Teens think Google is the coolest, Google study finds

YouTube topped the list, with Chrome – a web browser – also making the top ten

The Wall Street Journal, TMZ and Yahoo didn’t fare especially well (AFP/Getty)

Research commissioned by Google has found that young people consider three of the company’s products among the top ten “coolest” brands in the world.

According to the search giant’s ‘It’s Lit: A guide to what teenagers think is cool’ study, Google-owned YouTube is the world’s coolest brand, with Google in third place and Chrome – a web browser – in tenth, ahead of the likes of Apple and Spotify.

“For Generation Z, what’s cool is also a representation of their values, their expectations of themselves, their peers, and the brands they hold in the highest regard,” notes Google.

According to the research, the top ten coolest brands amongst 13-17-year-olds are:

1. YouTube
2. Netflix
3. Google
4. Xbox
5. Oreo
6. GoPro
7. PlayStation
8. Doritos
9. Nike
10. Chrome

“To Gen Z, Google = search and that’s part of makes it cool,” reads the report.

The Wall Street Journal, TMZ and Yahoo didn’t fare especially well, with 13-17-year-olds and 18-24-year-olds ranking them as some of the least cool brands.

The research also found that Google+ is more popular amongst teenagers than Twitter, with 42.2% of the study's participants said to be on the platform and 35.4% on Twitter.

The report rather conveniently leaves out the fact that a Google+ account comes bundled with Google's other, more useful, services.

However, not all of the report’s findings reflect positively on Google’s products.

It also discovered that more teenagers use iOS than Android, and declared that “Smartphones, all-things iOS, and VR/Augmented Reality are the coolest things in tech.”

While Android is well-known, it isn't considered especially cool.

“The purpose of this magazine is to provide a glimpse into the world of teens in the US through the lens of what they find cool,” says the report.

“Cool is an indication of what people pay attention to, what gets them excited, and can often act as a manifestation of their hope and dreams. Unlike millennials, [Generation Z] is ambitious, engaged, and feel like they can change the world.

“We hope it serves as glimpse into the minds of the most informed and connected generation yet.”