David Lee King

social media | emerging trends | libraries

New Pew Research Report about Teens, Social Media, & Technology for 2018

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Pew Research Center just released a report titled Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018. It’s full of interesting facts (as most Pew reports are). Check it out!

Here are some highlights from the report:

  • Facebook is NOT the most popular social media channel for teens (but you already knew that, right?). Actually, it’s also not Instagram or Snapchat. Which leads me to my next bullet point…
  • YouTube is the most popular social media channel for U.S. teens ages 13-17. It’s used by 85% of teens.
  • Instagram and Snapchat are also more popular than Facebook. Again … you probably knew that, especially if you have teens in your life.
  • 95% of teens have a smartphone. Or access to one – what does that even mean? I’m picturing my kids texting their friends using my iPhone. Not gonna happen 🙂
  • 45% of teens are online on a near-constant basis.
  • Girls favor Snapchat; boys favor YouTube.
  • 88% have access to a computer at home. This varies by income and education levels.
  • Gaming is still hot – 84% of teens game. 97% of boys and 83% of girls.

Implications for libraries?

  • Reaching teens = using visual content. YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat are all highly visual social media tools.
  • Video is your friend. The top four social media channels that teens use are FULL of videos. Which means that you should probably be making some targeted videos, or at least you should be experimenting with them.
  • Figure out ephemeral content. Instagram Stories and Snapchat both use ephemeral content – content that disappears after 24 hours or so. I know – that’s weird! But it’s also what teens are using. So if you want to reach them … take the time to figure out how to use those tools.
  • You still need to be on Facebook. Teens might not be there, but their parents are. 68% of US adults use Facebook.

Lots more interesting facts in the report – go read it!

Technology Trends in Libraries & the Emerging Generation

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I gave this presentation last week at the Michigan Library Association Spring Institute. Fun times!

It’s a different presentation for me – talking about technology trends for teens and kids. Thankfully, I have three teenage kids of my own, so it really wasn’t too big of a stretch.

Anyway – here’s the presentation – I created one with slightly more info on the slides. Enjoy!

Online Storytimes by Wake County Public Libraries ROCK

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Kevin Smith just pointed me to Wake County Public Libraries‘ series of online storytime videos. Wake County made them to support their local Every Child Ready to Read initiative.

They’re nicely done – go watch them! Here’s the link to their Youtube Playlist for all the videos. The video embedded in this post is an animated sing-along song video … and now that song is going to be stuck in my head the rest of the day. Can anyone say “earworm?”

And something to think about – we’re making digital branches. How are your YA/Kids/teens/etc services represented on your library’s digital branch? Currently, my library’s kiddo population is represented, but it’s sorta spotty (and we have an emerging plan to fix that – our Teen and Tween pages are the start of that). How about you? Some things to think about:

  • Are your webpages focused on kids? Or is it really just for parents?
  • Are your in-house activities mirrored online, like Wake County’s storytime videos? Or craft time? etc?
  • Games, fun stuff, goofy interesting facts? Or … homework help? Probably need both.
  • Older kids (think 13 and up) – social media? That the kids actually use?
  • Staff who know how to do all the above activities, or a way to train them?

How about you? What cook stuff for kids and teens does your library do on their digital branch? I’d love for you to share!

The Edge – Our New Teen Center

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Check out my library’s new Teen Center! A little more about it: “The Edge, our new Teen Center, has opened! What can you do at The Edge? Well… lots: meet with friends, play games, read, study, do stuff on the web, watch movies, and listen to music. We also hope to have live performances by garage bands, Guitar Hero competitions and crazy karaoke.”

Read more about it here. Kudos to my library for building something that’s pretty cool.