Kik, an app that allows smartphone users to message their friends, has launched a new beta program that offers customers the chance to earn virtual currency.

A new feature called 'Kik Points' quietly kicked off this week among selected users to attract and encourage users to use the app more often. According to TNW, the program appears to offer a virtual currency that allows users to buy content in addition to a tool for incentivizing its young user base to be more active inside the app.

It allows users to gain points for certain tasks like browsing Reddit from inside Kik's in-app Web browser, scoring points in a game or inviting friends to the beta. The points can then be used to buy items though "Hipster Animals" stamps.

Since its start, the Canadian startup company has managed to attract 140 million registered users and raise $27.5 million from investors.  Still, it's no match for popular social media websites like Facebook, which is valued at $140 billon.

Despite becoming less popular with teenagers, a recent study reveals that Facebook is still the dominant social media platform used by most young adults.

In a survey that polled over 3,000 young people from 18 to 29 years old, Harvard's Institute of Politics found that a large majority of the participants were members of Facebook, but less than half had accounts on other social media websites like Twitter and Instagram. 

A chart created by online statistic portal Statista shows that 84 percent of adults between 18 and 29 have an account on Facebook, while only 40 percent use Twitter and 36 percent joined Instagram. Even less opened accounts on Pinterest or Tumblr, with the numbers being 33 percent and 14 percent respectively. Other websites like WhatsApp and Kik competitor Snapchat are being used by less than 10 percent of people within this age demographic.