Since the launch of Facebook (FB) in 2006, social media participation has grown rapidly during the past decade. Although FB and YouTube (YT) still occupy the most prominent positions in the social media landscape, Instagram (IG) is rapidly gaining ground, and now has a market share of 35%. It is not uncommon for users to have more than one account. New social media platforms have been developed and gained some popularity, some major concerns have been raised. Displacement–reinforcement effects, such as changes in attitude and loyalty, may appear in relation to both new and old media. In addition, age appears to influence the platform usage and preference. These matters led us to our research question: Is the Internet generation more likely than other generations to switch from FB to YT or IG?

Keywords: Social media choice, generation gap, niche theory