Almost 50% of U.S. teens report being online 'constantly.
Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly,” even as concerns grow about the effects of social media and smartphones on mental health, according to a Pew Research Center report released Thursday.
YouTube continues to be the most popular platform among teens, with 90% reporting they use it—down slightly from 95% in 2022. Nearly three-quarters said they visit YouTube daily.
Other platforms have seen modest declines in usage. TikTok dropped to 63% from 67%, and Snapchat fell to 55% from 59%. These decreases could reflect a shift as teens return to in-person socializing post-pandemic, though the changes are relatively minor.
The platform X (formerly Twitter) experienced the largest drop in teenage users, with only 17% saying they use it, compared to 23% in 2022, the year Elon Musk acquired it. Reddit held steady at 14%, while 6% of teens said they use Threads, Meta’s new platform launched in 2023.
WhatsApp, another Meta platform, was a notable exception. It gained popularity among teens, with usage rising to 23% from 17% in 2022.
The report arrives amid global debates about how social media affects young people’s well-being. For instance, Australia recently implemented a law banning children under 16 from using social networks, though enforcement and potential unintended consequences—such as increased isolation for vulnerable youth—remain uncertain.
When asked about their frequency of use, some teens admitted to being on platforms “almost constantly.” This included 16% for TikTok, 15% for YouTube, and 13% for Snapchat.
Gender differences were apparent in usage habits: girls were more likely to use TikTok almost constantly, while boys gravitated toward YouTube. No significant gender differences were found in the use of Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook.
Racial disparities also emerged, with about 25% of Black and Hispanic teens reporting near-constant use of TikTok, compared to only 8% of white teens.
These findings are based on a survey of 1,391 U.S. teenagers aged 13 to 17, conducted between September 18 and October 10, 2024.
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