsApp is compatible with Android phones, iPhones, Macs, and Windows computers.

05
of 09

Kik

Three iOS Kik Screens
What We Like

  • Can join public chat groups on a variety of topics.

  • Searchable GIFs, stickers, and more.

  • Free additional emojis available for download.

  • You can even create and send your own memes.

What We Don't Like

  • No moderation in public chatgroups.

  • Messages can be slow to send.

Like WhatsApp, Kik has become an insanely popular messaging app for teens. It's just one of the other fast and intuitive messaging apps used as an alternative to SMS texting, requiring only a username rather than a phone number.

Instagram users sometimes list Kik usernames in the bios so that other Instagrammers have another way to contact them privately. 

Kik works with Android, iOS, Amazon, and Microsoft mobile devices.

06
of 09

Telegram

Three iOS screens from Telegram
What We Like

  • Available on a variety of platforms.

  • Encrypts your messages.

  • No ads.

What We Don't Like

  • You have to wait two minutes to receive an SMS code when getting started.

  • There can be problems when verifying a new phone.

  • Numerous reports of long delays getting access to app.

Telegram is interesting because it does a lot more than a typical texting app, and it's completely free with zero advertisements.

All the texts and phone calls are encrypted through Telegram, and you can send absolutely any file type you want, even large ones up to 1.5 GB. This is unique to most messaging apps that support image and video files.

The messages are synced across all supported devices because the messages and files are stored in the cloud. You can delete texts whenever you want and make secret chats that dissolve messages on a timer. You can also address up to 5,000 of your closest friends in one single group message.

Telegram is available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows PC, Mac, and Linux. The web version lets you access Telegram from any computer without installing the software.

07
of 09

X (formerly Twitter)

Three iOS Twitter screens
What We Like

  • Instant gratification of newsworthy or entertainment info.

  • You can choose between top trending tweets or tweets as they happen.

  • Many famous people use the app, making for interesting reading.

  • Great way to interact with your favorite TV shows via Tweet Chat.

What We Don't Like

  • Your tweets can easily get lost in the shuffle.

  • Tweets still have a character limitation.

  • Hard to keep up with feed if you follow a lot of people.

Teens have taken a liking to the X microblogging social network, which is a hub for real-time news and connecting with high-profile individuals and celebrities. Because X is so simple to use from a mobile device, it's convenient to access, but it's the visual component of embedded multimedia, such as photos, articles, and videos, in tweets that attracts most teens.

Users can get on X from their computer, phone, or tablet. See all the different ways you can use X on its apps page.

08
of 09

Tumblr

Three iOS screens from Tumblr app
What We Like

  • Can post a blog, video, pics, and even animated GIFs.

  • Freely express yourself with blog-like posts.

  • Suggested posts help you find content related to what you just liked.

  • Few to no ads.

What We Don't Like

  • Has had problems with adult content in the past.

  • Tumblr has had some censorship complaints.

  • Hard to build a following.

Tumblr is one of the web's most popular blogging platforms, and a lot of teens have admitted to trading in their Facebook accounts for a Tumblr blog instead.

Like Snapchat and Instagram, Tumblr is largely dominated by visual content and has become a favored platform for animated GIF sharing. Although it allows its users to create blog posts in all sorts of formats, including text, audio, quote, and dialogue, it's the visual content that makes time spent on Tumblr worth it.

Tumblr can be downloaded on Android and iOS. It also works through a web browser.

09
of 09

ASKfm

Three iOS Ask.fm app screens
What We Like

  • Interesting way to get to know someone.

  • Can ask anything.

  • Photo polls are a fun way to start a conversation.

What We Don't Like

  • Difficult to find subjects you want to read.

  • Can't easily search for specific posts.

  • You have to follow at least three friends to earn "coins" for profile features.

  • Potential for cruelty or bullying.

ASKfm is a Q&A-based website and app that lets its users take questions from their followers, then answer them one at a time, any time they want. It gives youngsters another reason to talk about themselves other than in the comment section of their own selfies. Although ASKfm may not be as huge as Instagram or Snapchat, it's a good one to watch, for sure. With such a big interest from teens, it has the potential to become the go-to place for Q&A content.

You can use this service on the web and through the ASKfm mobile apps.

Was this page helpful?