My 13-year-old Daughter talks about Twitter

Morgan Stanley recently released some research from their 15-year-old intern about Twitter.  One data point is not enough to make this interesting, so I encourage moms, dads, or anyone that knows a teenager to ask them about Twitter.  You’ll discover some of the curious social media habits *some* teens have.

I asked my 13-year-old daughter about it and here’s what she had to say.

- No one(her friends) uses Twitter because there are too many other things to use out there.

- We use Facebook to share pictures and Twitter has none.

- I invited my friends to Facebook because you (that’s me) use Facebook.

- All my friends use AIM. *ALL*

If this means anything and if you’ll allow me, I’ll draw a few conclusions.

1. Influence: Parents, while perhaps not as much as peers, have some influence on what teenagers use online.

2. User Interfaces: Twitter apps/UI’s might be a serious barrier to entry.  A UI with integrated media (in-line photos/videos), also easy to share and comment, might appeal to teens.

3. Groups: The AIM usage leads me to believe that 1-to-1 texting and group chatting is popular.  Twitter clearly is not that.  Twitter groups might help. 

4. Texting: Twitter’s DM(direct messsage) feels counter to what Twitter is, so they might not be inclined to use it.  A better DM interface might help.

5. Texting: Given the popularity of texting, DM’s from address book seems like a good feature.  The alternative is to remember Twitter handles.