This research was reviewed and approved by an external institutional review board (IRB), Advarra, which is an independent committee of experts that specializes in helping to protect the rights of research participants. Ipsos recruited teenagers through their parents, who were part of its knowledge panel, a probability-based web panel recruited primarily through a random national sampling of residential addresses. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. UU.
Adolescents ages 13 to 17 who live with their parents by age, gender, race, ethnicity, household income, and other categories. These are the questions used for this report, along with the answers and their methodology. When reflecting on the amount of time they spend on social media in general, most of the U.S. Teens (55%) say they spend about the right amount of time on these apps and sites, while about a third of teens (36%) say they spend too much time on social media.
Only 8% of teens think they spend very little time on these platforms. When asked about the idea of quitting social media, 54% of teens say it would be at least a little difficult to leave social media, while 46% say it would be at least somewhat easy. Teenage girls are more likely than teenagers to express that it would be difficult to leave social networks (58% versus. On the contrary, a quarter of teenagers say that leaving social networks would be very easy, while 15% of adolescent girls say the same.
Older teens also say that they would have a hard time leaving social media. About six out of ten teens aged 15 to 17 (58%) say that quitting social media would be at least something difficult to do. A smaller proportion of young people aged 13 to 14 (48%) think this would be difficult. The survey shows that there are differences in access to these digital devices for certain groups.
For example, teens aged 15 to 17 (98%) are more likely to have access to a smartphone than their 13- to 14-year-old counterparts (91%). In addition, adolescent boys are 21 points more likely to say that they have access to game consoles than adolescent girls, a pattern that has been described in previous research by the Center. [3] The online platforms teens go to differ slightly by gender. Teenage girls are more likely than teens to say that they've ever used TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, while boys are more likely to use Twitch and Reddit.
Boys also report that they use YouTube at a higher rate than girls, although the vast majority of teens use this platform regardless of gender. Older teens are more likely than younger teens to say that they use every online platform they were asked about, except YouTube and WhatsApp. Instagram is an especially notable example, as most teens aged 15 to 17 (73%) say that they have ever used Instagram, compared to 45% of teens aged 13 to 14 who say the same thing (a difference of 28 points). As for the frequency with which teenagers use the five main platforms analyzed in the survey, YouTube and TikTok stand out as the platforms that teenagers use most frequently.
About three-quarters of teens visit YouTube at least daily, including 19% who say they use the site or app almost constantly. Most teens (58%) visit TikTok daily, while approximately half say the same on Snapchat (51%) and Instagram (50%). If we analyze teenagers who use a certain platform, TikTok and Snapchat stand out for having a higher proportion of adolescent users who visit these platforms regularly. 86% of teen users of TikTok or Snapchat say that they use that platform on a daily basis and a quarter of teen users of both platforms say that they are on the site or app almost constantly.
A slightly smaller proportion of teen YouTube users (20%) and teen Instagram users (16%) say that they are on those respective platforms almost constantly (about eight out of ten teen users use these platforms on a daily basis). On these five platforms, 35% of all U.S. Teens say that they are taking at least one of them almost constantly. While this is not an exhaustive summary of all teenagers who use any type of online platform almost constantly, this 35% of teens represent a group of relatively tall platform users and it is evident that they have different views on the use of social networks compared to those who say that they use at least one of these platforms, although less frequently than “almost constantly”.
These findings are described in a later section. Since the use of social networks has become a common part of the daily routine of many teenagers, the Center asked us:. Teens: How they feel about the amount of time they spend on social media. A small majority (55%) say that the amount of time they spend on social networks is almost right, and smaller actions say that they spend too much or too little time on these platforms.
This analysis also explored how teens who use these platforms frequently may feel about the time they spend on them and how those feelings may differ from teens who use these sites and apps less frequently. For this purpose, two groups were built. The first group is 35% of teenagers who say that they use at least one of the five platforms included in this survey (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook) almost constantly. The other group is made up of teenagers who say that they use these platforms, but not as frequently, that is, they use at least one of these five platforms, but they use them less frequently than “almost constantly”.
When asked what they think of the time they spend on social media, 53% of teens who use at least one of the platforms almost constantly say that they spend too much time on social media, while around three out of ten teens (28%) who use at least one of these platforms, but less frequently, say the same. When reflecting on what it would be like to try to leave social media, teens are somewhat divided on whether this would be easy or difficult. Teens say it would be very (18%) or somewhat difficult (35%) for them to leave social networks. On the contrary, 46% of teenagers say that it would be at least somewhat easy for them to leave social networks, and a fifth say that it would be very easy for them to leave social networks.
Teenage girls are slightly more likely to say that it would be difficult to leave social media than teenagers (58% vs. A similar gap can be seen between older and younger adolescents, since teenagers aged 15 to 17 are more likely than those aged 13 and 14 to say that it would be at least a little difficult to leave social networks. The majority of teenagers who use at least one of the platforms consulted in the survey “almost constantly say that it would be difficult to leave social networks”, and 32% say that it would be very difficult. A smaller proportion of teens who use at least one of these online platforms, but use them less frequently, say the same thing.
Teens who think they spend too much time on social media also report that it would be difficult for them to get away from it completely. Teens who say they spend too much time on social media are 36 percentage points more likely than teens who think their use is right to say that leaving social media would be difficult (78% vs. In fact, about three out of ten teens who say they use social media too much (29%) say it would be very difficult for them to leave social media. On the contrary, the majority of teenagers who consider their use of social networks to be correct (58%) say that it would be at least a little easy for them to leave social networks.
New findings, published monthly About the Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a non-partisan data group that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends that are shaping the world. It conducts public opinion surveys, demographic research, media content analysis, and other empirical research in the social sciences. The Pew Research Center does not take political positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Sometimes it's hard for parents to see the benefits of technology for teens. After all, when teens spend endless hours playing video games or looking at their smartphones, technology can seem more like a burden than a benefit. However, in today's challenging world, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and after, the positive effects of technology on adolescents are significant. Popular messaging apps and social media platforms connect teens with other teens.
These digital tools allow teens to keep in touch with their school friends, through online video calls, group messages or sending fun TikToks, many of which have gone viral over the past few months. As virtual learning becomes the norm, many teens may need help adapting to online education and be motivated to keep up with homework. It's important for teens to continue to work productively even while at home and completing virtual tasks. However, this can be difficult given the increase in depression and anxiety among adolescents during this time of uncertainty.
To ensure your student's success, there are many tools available to parents. Here's a list of the 10 best digital e-learning tools for students that you can share with your teens. Counselors at Newport Academy, a major adolescent treatment center dedicated to empowering teens and restoring their families, are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide private and confidential answers to your questions. There are no obligations or costs and all information is strictly confidential.
When it comes to what teens like most, it's no surprise that nearly half of the teens surveyed said they preferred their mobile phones over any other technology. And why wouldn't they? Smartphones can connect teens to everything that matters to them, from socializing with friends on messaging apps and social networks to consuming all kinds of content and entertainment, such as games and video streaming. This news isn't unexpected, as 95% of teens report that they have a smartphone or access to one. By contrast, teens' interest in AR and VR technology seems stagnant, partly because no other brand has yet replicated the success of Pokémon Go, the most popular AR launch to date.
What is your favorite technology? What is your favorite social media platform?. .
