Most young teens in the US visit social media platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, at least once a day, according to a new report from Pew Research.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Pew’s survey of 1,458 teens aged 13-17 found that, after a dip in social media use in 2022, usage of TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram is spiking, with YouTube in particular popular across all demographics, including gender, race, ethnicity, and income levels. TikTok is also a constant presence for a fifth of teens: 21% of them said they visit TikTok almost constantly
The debate over the effects of social media use on teens has been heavily debated and has led the country of Australia to ban the platforms for teens under 16. Some US states have also moved to limit or ban social media for minors or to introduce age-verification rules.
Pew has been tracking social media use among teens since around 2009, publishing regular reports since 2014. This year, Pew added statistics for the use of chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The Pew report found that almost two-thirds of US teens, 64%, use chatbots. The results are higher for older teens aged 15-17 (68%) than for younger teens aged 13-14 (57%). Black and Hispanic teens, and teens from higher-income homes are more likely to use chatbots, the report found.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Read the full article here