Remember those bygone days when Facebook was the go-to platform to keep up with friends and family? Well, it seems like young people are now more into following trends and influencers than following people they already know. New platforms like TikTok have sprung up, capitalising on these changes. TikTok's short, engaging videos have taken the digital world by storm, and of course platforms like Discord are becoming increasingly popular with young people as well. Twitter, sorry, ‘X’, reached its peak in popularity ten years ago, and about 1 in 5 young people were using it between 2016-2019. Despite a survey in 2022 suggesting it may making a comeback with more than 1 in 3 young people claiming they were using it ¹ data from the Ofcom survey suggests a much lower rate for 12-15s of 1 in 10 in 2023.

During the pandemic young people spent more time online, moving their socialisation entirely to the digital realm, and often juggling multiple screens. TikTok continued to be a hit, with hours spent consuming and creating content.In 2022 a global survey found that 1 in 2 UK children and young people, aged 4-18, were hopping onto TikTok. And they were hanging out there for an average of 114 minutes every day! For ages 12-15 in 2022 & 2023 this Ofcom data says it's actually two thirds!

One to watch is BeReal, with only 8% of young people claiming to use it at the moment will this app take off or flop before it gets going?