Teenagers think Google is cool, according to Google

A company owned by Google is considered the coolest in the world by teenagers and Google is the third coolest, according to a study – commissioned and paid for by Google.

The internet giant released a research ‘magazine’ called It’s Lit: A guide to what teens think is cool, looking at what Generation Z – defined as those aged 13-17 – consider cool.

It found that YouTube, which was acquired by Google in 2006, is the number one coolest company, followed by Netflix, then the search engine behemoth itself.

*Full disclosure* Yahoo didn’t fare too well in the study – teenagers think we’re one of the least cool brands out of the 122 included. But at least they think we’re cooler than Vice…

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The magazine defined cool as something ‘unique, impressive, interesting, amazing or awesome’, or that ‘brings joy or happiness or is unique enough to stand out from everything.’

Teenage males are more likely to be persuaded that something is cool by fads or friends, whereas females are more likely to decided whether something is cool according to how it makes them feel, according to the survey.

Google asked more than 1,000 teens to rank 122 companies according to how coolness and brand awareness.

The top right corner of the chart, reserved for brands with only the highest levels of coolness and awareness, is occupied by Youtube, Netflix, and Google.

According to the word of teenagers, Wall Street Journal is the least cool company, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by WSJ market reporter Mike Bird, who bit back with this zinger.

Further results from the survey found that teenagers don’t consider money to be cool, rating it below nature, fashion and books on the coolness scale.