Youth, Social Media, and Technology 2024: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are still widely used among American teenagers; some say they are almost always on these websites

BYMichelle FaverioandOlivia Sidoti FORMEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Monica Anderson,Director, Internet andTechnologyResearchJeffrey Gottfried,Associate Director, ResearchHaley Nolan,Communications Manager RECOMMENDED CITATION Pew Research Center,December 2024, “Teens,Social Media and Technology 2024” About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about theissues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It does not take policy positions. The Centerconducts public opinion polling, demographic research, computationalsocial science research andother data-driven research. It studies politics and policy; news habits and media; the internet and © Pew Research Center 2024 How we did this Pew Research Centerconducted this study to better understand teens’ use of digital devices, social The Center conducted an online survey of 1,391 U.S. teens from Sept. 18 to Oct.10, 2024, throughIpsos. Ipsos recruited the teens via their parents, who were part ofitsKnowledgePanel. TheKnowledgePanel isa probability-based web panel recruited primarily through national, random Here arethequestions usedfor thisreport, alongwith responses,andthesurveymethodology. This research was reviewed and approved by an externalinstitutional review board (IRB),Advarra, an independent committee of experts specializing inhelping toprotect the rights of Amidnationalconcerns abouttechnology’s impact on youth,many teens areasdigitally connectedasever. Most teens use social mediaandhave a smartphone,and nearly half say they’re onlinealmost constantly,according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teensages13to 17 YouTube tops the listofthe YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchattop the listfor teens online platformswe askedabout in our survey. Nine-in-ten teens report using the site, % of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they ever use the following apps or sites TikTok, InstagramandSnapchat remain widelyused among teens.Roughlysix-in-ten teens say they use Facebookand Xusehavesteeplydeclinedoverthepast decade.Today, 32% ofteens say they useFacebook.This isdown from 71% in 2014- PEW RESEARCH CENTER of teens saythey use X (formerly Twitter)–about halfthe sharewho said thisa decade ago (33%),anddown from23% in 2022. Roughly one-quarter of teens(23%)say they use WhatsApp,up6percentagepoints since And14% of teens use Reddit,a share that has remained stableover the past few years. We asked aboutThreads,launched by parent company Metain 2023,for the first time this year. More on teens and tech: ▪Cellphones in schools: Most Americans favor class bans, butfewer supportall-day bans▪Why Many Parents and Teens Think It’s Harder Being a Teen Today Similar shares of teens report using TikTok, YouTube,Snapchat and Instagram ‘almost constantly’ Debates about teen socialmediauseoften centeronhowmuchtimeteensspendonthese platforms.Aslawmakersexplore potential regulations,our 2023 survey founda % of U.S.teensages 13 to 17 who say they … Our current survey asked teenshowoftenthey usefiveplatforms: YouTube, TikTok, Overall,73%of teens say theygo on YouTubedaily,makingYouTube the most widely used PEW RESEARCH CENTER andvisited platform we asked about.Thisshareincludes15%whodescribe their use as“almost Aboutsix-in-tenvisit TikTok daily. This includes 16% who report being on it almost constantly. Roughly half of teens say theygo on Instagram or Snapchatevery day,includingabout one- Roughly three-quarters of teens visit YouTube daily,while around6 in 10say this about TikTok % of U.S. teensages 13 to 17who say they visit or use the followingapps or The share of teens who say theyuseInstagram almostconstantlyhas increased Relatively fewteensreportusingFacebookdaily (20%). Acrossall five platforms,one-thirdof teens useat leastone of these sites almost PEW RESEARCH CENTER These findings arelargelysimilar towhat we’vefoundthe past two years. By gender Teen girlsmorelikelythan boysto say theyuseTikTokalmost constantly;the reverse is true forYouTube As inprevious surveys,teen girls aremore likely than boys to say they useTikTok almost constantly(19% vs. % of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they visit or use each of the followingapps orsitesalmostconstantly Inversely, teen boys are more likelythan girlsto useYouTubethisoften.While 19% of boys say theyuse it Unlike last year,similar shares ofboys (13%) and girls (12%)todaysaythey use Snapchat almost constantly. There arealsono gender differencesinthe shares ofteenswhoreport PEW RESEARCH CENTER 7PEW RESEARCH CENTER By race and ethnicity Roughlya quarter ofBlack and Hispanic teensreportusingTikTok,YouTubealmost constantly Roughly one-quarter ofBlack (28%)or Hispanic (25%) teens say theyvisit TikTok almost constantly. This % of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they visit or use each of the followingappsor sitesalmost constantly Black and Hispanic teensare alsomore likely thanWhite teensto saythey constantly use YouTube