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Teens and Social Media Fact Sheet

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MORE FACT SHEETS: TEENS AND INTERNET, DEVICE ACCESS

Explore the patterns and trends of U.S. teens’ experiences on different online platforms below.

Which online platforms are most common among teens

YouTube tops the list among teens, with roughly nine-in-ten saying they use the platform. TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram also remain popular – more than half of teens report using each of these sites. 

% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they ever use the following apps or sites

YearYouTubeTikTokSnapchatInstagramFacebookDiscordWhatsAppTwitter (X)TwitchRedditBeReal
2015——415271——33———
20229567596232—17232014—
20239363605933282120171413
Download data as .csv

Note: Figures from 2015 depicted above were collected from 2014 to 2015. Those who did not give an answer are not shown

Source: Surveys of U.S. teens conducted 2014-2023.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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How use of online platforms by teens differs across demographic groups

Usage of the major online platforms can vary among teens by factors such as age, gender, and race and ethnicity.1

% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they ever use the following apps or sites

YouTubeTikTokSnapchat
ALL U.S. TEENS93%63%60%
GENDER
Boys96%59%56%
Girls91%68%65%
RACE AND ETHNICITY
White92%57%62%
Black94%80%66%
Hispanic96%70%59%
AGE
13-1494%58%49%
15-1792%67%67%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
<$30,00093%71%65%
$30K-$74,99993%66%58%
$75,000+93%61%60%
COMMUNITY TYPE
Urban91%67%59%
Suburban94%62%58%
Rural94%62%64%
Note: White and Black teens include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic teens are of any race. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2023.
InstagramFacebookDiscord
ALL U.S. TEENS59%33%28%
GENDER
Boys53%29%34%
Girls66%36%22%
RACE AND ETHNICITY
White56%34%27%
Black69%37%27%
Hispanic62%31%27%
AGE
13-1445%24%26%
15-1768%38%30%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
<$30,00060%45%24%
$30K-$74,99959%41%31%
$75,000+59%27%28%
COMMUNITY TYPE
Urban65%35%30%
Suburban58%28%31%
Rural55%40%21%
Note: White and Black teens include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic teens are of any race. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2023.

WhatsAppTwitter (X)Twitch
ALL U.S. TEENS21%20%17%
GENDER
Boys21%21%22%
Girls21%19%11%
RACE AND ETHNICITY
White14%18%14%
Black20%28%22%
Hispanic28%19%19%
AGE
13-1420%12%15%
15-1721%25%18%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
<$30,00020%19%14%
$30K-$74,99925%22%17%
$75,000+19%19%17%
COMMUNITY TYPE
Urban28%21%18%
Suburban22%22%19%
Rural12%16%11%
Note: White and Black teens include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic teens are of any race. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2023.
RedditBeReal
ALL U.S. TEENS14%13%
GENDER
Boys18%8%
Girls10%19%
RACE AND ETHNICITY
White13%16%
Black16%10%
Hispanic13%7%
AGE
13-1410%13%
15-1716%13%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
<$30,00014%7%
$30K-$74,99914%9%
$75,000+14%16%
COMMUNITY TYPE
Urban14%7%
Suburban16%15%
Rural10%14%
Note: White and Black teens include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic teens are of any race. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2023.

How often teens visit online platforms

Many teens are on social media daily – if not constantly – but daily use varies by platform. About seven-in-ten U.S. teens say they visit YouTube every day – including 16% who do so almost constantly. TikTok follows with 58% who say they visit it daily, while far fewer report daily use of Facebook.

% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they visit or use the following apps or sites …

Almost constantlySeveral times a dayAbout once a daySeveral times a weekLess oftenDo not useNET Daily
YouTube16%38%17%14%8%6%71%
TikTok17%32%9%4%2%36%58%
Snapchat14%29%8%5%4%39%51%
Instagram8%27%12%7%5%41%47%
Facebook3%8%8%6%7%67%19%
Download data as .csv

Note: Figures may not add up to NET values due to rounding. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2023.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Which teens constantly visit online platforms

Differences emerge among teens, including by gender and race and ethnicity, on whether they say they are on these platforms almost constantly.

% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they visit or use the following apps or sites almost constantly

  TikTok YouTube Snapchat Instagram Facebook
ALL U.S. TEENS 17% 16% 14% 8% 3%
GENDER
Boys 12% 18% 12% 7% 1%
Girls 22% 15% 17% 10% 4%
RACE AND ETHNICITY  
White 10% 9% 12% 3% 2%
Black 20% 23% 12% 15% 4%
Hispanic 32% 27% 20% 16% 5%
AGE  
13-14 18% 16% 13% 5% 2%
15-17 16% 16% 15% 11% 3%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
<$30,000 31% 31% 22% 18% 7%
$30K-$74,999 21% 21% 14% 10% 4%
$75,000+ 13% 12% 13% 6% 2%
COMMUNITY TYPE
Urban 22% 22% 14% 12% 4%
Suburban 16% 15% 13% 8% 2%
Rural 14% 14% 16% 6% 2%
Note: White and Black teens include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic teens are of any race. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2023.

Find out more

This fact sheet was compiled by Research Analyst Michelle Faverio, with help from Research Assistant Olivia Sidoti, Digital Producer Sara Atske, Associate Information Graphics Designer Kaitlyn Radde and Temporary Researcher Eugenie Park.

Read the methodology and topline.

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This report was created to better understand teens’ use of digital devices, social media and other online platforms.

Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of teens and technology:

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