Almost everyone uses social media these days, especially teens. Whether it is to be informed on the latest news, keeping up with celebrity drama, or new trends to participate in. At the end of the day, most people enjoy spending their time being on their phone mindlessly scrolling away, and these five apps range from “meh” to complete time suck.

#5 Facebook

Facebook is an app mostly used by Millennials and Boomers, usually to share cute photos or updates on their families. Users can like each other’s posts, and perhaps comment as well. Facebook also has the advantage of Marketplace, for those who want to buy or sell goods, and niche groups that can only be joined by application, but allow users to connect with like-minded or interested people.

However, during COVID, the app’s overall vibe shifted. It became a space where people felt they could be negative and criticize each other. Most comment sections are filled with arguments or nosy people.

As for Gen Z, the app is outdated and stuck on old news.

#4 X. (Twitter)

Twitter which is now named X due to the new owner, Elon Musk, who apparently felt rebranding would help the dying app. X is mostly referred to as the app for daily news, which is ironic considering Musk recently took away news’ publications abilities to include headlines on linked articles.

One must also consider the fact that X is looking to monetize the site, even though the app – to adolescents – feels like junk, with dozens of spams or memes jumping out at users. Although Millennials and Boomers may believe X is an app on which they can try to prove their intelligence, with a limit of only 280 characters per post, there is not much to say about this app’s usefulness.

#3 Instagram

Instagram is a fun app mostly used by teens and adults where they can customize their page to share photo-based posts, whether they are aesthetic, trendy, silly, or cute. People can be creative in designing their profiles, most of which – for teens – include their school, year of graduation, and some sort of emoji, proverb or quote.

It can be simple to grow one’s platform since Instagram provides a large audience from reels, stories or posts. There is certainly something for everyone, and the app tries to stay current in its offerings, including the addition of Threads this past summer. There are also many different accounts to follow that suit people’s different interests, like memes, celebrities, influences or fan pages that can be adjusted to people’s liking.

#2 Snapchat

Ah, Snapchat: the app where teens send ceiling pictures for “streaks”. Snapchat has many unique services like filters, snap maps and snap stories. It is a safe app and allows people to add friends who they may know or have mutual friends with. 

More than 51% of teens use Snapchat daily according to the Pew Research Center, and with numbers like those, this app had to make the top two. While Snapchat may be a gathering place for adolescents, though, there have long been complaints that Snap is a “camera company” and not an app, or that the app’s allegedly addictive qualities can have negative impacts on teens’ self-esteem. That said, most teens love Snapchat, and flock to it several times a day, making it a preferred app.

#1 TikTok

Entertaining TikTok! Social media users will not find it very surprising this app makes the #1 spot on the list. Most people spend hours of their day watching TikTok, as a few minutes of harmless scrolling can easily lead to hours spent viewing videos. The videos someone could find on their “for you page” could include relatable content, funny memes, new trends, day in a life, etc. 

Some quick facts about this top app from the Pew Research Center:

• Used by 67% of all teens, and 16% of the demographic say they use the app “almost constantly”, as reported by Pew.
• TikTok is the second most popular social media platform (behind YouTube) among teens and “has rocketed in popularity since its North American debut”.
• Approximately 71% of Hispanic teens and 62% of White teens use TikTok.
• About 86% of teen TikTok users claim to be on the app “daily”.

And, it must be mentioned that an estimated 40% of teens turn to TikTok or Instagram, rather than Google, when searching for information. For those reasons, TikTok reigns supreme.