July 26th, 2023, Bhawna Singh
Meta’s text-based app, Threads, became the most downloaded app within a few hours of its launch and is on track to become the fastest growing app of all time.
Three weeks into the launch, YouGov’s latest research shows that more than a third of Singapore residents who are aware of Threads are on the app already or intend to join soon (32%). Having said that, the largest proportion of respondents (44%) said they do not want to join the app as a member.
Women show the greatest resistance towards the app, with nearly half (47%) saying they do not wish to join it.
Among the different generations, GenZ were most likely to hop on to the bandwagon and say they are already on the app (26%), followed by millennials (at 16%). Future intent is the highest among millennials and they are more likely than others to say they wish to join the app soon (at 25%).
When asked about the reasons for joining the new social media app, nearly half of those already on the app said they joined it because they enjoy using Instagram- and believe this platform, created by the same team, to give them a similar positive experience.
Over a third (35%) became a member as they prefer short-message platforms over photo & video sharing platforms, and another 35% were looking for an alternative to Twitter.
Among those who did not or do not want to join Threads, social media fatigue is the biggest reason, as said by more than six in ten residents in Singapore. Preference for photo or video-based apps over text-based apps (14%), and not wanting to be on an app like Twitter (10%) were some of the other reasons for not wanting to do that.
The survey also shows that two in five (21%) of the surveyed respondents who are currently a member of Twitter, are already on Threads, and another 22% intend to join it soon. Having said that, two in five (39%) Twitter users are neither on the app nor intend to become a member. Among the generations, we see the GenZ Twitter users show greatest interest in the new social media platform. Nearly a third of them (32%) are on the app already, and another 15% intend to join it soon.
When specifically asked Twitter users if they would switch permanently to the app, the largest proportion of respondents (45%) remained unsure. 37% Twitter users said they are unlikely to shift to Threads permanently, and only one in five (19%) may make the switch.
Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This data is based on a survey of adults aged 18+ years in Singapore with a sample size of 1044 respondents. The survey was conducted online between July 17 and 18, 2023. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.