Almost half of American teens are online ‘almost constantly,’ social media study finds

A new social media-related study has revealed that teens in America are spending the majority of their time online, browsing platforms each day.

The Pew Research Center conducted the study between September 18 and October 10, 2024, to look at how young people aged between 13 and 17 are using their smartphones and technology.

Across all five platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook) “one-third of teens use at least one of these sites almost constantly.”

The share of teenagers who say they use Instagram almost constantly has increased from 8% in 2023 to 12% today.

When asked about how often they go online in general, nearly half of the participants said they are online almost constantly which is a 24% increase from what was seen a decade ago.

With concerns around social media usage, some people are calling for regulations to be brought in to protect children and teenagers. In Australia, for example, a world-first social media ban has been passed which targets under 16-year-olds.

The researchers focused the study’s attention on five platforms – YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

In terms of the most visited platform, YouTube came up trumps as it is the most widely used and visited platform in the study.

“Overall, 73% of teens say they go on YouTube daily,” while about six in ten visit TikTok daily. This includes 16% who report being on it almost constantly.

“Roughly half of teens say they go on Instagram or Snapchat every day, including about one in ten who say they’re on each of these platforms almost constantly.”

The study found that relatively few teenagers reported using Facebook daily, with just 20% of participants in this category.

When it comes to gender, Instagram, and TikTok were found to be used more widely by girls. On the other hand, boys are more likely to say they use YouTube.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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