It would seem that Twitter is slow to catch on with teens. Usually teens are quick to adopt cool new applications, especially ones that connect so well with social networks. Anastasia Goodstein of the influential youth marketing group, YPulse, has some ideas why that is.
Just because I love Twitter and spent more time on my vacation using my cell phone to access and update my friends via Twitter than I did checking email, doesn't mean it's caught on as well with everyone. I was surprised to learn that teens haven't really begun using Twitter, though some of their favorite brands and bands are using it as a one way form of communication. Kids have enough options to get in touch with friends, using cell phones to call or text and social networks like Facebook and MySpace to broadcast updates to a larger group. What new advantage does Twitter offer them?
According to Goodstein, most people using Twitter are networking or self-promoting their professional lives, neither of which matter (yet) to teens. And, as one commenter to her article put it, "...Right now, there is no reason for them (teens) to use it because for them, the Facebook status bar accomplishes the same thing. I also don't think that they would like the idea of adults being able to follow their tweets."