If you’re constantly wondering what has your teens glued to their phones, you’re not the only one. In recent years, everyone — from researchers and mental health professionals, to lawmakers and the U.S. Attorney General — have been trying to figure out just what is so addictive, with the ultimate goal of getting kids to put the screens away. But before t(w)eens can enter the screen-free utopia parents and caregivers dream of (or at least achieve a healthy balance!), it’s first important to understand why they’re on their screens so much in the first place.
A new study looked specifically at how often teens use the internet — nearly half say “almost constantly” — and which social media platforms they gravitate toward. If you have a teen in your life, you might have an inkling as to which app is their favorite, but a recent deep dive — conducted from September 18 to October 10, 2024 — provides valuable insights into the online habits of teenagers. The Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 revealed that a lot has changed in recent years and there are notable differences in social media use by gender.
Teen girls are more likely than teen boys to say they use TikTok “almost constantly,” with 19 percent of girls reporting this compared to 13 percent of boys. In contrast, teen boys are more likely to use YouTube almost constantly, with 19 percent of boys reporting this compared to 11 percent of girls. The same trend was found even if the use wasn’t “almost constant.” About 66 percent of girls say they use TikTok (even if not constantly!) as opposed to 59 percent of boys, and 93 percent of boys use YouTube as opposed to 87 percent of girls.
Though respondents didn’t explain why they were on each platform “almost constantly,” the statistics can give adults a starting point for understanding what kind of content teens are looking for online. For example, TikTok’s focus on short-form videos and community engagement may appeal more to girls, while YouTube’s broader range of long-form content may attract more boys.
Researchers found “no gender differences” when it came to teens who reported using Instagram and Facebook “almost constantly,” and that “almost constant” use of Snapchat was nearly equal among teen boys and girls (13 percent and 12 percent, respectively).
Earlier this year, SheKnows spoke to teen boys about screentime as a part of our ongoing Be A Man series, and we found that not only are these boys spending an average of close to six hours on their phones per day, but their “most-used” apps are reportedly Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok.
YouTube did not get the shout-out we would have expected given the Pew Research Center’s findings, but we did learn that Snapchat is becoming one of teen boys’ favorite ways to communicate. From the elusive half-swipe, to the [at least once-upon-a-time] all-important snapstreaks, to the fact that they can share their location with hundreds of people, the messaging platform has a lot of features these boys are *ahem* responding to.
Of course, six-plus hours on a screen is problematic for so many reasons. And that’s coming from someone who stares at a screen all day for a living! There’s the physical toll (namely the near-total lack of physical activity), and then there are the cognitive harms that experts have been warning about for years.
Plus, recent research that shows social media usage can be detrimental to young people’s mental health. Last year, the American Psychological Association recommended new guidelines on social media use for kids, and the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a major advisory on the negative effects of social media on youth mental health soon after.
“Children are exposed to harmful content on social media, ranging from violent and sexual content, to bullying and harassment,” Dr. Murthy said at the time. “And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends. We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis — one that we must urgently address.”
And just how do we address it? Well isn’t that the million-dollar question? Recent research suggests it could take just one thing — but it’s a tough pill to swallow. Because one of the biggest predictors of how much time kids spend on screens — whether that be negatively or positively (sometimes it’s educational!) — is how much time parents use their own devices around their kids.
“Even if teens say that they don’t get influenced by their parents, the data does show that, actually, parents are a bigger influence than they may think,” said Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco and the lead author of the study.
So, one step in the battle to get teens to put down their phones is for the adults around them to do the same. And, well, we’d wager a bet that at least half of adults are also “almost constantly” on the internet (even if it’s not because they’re trying to keep up a snapstreak).
Before you go, check out these celebrities who have shared their technology rules for their kids.
