
Do You Know What Your Teen Is Doing Online?
By Movieguide® Contributor
A new study by Pew Research revealed that almost half of teens in the U.S. are “almost constantly” online, be it in different ways.
“Despite some variety in their overall online habits, virtually all teenagers use YouTube. Of the 1,391 teenagers polled by the Pew Research Center, 90 percent said they use the site, a slight decrease from 95 percent in 2022,” The Verge reported Dec. 12. “And 73 percent of them go on YouTube every day, making it by far the most popular platform for teenage users. The second-most popular app is TikTok, which 63 percent of teens say they use.”
“But there’s a gender divide, especially among teenagers who say they ‘almost constantly’ use either app: 19 percent of girls say they use TikTok that often, while the same share of boys are constantly on YouTube.”
The average amount of screen time for teens is between seven hours 22 minutes and eight hours 39 minutes per day.
The amount that use Facebook is down by 71% compared to ten years ago. Now, only 32% use the platform. Most use Instagram and only 6% use Threads.
“There seems to be a preference for image- and video-based platforms among the teenagers polled: X and Reddit were also much less popular, with 17 percent and 14 percent of teens saying they use them, respectively. And teens’ X usage has declined significantly over the past decade: a decade ago, when it was still called Twitter, 33 percent of US teens used it,” The Verge reported.
READ MORE: WANT TO SAFEGUARD YOUR TEEN’S SOCIAL MEDIA? HERE’S 5 TIPS
If you want to know how much time your teen may be spending on any of these platforms, you can check their phone’s screen time usage reports.
“Most smartphones now include native apps that track screen time, breaking it down by app, time of day, and so on. These usage reports are a great starting point for parents,” Safe Kids Online said.
For healthier screen habits, the resource also advises that teens keep their devices out of their bedrooms at night.
“If kids are going to use a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer after school, make sure they do so in a common area where they can be monitored by parents, siblings, or caretakers,” SKO said. “Put simply: your phone, tablet, or laptop stays out of your room after a certain time at night.”
READ MORE: HOW PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND LEGISLATORS ARE WORKING TO PROTECT CHILDREN ONLINE