46% of American teenagers say they are constantly online, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, a research center dedicated to analyzing social, political and demographic trends. A figure which highlights the growing importance of digital platforms and smartphones in the lives of young people, despite the dangers they represent.
More connected than ever
The researchers interviewed adolescents aged 13 to 17 to achieve these results. The result is that they are more digitally connected than ever. Thus, 95% of them have a smartphone, compared to 88% for a computer. 83% have access to a game console and 70% to a tablet.
Nearly half of teenagers, 46%, say they are almost constantly online. This is almost double what it was 10 years ago, although the proportion has remained stable for several years. Overall, 96% of respondents say they use the Internet daily.
YouTube, TikTok and Instagram in the lead
The platform they use the most is none other than YouTube. 90% of adolescents go there regularly, and 73% visit it daily. Unsurprisingly, TikTok comes in second place. The Chinese app is used by around 60% of them, with 16% saying they are “on it”. almost constantly “. In this context, its possible ban in the United States would be very hotly contested…
Instagram records approximately the same performance, with 60% of study participants using the application, including 12% almost all the time, compared to 8% in 2023. Snapchat, for its part, is used by 55% of adolescents. “ About one in ten respondents say they are on each of these platforms almost constantly », Specifies the study.
Facebook continues its decline
For its part, Facebook continues its transformation into a platform dedicated to older generations… The use of the most popular social network in the world by adolescents has plummeted over the last decade, going from 71% to only 32% today. today.
Same story for X, formerly Twitter. Only 17% of participants go to the platform, almost half of the 33% recorded ten years ago, and a drop from the 23% recorded in 2022.
These staggering figures on the overuse of online platforms by adolescents prove that better regulation is necessary to protect against their harmful effects. Social networks carry the risk of addiction, especially among young users. Likewise, they can affect their mental health.
- A study reveals that 46% of American teenagers say they are “always online.”
- 95% of them have a smartphone.
- YouTube, TikTok and Instagram are the most popular platforms among 13-17 year olds.
