Teens’ Media Habits

According to a new study from Piper Jaffray, teens are making some radical changes from the way media was consumed in the past. They have embraced new media in such a way that old media is not merely passe but even an afterthought, really, when so many other interesting digital options are available.

What this means for media buyers, of course, is major adjustments down the line, as these teens age into college and beyond, and they become the demo advertisers most want to target. While advertisers may experiment with social media or mobile video now, a few years from now they’ll need to be quite comfortable with those formats to reach young people.

Here are the most interesting media-related findings about teens from the Piper Jaffray survey:

• The survey found teens spend 59 percent of their video time on Netflix and YouTube, versus just 29 percent of the time watching traditional TV.
• Facebook ranked as the No. 4 social network among teens, behind Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Three years ago, Facebook ranked as the clear No. 1.
• Seventy-three percent of respondents said they will buy or already own a next-generation gaming console (PlayStation 4 or Xbox One), up 6 percent from in 2014.
• The survey also finds more teens are leaving traditional radio for digital radio, and that they’re also moving away from pioneering online music service Pandora in favor of Spotify.