MONICA ANDERSON, MICHELLE FAVERIO AND JEFFREY GOTTFR
Despite negative headlines and growing concerns about social media’s impact on youth, teens continue to use these platforms at high rates – with some describing their social media use as “almost constant,” according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens.
The survey – conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2023, among 1,453 13- to 17-year-olds – covered social media, internet use and device ownership among teens.
Here’s a look at the key findings related to online platforms:
YouTube continues to dominate. Roughly nine-in-ten teens say they use YouTube, making it the most widely used platform measured in our survey.
TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram remain popular among teens: Majorities of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use TikTok (63%), Snapchat (60%) and Instagram (59%). For older teens ages 15 to 17, these shares are about seven-in-ten.
Teens are less likely to be using Facebook and Twitter (recently renamed X) than they were a decade ago: Facebook once dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth, but the share of teens who use the site has dropped from 71% in 2014-2015 to 33% today. Twitter, which was renamed X in July 2023, has also seen its teen user base shrink during the past decade – albeit at a less steep decline than Facebook.
Teens’ site and app usage has changed little in the past year. The share of teens using these platforms has remained relatively stable since spring 2022, when the Center last surveyed on these topics. For example, the percentage of teens who use TikTok is statistically unchanged since last year.
And for the first time, we asked teens about using BeReal: 13% report using this app.
Related:
- Teens and adults weigh in on social media policies aimed at youth
- Where teens and adults stand on banning TikTok
How often do teens visit online platforms?
In addition to asking teens about the types of platforms they use, we also asked them how often they use five specific platforms: YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook.
YouTube, the most widely used platform measured in the survey, is also frequently visited by its users. About seven-in-ten teens say they visit the video-sharing platform daily, including 16% who report being on the site almost constantly.
At the same time, 58% of teens are daily users of TikTok. This includes 17% who describe their TikTok use as almost constant.
About half of teens use Snapchat and Instagram daily. A somewhat larger share reports using Snapchat almost constantly compared with Instagram (14% vs. 8%).
Far fewer teens say they use Facebook on a daily basis (19%), with only 3% saying they are on the site almost constantly.
Taken together, a third of teens use at least one of these five sites almost constantly – which is similar to what we found last year.
By gender
Teen girls are more likely than boys to say they almost constantly use TikTok (22% vs. 12%) and Snapchat (17% vs. 12%).
But there are little to no differences in the shares of boys and girls who report almost constantly using YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
By race and ethnicity
We also see differences by race and ethnicity in how much time teens report spending on these platforms.
Larger shares of Black and Hispanic teens report being on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok almost constantly, compared with a smaller share of White teens who say the same.1
Hispanic teens stand out in TikTok and Snapchat use. For instance, 32% of Hispanic teens say they are on TikTok almost constantly, compared with 20% of Black teens and 10% of White teens.
How use of online platforms differs across demographic groups
While some sites are commonly used among all teens, there are some differences by gender, race and ethnicity, age, and household income.
Seguir leyendo: Pew Research Center
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