BY: Emily Mann
Day by day, social media is growing larger. Individuals ages 18-29 are the prime users of social media databases. With further research being conducted, these media sites are beginning to purposely target college student with their videos and advertisements. With this demographic spending more time on the internet, they are more likely to participate in groups, click on video ads, and further research announcements seen on news feeds. Some franchises are taking steps even further to create features for college students only.
Instagram has just announced a feature, just for college students, which is currently being tested. Since this addition is still in a trial period, it is unclear if it will be released publicly. Within the trial, Instagram is helping group together college students with other students in the area. Like many of the community apps such as Facebook and many of the dating apps, Instagram is beginning to use locations and common interests to connect students. If this feature is eventually released to the whole demographic, students will be able to connect and form relationships. These relationships can then flourish outside of the social media app.
Tinder is beginning to target college students as well by launching a separate in app feature called ‘Tinder U’. This feature is a dating service, just like the original Tinder. However, Tinder U is available for college students only. Once a profile is made, students only connect to other students enrolled in a college or university. To be able to participate in this service, a student must have an .edu email address, be an active student, and physically be on campus to sign up. Once the sign up process if completed, the seal or badge of the student’s university will appear on their profile picture. This will ultimately connect students from the same colleges and universities, as well as colleges in close proximity. At this point in time, Tinder U is only available for students with an Apple iPhone that attend a four-year, non-profit university in the U.S. If students wish to switch back to the original Tinder mechanisms, they can easily switch whenever they wish.