Study reveals shocking number of American teenagers are online 'almost constantly'

A new study from the Pew Research Center has found that nearly half of teenagers say they are online almost constantly - a 24 per cent increase from a decade ago.

Teens in the US between the ages of 13 and 17 were surveyed back in September and October, when they were asked about their online habits. Unsurprisingly, most young people have now have smartphones and are on social media.

It comes amid widespread concerns over how technology is impacting the younger generation, and what measures should be in place to limit screen time, as Pew's 2023 survey found a majority of Americans support time limits for minors on social media.

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Out of all the platforms, YouTube was the most popular among teens, with nine in ten saying they use the site and 73 per cent say they go on video platforms daily - this includes 15 per cent who describe their use as “almost constant.”

Additionally, the likes of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are popular too withsix in ten teens saying they use TikTok (with 16 per cent being on there constantly) and Instagram. 55 per cent say they're users of Snapchat.

Around one in ten say they’re on Instagram and Snapchat almost constantly too.

Pew Research Center

However, teens of today are not using Facebook and X, formerly Twitter as much as they used to compared to a decade ago - just 32 per cent use Facebook. That's a massive 71 per cent drop from 2014-15 (though the share of teens on there has remained steady in recent years).

Meanwhile, only 17 per cent of teens say they use X, compared to 33 per cent from a decade ago and this is also a 23 per cent decrease in 2022.

TikTok reigns supreme among teen girls are more likely than boys to say they use the platform (19% vs. 13%), and for the boys, YouTube is the site they are more likely to use than girls.

All of this latest research comes as TikTok users are worried about the app being banned in the US next year.

Elsewhere, TikTok and YouTube short videos actually increase boredom, study shows.

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