New Report Provides Insight Into Teen Social Media Use

As Governments around the world consider new measures to limit teens’ use of social apps, the latest stats from Pew Research on teen social media use come at a particularly interesting time, in showcasing where teens are paying attention, and how much time they actually are spending in social apps.

Based on a survey of 1,391 U.S. teens aged 13 to 17, as well as each of their parents, the report provides a snapshot of where teens are engaging, and which apps are the key focus for this cohort.

And it’ll come as no surprise to find that YouTube remains the leader in the space.

As you can see, YouTube has declined slightly since Pew’s last survey, though it was still flagged by 90% of participants as an app that they use regularly.  

YouTube is considered less of a social app and more a video platform, as it doesn’t focus on the social elements as much (interestingly, YouTube has been excluded from Australia’s new social media ban for teens under 16). But it’s still technically a social app, and its influence remains huge, driving cultural trends among young audiences.

Instagram and WhatsApp are the only apps that have seen a rise in usage since Pew’s last teen report, though TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat remain the key social apps that teens use to stay connected.

As per Pew:

“Roughly six-in-ten teens say they use TikTok and Instagram, and 55% say the same for Snapchat.”

That’s pretty much what most would expect, with these apps remaining “the big three” for teens for some time, while both Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) have declined significantly over the past decade with this group.

“Today, 32% of teens say they use Facebook. This is down from 71% in 2014-15, though the share of teens who use the site has remained stable in recent years. And 17% of teens say they use X (formerly Twitter) – about half the share who said this a decade ago (33%), and down from 23% in 2022.”

Both Facebook and X, which are really the O.G.’s of the social space, have become more focused on engagement among older users, and have lost their youth appeal to a significant degree. So if you’re looking to reach teens, probably don’t go marketing in these apps.

Though the real data of interest in this report is likely how much time teens spend in each app:

As you can see in this overview, YouTube and TikTok are the platforms that teens are most likely to spend the most time on.

“Overall, 73% of teens say they go on YouTube daily, making YouTube the most widely used and visited platform we asked about. This share includes 15% who describe their use as “almost constant.” About six-in-ten visit TikTok daily. This includes 16% who report being on it almost constantly.”

“Almost constantly” is a concerning allocation, but this is how Pew has characterized these persistent users, who are virtually always active in social apps.

Based on this, it's YouTube and TikTok that would arguably be the most problematic for teen social media use, if the argument is that social media is overly harmful for teens (expert opinions vary on this). Yet, Instagram and Snapchat tend to get more focus in this respect, with Instagram, in particular, singled out as causing mental health impacts among young girls by various reports.

The data here suggests that both YouTube and TikTok are far more addictive, and arguably more influential on impressionable minds.

Though overall, more teens are spending more time online:

In terms of gender splits, the data shows that teen girls are more likely than boys to say they use TikTok almost constantly, while boys are more likely than girls to use YouTube.

As you can see, the gender splits for other apps are much more aligned, which is another consideration for marketing spend.

Pew’s full report includes further information on usage among different demographics, including ethnicity-specific usage and household income data.

Some valuable insights for anyone looking to reach teens online.

You can check out the full report here.