Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Jeff Thomas announces candidacy for county commissioner ... Talent-based Sawyer Paddles & Oars files for bankruptcy protection ... Detours near Phoenix exit in place through the weekend ... Jeff Thomas announces candidacy for county commissioner ... Talent-based Sawyer Paddles & Oars files for bankruptcy protection ... Detours near Phoenix exit in place through the weekend ... Dozens of teenagers told us what's cool in 2016 — these are their favorite (and least favorite) apps Comment By Maya Kosoff MailTribune.com By Maya Kosoff Posted Jan. 31, 2016 at 12:03 PM By Maya Kosoff Posted Jan. 31, 2016 at 12:03 PM » Social News Ute Grabowsky/Photothek via Getty Images Last week, we decided to put together a state of the union on the American teenager. To learn what American teenagers in 2016 really like, and what they don't, we polled about 60 of them from across the US. We spoke with teens ages 13 to 19, in middle school, high school, and college. We asked them about their digital lives and habits, pop culture, and politics. Their answers offer a glimpse into what it's like being a teenager in 2016. Here's a glimpse into the apps they use and the games they play. Teens are shy to talk about how much time they spend on their phones, but it's a lot. Flickr/Daniel Oines We got lots of "too many" and "I'm embarrassed to say" responses, but the numbers we were able to get suggested teens spend about six hours a day on their phones. (This is both in and out of school.) What are teens' favorite apps? Here are a few of the most popular answers: Getty Images/Clemens Bilan The most popular by a landslide: Snapchat. Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images It's no surprise that teenagers love Snapchat. Here's what they had to say about it: "It's how I communicate with most of my friends and it's fun." — a 15-year-old "Snapchat because it's pretty much just texting, but with pictures of my beautiful face " — a 16-year-old "Snapchat, because it is fun to send your friends what you're doing, and where you are in a fast and easy way. I also like being able to make stories, for all of my friends to see, and I also enjoy seeing stories of my friends on it and see what they're up to." — a 17-year-old Spotify was almost universally heralded as the best music app, and it was also listed as a favorite app by a lot of respondents. Nick Pickles/Getty Teenagers we spoke to almost universally named Spotify as their preferred music-streaming service — and some teenagers said it was the best app on their phone overall: "I use it to share music, to see what my friends are listening to, and to find new music." — a 14-year-old Instagram was another favorite. Denys Prykhodov/Shuttershock Instagram is a standby favorite of teens, who swear by its filters and direct-message feature. Here's what they said: "I use Instagram to message my friends funny pictures I see on Instagram." — a 15-year-old "Snapchat and Instagram, I love sharing photos all of the things I do and places I go. I also like seeing what others are up to." — a 15-year-old The dark horse: Twitter. Anthony Quintano/Flickr You might not expect Twitter to be among teens' favorite apps. After all, the company is having a hard time attracting new users. But a lot of teenagers we talked to really liked the platform. Here what they had to say: "Twitter because I can update everyone all the time quickly and it's not annoying like Facebook." — a 17-year-old Twitter because "you can voice your opinion on anything you want to and you can somewhat interact with celebrities." — a 18-year-old "My favorite app is Twitter because I am the kind of person who needs to get out my thoughts, and Twitter may be like shouting into the void but at least I am heard and often validated by my peers." — a 19-year-old Absent from the list: Facebook. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic The teens we talked to said they and their friends were still using Facebook — but it wasn't their favorite app. Here's why: "I use Facebook, but I feel like I can't be myself on it because my parents and my friends' parents are my Facebook friends." — a 16-year-old "It's mostly outdated." — a 14-year-old "Facebook is good for group events and things but it's definitely not my favorite app." — a 15-year-old We also asked which apps were just flat-out uncool. Bloomberg / Getty Images Google+. " I don't even really know a time where Google+ was a thing." — a 16-year-old Whisper. "People just don't use it anymore." — a 17-year-old Vine. "I watch Vine videos, but me and my friends don't have accounts or make our own videos, same with YouTube." — a 16-year-old This pretty much lines up with what teens across the board are saying. BI Intelligence Instagram leads as the "most important" social network among US teens, according to the 2015 edition of Piper Jaffray's teen survey , as reported by BI Intelligence . Facebook may be dead to teens, but a surprising number of them are texting their friends through Facebook Messenger. Facebook The most common form of messaging among teenagers in our survey was iMessage or SMS messaging — 100% of the teens we talked to used one or both of those. But Facebook Messenger was mentioned almost as frequently — 80% of teenagers we spoke with said they used Facebook Messenger as a primary or secondary form of communicating with friends. Less popular were WhatsApp, Kik, and Snapchat text. We also asked teens to identify the coolest app, website, or thing on the internet that adults probably didn't know about. iStock We got a fair number of responses from teens who thought Twitter, Tumblr, and Snapchat were cool (and they are!) and that adults didn't know about them (but they do!). But we found a few responses genuinely surprising. After School. iTunes Several teens brought this app to our attention. We first wrote about After School, a social network created specifically for high-school students , when it launched and started gaining traction in late 2014 . If you're nervous thinking about the kinds of stuff teenagers would post anonymously on a social network, you're not alone. Millions of teens are using it to post their " deepest anxieties, secret crushes, vulgar assessments of their classmates, and even violent threats," according to The Washington Post . Musical.ly. Screenshot You've probably never heard of Musical.ly , but it has already cracked the top 20 in Apple's App Store. The app has quietly grown to its popular status without any press. Musical.ly lets you make music videos of yourself or of other people. It may not seem like a particularly compelling value proposition, but 10 of the 60 teens we spoke with listed Musical.ly as the app they were most excited about and doubted adults would know about. Color Therapy. Screenshot Remember when you were a kid and you colored in coloring books? Color Therapy is a stress-relieving, digital coloring book for adults , and the teens we talked to swore by it. Wishbone. Wishbone Launched by the Los Angeles venture-capital firm Science's mobile studio, Wishbone shows you two options and lets you vote on which one you like more — a spin on the popular "Would you rather?" hypothetical question. Wishbone became somewhat of a viral teen phenomenon, and as of September, just months after it launched, Wishbone had been downloaded 3 million times . "Neko Atsume." Screenshot You have probably never heard of the Japanese game "Neko Atsume," but numerous teens we talked to were obsessed with it. The game's name literally translates to "cat collecting," and that's exactly what you do in the adorable game. "Color Switch." Screenshot/YouTube Speaking of games, a bunch of teens also mentioned " Color Switch ." In this game, you must follow each color pattern you're shown on each obstacle to progress. See Also: Wall Street is going crazy for Facebook after it crushed its earnings — here's what the analysts are saying 60 teenagers reveal what they think is cool — and what isn't — in 2016 Here are the best ideas yet about what the iPhone 7 could look like SEE ALSO: 60 teenagers reveal what they think is cool — and what isn't — in 2016 By Maya Kosoff MailTribune.com By Maya Kosoff Posted Jan. 31, 2016 at 12:03 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501