Teenagers Use Instagram Twice as Much as 'KakaoTalk'

KakaoTalk's Position Shaken

The social networking service (SNS) that South Korean teenagers use the most is Instagram. It ranked first by a wide margin, with usage time nearly double that of KakaoTalk, which came in second.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to data released on the 27th by mobile big data company IGAWorks, last month, the total usage time of the Instagram application by domestic smartphone users aged 0 to 19 was 94.11 million hours, ranking first in the social network category. This is about twice the 48.21 million hours recorded by KakaoTalk, which ranked second. Instagram allows users to sign up from age 14, while KakaoTalk has no age restrictions, yet this difference was observed.

However, in all other age groups except teenagers, KakaoTalk's total usage time surpassed that of Instagram.

Expanding the scope from social networking services (SNS) to all apps, those aged 19 and under used YouTube the most, with 277.87 million hours.

Compared to December of last year, Instagram usage time increased by 3.7% over six months. During the same period, KakaoTalk's total usage time for those aged 19 and under decreased by 7.6%, and Facebook's usage sharply dropped by 44.1%. YouTube's total usage time for those aged 19 and under also declined by 4.2% over six months.

KakaoTalk, which had over 47 million users and held the largest monthly active user base in South Korea, lost its top spot for the first time in December last year to Google's online video platform YouTube (45.65 million users). This was due to losing young users, including teenagers who frequently use Instagram's messaging feature (DM). Amid this, Kakao faced a 'leadership vacuum' for the first time since its founding. Kim Beom-su, the founder and chairman of Kakao's management innovation committee, was arrested on charges of manipulating SM Entertainment's stock prices. The market dominance of KakaoTalk, which had overwhelmingly led the domestic mobile messenger market, is gradually showing signs of cracks.