Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences

This survey is the second wave of an ongoing study tracking social media use among American teenagers: how often they use social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook; their attitudes about social media’s role in their lives; experiences they have on social media; and how social media makes them feel. As such, it offers a unique opportunity to observe changes in social media use over time, and to deepen our understanding of the role of social media in teens’ lives. Some key findings:

• Social media use among teens has increased dramatically since 2012. In 2012, 34 percent of teens used social media more than once a day; today, 70 percent do.
• Only a very few teens say that using social media has a negative effect on how they feel about themselves; many more say it has a positive effect. 
• Teens’ preference for face-to-face communication with friends has declined substantially, and their perception of social media’s interference with personal interactions has increased. 
• Nearly three out of four teens (72 percent) believe that tech companies manipulate users to spend more time on their devices. And many teen social media users say that social media often distracts them from other important things.