What Percentage Of Teens Use Social Media?

Teens and Social Media Usage: What Percent are Plugged In?

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are woven deeply into teen life today. With smartphone ownership at an all-time high, teens now have 24/7 access to these addictive apps. But what percentage of teens are actually tapping, scrolling and snapping daily? Let‘s break down the stats.

According to Pew Research Center’s 2022 Teens and Social Media study, a whopping 97% of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use at least one social media site or app. That’s up from the 95% recorded back in 2014-2015, showing this generation’s complete immersion into the social digital realm.

To put it another way: only 3% of surveyed teens said they never use social media platforms.

Breaking this down further:

46% say they are “almost constantly” on social media sites/apps
29% use them multiple times per day
16% use them about once per day
7% use them several times per week
3% use them less often

So when you hear “what percentage of teens are on social media?” — the true figure is just shy of 100%.

Clearly teens have fully embraced social media, but which sites and apps dominate their attention? Here’s a breakdown of platforms teens say they “ever use”, according to that same 2022 Pew Research study:

YouTube – 95%
TikTok – 67%
Instagram – 62%
Snapchat – 59%
Facebook – 32%
Twitch – 20%
WhatsApp – 17%
Reddit – 14%
Tumblr – 5%

YouTube tops the list with near universal usage at 95%, cementing its standing as the internet’s main video portal. Still, relative newcomer TikTok has risen meteorically in popularity, used by a remarkable two-thirds of surveyed teens.

Instagram and Snapchat make up the top four sites used by teens, with photo and video sharing/messaging abilities resonating with 59-62% of them.

Meanwhile Facebook’s waning relevance among teens is apparent, with less than a third of teens reporting using it.

We know 97% of teens tap into social media and the most used apps, but how much time are they really spending on these sites and apps?

According to Common Sense Media’s 2019 study, tweens (ages 8 to 12 years) use screens for nearly 5 hours per day on average. Teens ages 13 and up average over 7.5 hours per day of screen time.

Within that, teens spend:

Around 3 hours per day on social media
1 hour per day watching online videos
45 minutes per day texting

Girls tend to spend more time on social media and texting specifically than boys:

Girls average about 3.5 hours per day on social media
Boys average around 2.25 hours per day on social media
Girl teens average 1 hour 20 minutes per day texting
Boy teens average 30 minutes per day texting

Common Sense Media’s study aligns closely with Influence Central’s 2022 survey on teen social media usage. They found teens spend an average of 3 hours 22 minutes on social networking apps per day.

Bottom line: today’s teens are true “digital natives”, surrounded by screens and stimuli nearly all waking hours. Managing healthy limits is an increasing challenge.

Teen posts run the gamut from silly to serious. But what issues and topics are most likely to populate their social streams?

Pew Research found teens post about:

49% of teen social media users post about their accomplishments
44% post about their family life
34% post about emotions and feelings
22% post about their dating life
13% post about personal problems
11% post about religious beliefs
9% post about political beliefs

Academic achievements, family snapshots, expressions of emotions: these rank among the most common shares. Dating life details and personal problems come up less frequently but are certainly part of the mix.

With teens immersed in social media for several hours a day, these platforms undoubtedly influence adolescent well-being and development. What are experts saying in terms of pros and cons?

Potential Pros

Fosters connectivity and community. Enables teens to stay linked with friends and family near and far.
Promotes creativity and self-expression. Digital platforms give teens an outlet to showcase talents, thoughts and identities during this formative life stage.
Provides convenient access to information and resources. Teens leverage social media to get news, explore interests, learn new skills, and more.
Builds digital citizenship. Using social media responsibly helps teens gain tech skills critical for college and career success.

Potential Cons

Can negatively impact mental health. Teens report social media contributes to anxiety, depression, loneliness, body image issues and sleep disruption.
Enables bullying and harmful speech. Cyberbullying remains a serious issue, with 1 in 3 teens reporting being victims.
Poses privacy risks. Oversharing personal data, photos and location on apps carries safety concerns. Identity theft is a growing teen issue.
Distracts from academics, health and “real world” activities. Excess social media use may displace exercise, family time, homework and more.

Tips to Balance Risks and Rewards

How can we maximize social media’s upsides while mitigating downsides for teens? Experts emphasize ongoing parent-teen conversations about healthy social habits combined with teens learning self-regulation. Other tips include:

Model responsible social media behavior as a parent
Establish mutually agreed upon usage limits
Keep bedrooms, mealtimes and outings screen free
Turn off notifications to reduce compulsively checking apps
Follow age limit guidelines enforced by platforms
Share online safely by not overposting personal details
Learn to recognize signs of potential issues like bullying

Proactive digital citizenship is key, as social media plays an integral role in teen relationships and will continue shaping society tomorrow.

What does the future likely hold for teenage social media adoption? In a phrase: more immersion. We are nearing 100% penetration across this demographic. Pre-teen usage is also rising, as kids get phones and join sites at ever younger ages.

While Facebook’s popularity slowly recedes among youth, visually engaging apps like TikTok and Instagram should keep strengthening their holds through newly launched features and content styles teens crave.

The coming “metaverse” also promises to take digital social interaction to new levels via shared virtual reality spaces. Expect teens to continue leading the charge into these emerging technologies that fuse social networking and entertainment.

For better or worse, social media is irreversibly entwined with teenage life. It is sure to remain teens’ platform of choice for expression, creativity and community in the digital decades ahead.