In the great app popularity contest, LINE, the Japanese messaging giant, surveyed social media users aged between 15 and 24 to predict the top ten apps that will continue to trend among this cohort. While Instagram, X, and TikTok topped the poll, newer social platforms are also climbing up the ranks, with BeReal and Threads placing fourth and fifth, respectively.

As up-and-coming social media apps are challenging the old-guard platforms, a yearning for a more authentic sense of community and connection has developed among young people in Japan. They are gravitating towards novel social media platforms that break away from the conventional, offering them a refreshing and personalised digital space where they can forge meaningful connections on their own terms.

These mindsets translate into enthusiasm for disruptor apps that can facilitate connections meaningfully and intentionally. Indeed, the location-sharing platform Whoo went viral with ten million downloads within three months of launching, while BeReal has found success in Japan as the most popular social platform on the App Store in Q4 of 2023. Young people’s desire for unabashed authenticity also manifests in the influencers they’re gravitating towards, with the biggest breakout creators being Chonmage Kozou (‘Topknot Boys’), a group of middle schoolers who document their friendship through wholesome vlogs.