Having enough free time to do things you want to do is the main value of American teenagers, according to a survey conducted in 2021. About 95 percent of all young respondents indicated that having free time was either important or somewhat important. Other core values among teens in the United States were being successful in a career, graduating from college, and having a family of their own.

In 2022, around 20.3 percent of teenagers between ages 16 and 19 were employees while enrolled at school in the United States. This is an increase from the previous year, when 19.4 percent of teenagers were working while in school.

In a fall 2023 survey, it was found that TikTok was the most important social network for 38 percent of U.S. teens. Snapchat ranked second, with 28 percent of teenagers in the United States stating it to be their favorite, ahead of Instagram. Teens and the internet in the United States It is no secret that the young really know what’s what when it comes to new technologies these days. Especially those born in the internet era and who only know of analog telephones and cameras from stories of their elders seem to be constantly online and always following the latest tech trends. In fact, a recent survey shows that some 92 percent of American teens accessed the internet on a daily basis, where 56 claim to connect several times a day, and 24 percent are connected almost constantly to the internet. Furthermore, the move from desktop computers to mobile devices insured that teenagers would be some of the most fervent users of mobile internet, anytime, anywhere.

In 2022, YouTube was the most used online platform by teens in the United States, with 89.4 percent of respondents reporting using the platform at least once per month. Overall, TikTok was the second most used social media platform by teens in the U.S., with over 66 percent of respondents using the service. By 2026, it is estimated that 73 percent of teens in the U.S. will be using the popular video app.

According to a 2023 survey conducted in the United States, teenagers spent an average of 4.8 hours every day on social media platforms. Girls spent 5.3 hours on social networks daily, compared to 4.4 hours for boys. YouTube and TikTok were the most popular online networks among those aged 13 to 19, with 1.9 and 1.5 hours of average daily engagement, respectively. The most used platform for girls was TikTok, while the most used platform for boys was YouTube. Are teens constantly connected to social media? YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are the most attractive and time-consuming platforms for young internet users. A survey conducted in the U.S. in 2023 found that 62 percent of teenagers were almost constantly connected to Instagram, and 17 percent were almost constantly connected to TikTok. Overall, 71 percent of teens used YouTube daily, and 47 percent used Snapchat daily. Furthermore, YouTube had a 93 percent reach among American teens in 2023, down from 95 percent in 2022. Teens and their internet devices For younger generations especially, social media is mostly accessed via mobile devices, and almost all teenagers in the United States have smartphone access. A 2023 survey conducted in the U.S. found that 92 percent of teens aged 13 to 14 years had access to a smartphone at home, as well as 97 percent of those aged 15 to 17. Additionally, U.S. girls were slightly more likely than their male counterparts to have access to a smartphone.

According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2023, 93 percent of social media users aged between 13 and 17 years used YouTube, down from 93 percent in 2022. As for TikTok, 63 percent of U.S. teens used the app, down from 67 percent in 2022. Additionally, Snapchat, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Twitch all saw a slight decline in usage amongst teens in the United States. Facebook and WhatsApp saw increases in usage among this demographic.

As of June 2020, 62 percent of parents to U.S. teens aged 14 to 17 years stated that their kids were spending more than four hours per day on electronic devices since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 32 percent of responding parents stated that their teens had used electronic devices daily for more than four hours before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the pandemic triggered a rise in the use of electronic devices among American children under 13 and teenagers with screentime now double that of what it used to be across all age groups.

YouTube, Netflix and Instagram dominate

In an ongoing survey between 2015 and 2020 it was reported that the most popular video platforms among teens in the U.S. were Netflix and YouTube, and the pandemic has done little to shift that. Cable TV viewership continued to decline throughout 2020, while Hulu rose in popularity during this time. Meanwhile, despite a slight drop in viewership Netflix and YouTube retained their positions as the top two video services after the onset of the pandemic. YouTube and Instagram were also named the most popular social media channels among teens and young adults, as of the third quarter of 2020. Due to their booming popularity, it is no wonder that advertisers have been increasingly targeting these networks, with social media add spend having been on the rise each year since 2017. The biggest growth surge has come from mobile advertising, while spend on desktop advertising has remained nearly the same.

Texting and phone calls most preferred during lockdown

As most of the world entered lockdown during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, teens in the U.S. were asked which technologies they had used to virtually connect with friends and family during this time. 'Texting' was the most preferred method, named by over 80 percent followed by phone calls. Meanwhile, video chat and social media came in third.

As of October 2023, 97 percent of teenage girls in the United States had access to smartphone access at home. Teen boys aged 13 to 17 years had a smartphone access rate of 94 percent. In total, 95 percent of U.S. teens had smartphone access at home.

This statistic gives information on the most popular social media sites used by teenage and young adult internet users in the United States as of the third quarter of 2020. During the survey period, it was found that 63 percent of responding internet users aged 15 to 25 years used social photo sharing app Instagram.

Despite Snapchat's dominance, Facebook continues to be the more widely used social networking site used by teenagers and young adults7. A total of 50 percent of respondents currently use Facebook, compared to 48 percent of respondents who stated that they used Snapchat. Yet when teens, whose average age was 16, rated their most important social network, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter where given more important ratings than Facebook. These social networks are being increasingly visited via mobile devices.

A 2023 survey found that half of the teenagers in the United States between 15 and 17 years used the internet almost constantly. The share of teens between 13 and 14 years going online frequently was lower, 40 percent. Overall, 46 percent of U.S. teens surveyed said they used the internet almost continuously.

A March 2023 survey found that over half of teens in the United States accessed the internet to listen to music, as 65 percent of respondents between 13 and 17 years stated so. A further 59 percent said they went online to use social media, while 57 percent watched videos created by other people.

As of October 2023, around 47 percent of teenage girls between 13 and 17 years in the United States said they used the internet constantly. The share of boys of the same age constantly using the internet was almost the same, 45 percent. Overall, 46 percent of surveyed teens said they are almost constantly online.

As of October 2023, a quarter of teens in the United States aged 15 to 17 years reported using Twitter, compared to 12 percent of those between 13 and 14 years. In total, 20 percent of surveyed teenagers stated using the social network.

Between 2015 and 2023, internet usage by teenagers in the United States declined, whereas the share of those who went online constantly almost doubled, from 24 to 46 percent. As of October 2023, the percentage of those using the internet only several times a week or less often was three percent.

As of October 2023, Facebook usage by teens aged 15 to 17 years in the United States was 38 percent. Social network usage was slightly lower among the younger age group. According to the survey, 33 percent of U.S. teens used Facebook overall.

During an September 2019 survey, it was found that 25 percent of teens in the United States used Instagram the most out of all social networks. This is hardly surprising, as U.S. teens rated Instagram among their favorite social network for the past few years. In spring 2019, 35 percent of teenagers ranked the photo-sharing app as their most important social network. Teens and social media in the United States As evidenced by exasperated parents and teachers everywhere, social media is one of the most popular online activities among teenagers in the United States. Despite the near-constant social media usage, teens are usually reasonably aware of the time they spent online. During an April 2018 survey, 54 and 41 percent of responding teens stated that they spent too much time on their cellphone and on social media respectively. Due to constant interaction with other people online, teens come across a wide range of personalities. The most common personality types that teens come across social media are oversharers (people who share too many personal details on social media) and ranters (people who rant and complain about things a lot). Social media and emotional well-being One of the key benefits of social media is that it can make teenagers feel less lonely and more confident and popular. However, with teens who have a low social-emotional well-being, social media can exacerbate pre-existing problems such as feeling left out or being excluded, as well as feeling bad about themselves when their posts did not get enough likes or comments. In the end, online socializing can make up for the lack of friends IRL (in real life) but it can also make things worse for teens who are already in emotional turmoil.

Between 2005 and 2021, the confidence about the future decreased among American teenagers. According to a survey, 56 percent of young respondents were concerned that America's best years might be already behind them, showing an increase of 15 percentage points compared to 2005.

According to a 2023 survey, 97 percent of teenagers in the United States between 15 and 17 years had smartphone access at home. The percentage of younger respondents owning a smartphone was lower, 92 percent. Overall, 94 percent of the surveyed teens stated owning a smartphone device.

According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2022, 22 percent of teenagers spent up to 15 minutes per day on social media app TikTok, whilst a further 22 percent reported to spend between two and three hours on the video-based app. Overall, eight percent of teens in the United States spent more than five hours on TikTok every day.

A survey conducted in the United States in 2023 found that 62 percent of teenagers were almost constantly connected to Instagram, and 17 percent were almost constantly connected to TikTok. Overall 38 percent of teens in the U.S. were on YouTube several times per day, and 19 percent connected to Facebook daily.