Most American teenagers use YouTube and TikTok daily, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, and roughly one in five said they were on one of the two platforms “almost constantly.”
The survey, which looked at the habits of 1,458 teens between ages 13 and 17, suggests that despite growing concern over the potential mental health risks, teens are not putting down their phones, spending much of their time scrolling through social media, watching videos or consulting chatbots powered by artificial intelligence.
While YouTube was far and away the most popular social media platform, used daily by three-quarters of participants in the study, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat remain highly popular with teens. Fewer use Facebook.
“Roughly a third of teens say that they’re on at least one of the five almost constantly — and that number has stayed steady for several years now,” said Michelle Faverio, a research associate with Pew and a lead author on the new report.
She noted that the report found that Black and Hispanic teens were particularly likely to say they used YouTube, TikTok and Instagram almost constantly. Teen girls were more likely than boys to scroll on Snapchat and Instagram, whereas boys used Reddit and YouTube more than girls did.
The report also revealed that many teens regularly use A.I. chatbots. Sixty-four percent of the teens said they had used an A.I. chatbot, and 28 percent said they did so daily. Sixteen percent said they used chatbots several times a day, or almost constantly.
Open AI’s ChatGPT was the most commonly used chatbot, followed by Gemini and Meta AI. A much smaller group of teens reported using chatbots like Character.ai.
Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a psychologist in Princeton, N.J., who was not involved in the new report, said that the findings are not necessarily surprising, though she understood why they may raise alarms for parents and caregivers.
“Online life is very much part of kids’ lives,” she said, adding, “It’s not that watching any one YouTube video is going to turn them into a pumpkin, but if they are on it almost constantly, what are they missing?”
Though parents often worry about the number of hours a day children spend on screens, studying the actual effects is challenging, and many who research screens and youth mental health caution against painting with too broad a brush. A study published over the summer, for instance, found that longer screen time at age 10 was not necessarily associated with higher rates of suicidal behavior, but compulsive or addictive use was.
Dr. Kennedy-Moore said one of her primary concerns about children who say they are using social media platforms or A.I. almost constantly is that they are missing opportunities for in-person connection and friendship, and that chatbots can offer a frictionless dynamic that does not help teens develop key social skills. Also, she said, excessive screen time can interfere with physical activity and sleep.
A study published in the journal Pediatrics this month found that children who had a smartphone by age 12 were at higher risk of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than those who did not yet have one.
Recently, efforts to curb the kind of access teens have to devices and social media platforms have picked up steam. A number of states have enacted phone bans during school hours, an effort with bipartisan support. And Australia recently became the first country to bar children under 16 from using social media.
Still, Dr. Kennedy-Moore said, the burden of protecting children online remains largely on parents and caregivers.
“If your child is young enough to have a bedtime, their devices need a bedtime too,” she said. “I can tell you as a clinician, nothing good happens on those devices in the middle of the night.”
Catherine Pearson is a Times reporter who writes about families and relationships.
The post Most U.S. Teens Use YouTube and TikTok Daily, Some ‘Almost Constantly,’ Survey Says appeared first on New York Times.
