Instant noodles, instant coffee and instant messaging prove that we are now living among an “I Want it Now” generation! The inextricable relationship between today’s youth and immediate gratification is stale news. In fact, research indicates that people are willing to wait no longer than 2 seconds for a web-page to download!
How do you effectively – and instantly – connect with today’s impatient youth? Well, here is everything you need to know about reaching out to today’s youth in an instant:
INSTANT MESSAGING RULES THE INTERNET:
SMS is passé! Instant messaging apps are now the latest and hottest communication tools in town. And, why not? The option of communicating in real time has left this generation less inclined to wait for e-mail or SMS responses.
The rise of smart-phones and the ever-increasing popularity of mobile apps means that hordes of people are abandoning traditional carrier-based SMS and MMS texting services for many instant messaging (IM) apps. This could be why since in January 2019, WhatsApp (a mobile messenger app) had 1.5 billion active users!
Are you keeping up with this big change in the online communication tide?
A FEW THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT IM APPS:
First, it’s important to acknowledge that Instant messaging apps are increasingly popular. Let’s take a closer look:
In early 2019, the top 3 messaging apps in the world were WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat. In the United States, Facebook Messenger is particularly popular and one of the things people like most about this app is its ability to share pictures, messages, and videos. You can learn more about the way we use mobile apps here. But if you’re primarily interested in how youth engage with mobile apps, it’s important to remember that 95% of American teens have access to a smartphone. That said, since teens love communicating with their friends so it’s no surprise that they’re using mobile apps to do so. As was said above, they’re doing this by messaging their friends and sharing content like pictures and must-see videos!
Which instant messenger apps are you using to chat with your friends?
WHAT ELSE ARE YOUNG PEOPLE DOING ON MESSAGING APPS?:
Teens are also using messaging apps for socializing, event planning and schoolwork collaboration. Real-time messaging and group chatting make planning or coordinating any event a breeze. Whether it is sharing an important update with friends, asking a key homework question or planning a shopping and movie outing – it’s as easy as type and share!
So what about you? Which activity do you mostly use instant messaging apps for?
WHY YOU NEED TO LEVERAGE INSTANT MESSAGING APPS:
If you work with youth, what does all this have to do with you? Well, if you want to teach them to share the love and hope of the Lord with their friends, you need to go where they are! And, as is apparent by now, that means you need to leverage the world of instant messaging.
The next question is how? This is where Voke comes in! The Voke app has been created to help youth grow in their faith and take that bold step of sharing the Good News. Teens can share meaningful short videos with friends and the app notifies them when their friends click on the link. Next, they can instantly chat with them as they watch. If they don’t know what to say, conversation starters for each video make talking about deep, spiritual matters as easy as pie.
We may wonder why teens spend so much time on their phones; but we can also aim to empathise with them and leverage this trend to help youth grow and own their faith!
