A new Pew Research Center survey reveals shifting social media preferences among teenagers, with platforms like X faces controversy (formerly Twitter) and Facebook continuing to lose young users while TikTok and WhatsApp see increased adoption.
The survey, conducted between September and October with nearly 1,400 teenagers aged 13-17, shows that YouTube remains the dominant platform despite a slight decline from 95% to 90% usage since 2022. TikTok secured second place with 63% of teens reporting regular use, followed by Instagram at 61% and Snapchat at 55%.
The study highlights a notable gender divide in platform preferences. Teen girls show higher engagement with TikTok, while boys gravitate more toward YouTube.
Facebook's decline among younger users continues, marking a dramatic shift from 2014-2015 when 71% of teens used the platform. The social network now maintains a steady but much lower 32% usage rate among teenagers, who increasingly view it as a platform for older generations.
WhatsApp emerged as the only platform showing consistent growth, increasing from 17% to 23% since 2022. This trend suggests teens are increasingly favoring messaging services over traditional social media platforms.
X's popularity among teenagers has plummeted dramatically, dropping from 33% a decade ago to just 17% today. Reddit and Meta's Threads showed minimal teen engagement at 14% and 6% respectively.
The survey also revealed that teen internet usage continues to intensify, with nearly half reporting being online "almost constantly" - a substantial increase from just 25% a decade ago. This finding comes as various regions, including Australia, implement restrictions on social media use for younger users.
Device access remains nearly universal among teens, with 95% owning smartphones and 88% having access to desktop or laptop computers at home.
Note: Link 3 about Google Pixel tablets was omitted as it was not directly relevant to the article content about teen social media usage.