The most popular online platforms among teens are…
Move over Facebook.
Until recently, Facebook had dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth—but it is no longer the most popular online platform among U.S. teens (ages 13 to 17), according to a new survey by Pew Research Center. Roughly half (51%) of teens say they use Facebook. By contrast, 85% say they use YouTube, 72% use Instagram, and 69% use Snapchat. (Multiple responses were allowed in the survey.)
The social media landscape in which teens reside looks markedly different than it did as recently as three years ago, according to the study. In the Center’s 2014-2015 survey of teen social media use, 71% of teens reported being Facebook users. No other platform was used by a clear majority of teens at the time.
Lower-income teens are more likely to gravitate toward Facebook than those from higher-income households, the survey revealed. There are also a few differences related to gender and to race and ethnicity when it comes to teens’ most-used sites.
Girls are more likely than boys to say Snapchat is the site they use most often (42% vs. 29%), while boys are more inclined than girls to identify YouTube as their go-to platform (39% vs. 25%). White teens (41%) are more likely than Hispanic (29%) or black (23%) teens to say Snapchat is the online platform they use most often, while black teens are more likely than whites to identify Facebook as their most used site (26% vs. 7%).
The report also found that smartphone ownership is nearly universal among teens of different genders, races and ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some 95% of teens now say they have or have access to a smartphone, up 22% from the 73% of teens who said this in 2014-2015.
Additional findings from the Pew survey include:
• Some 45% of teens say they use the internet “almost constantly,” nearly double from the 24% who said this in the 2014-2015 survey.
• Half of teenage girls (50%) are near-constant online users, compared with 39% of teenage boys.
•Overall, 84% of teens say they have or have access to a game console at home, and 90% say they play video games of any kind (whether on a computer, game console or cellphone).
Until recently, Facebook had dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth—but it is no longer the most popular online platform among U.S. teens (ages 13 to 17), according to a new survey by Pew Research Center. Roughly half (51%) of teens say they use Facebook. By contrast, 85% say they use YouTube, 72% use Instagram, and 69% use Snapchat. (Multiple responses were allowed in the survey.)
The social media landscape in which teens reside looks markedly different than it did as recently as three years ago, according to the study. In the Center’s 2014-2015 survey of teen social media use, 71% of teens reported being Facebook users. No other platform was used by a clear majority of teens at the time.
Lower-income teens are more likely to gravitate toward Facebook than those from higher-income households, the survey revealed. There are also a few differences related to gender and to race and ethnicity when it comes to teens’ most-used sites.
Girls are more likely than boys to say Snapchat is the site they use most often (42% vs. 29%), while boys are more inclined than girls to identify YouTube as their go-to platform (39% vs. 25%). White teens (41%) are more likely than Hispanic (29%) or black (23%) teens to say Snapchat is the online platform they use most often, while black teens are more likely than whites to identify Facebook as their most used site (26% vs. 7%).
The report also found that smartphone ownership is nearly universal among teens of different genders, races and ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some 95% of teens now say they have or have access to a smartphone, up 22% from the 73% of teens who said this in 2014-2015.
Additional findings from the Pew survey include:
• Some 45% of teens say they use the internet “almost constantly,” nearly double from the 24% who said this in the 2014-2015 survey.
• Half of teenage girls (50%) are near-constant online users, compared with 39% of teenage boys.
•Overall, 84% of teens say they have or have access to a game console at home, and 90% say they play video games of any kind (whether on a computer, game console or cellphone).