Study Reveals Americans’ Most Used Apps
By Movieguide® Contributor
A recent Pew Research survey of 5,733 U.S. adults looked at what social media platforms Americans use.
The survey compared 11 different platforms. YouTube garnered the most users, with 83% of participants saying they use the video platform. Facebook was the runner-up, with 68% of adults reporting usage.
Pew noted, “roughy half of U.S. adults (47%) say they use Instagram. The other sites and apps asked about are not as widely used, but a fair portion of Americans still use them.”
Despite its ongoing controversy and rising popularity, 33% of respondents use TikTok. This is 12 percentage points higher than when the survey was last done in 2021.
However, app usage varies depending on the age group.
“78% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Instagram, far higher than the share among those 65 and older (15%). 65% of U.S. adults under 30 report using Snapchat, compared with just 4% of the oldest age cohort. 62% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok, much higher than the share among adults ages 65 years and older (10%),” Pew reported.
Although children did not participate in the study, many kids do use social media. Because of the technology’s harmful effects, some states are pushing legislation to ban children from using these platforms.
“Some US lawmakers are already going further than castigating the titans of big tech: the conservative state of Florida is debating legislation aimed at banning under-16s from using social media,” The Guardian reported.
Former New York prosecutor Deana Puccio has seen firsthand the effects of children’s social media use.
“This is about us all banding together, and the social media companies, and having an interdisciplinary approach to recognizing the fact that, yes, our kids are suffering with mental health issues more than ever before – anxiety, depression, body image, self-harm – because of what they’re seeing. There’s no log off time,” she said.
Pew’s research supports the claim that young people struggle with screen addiction. The study noted that younger people used more apps than older people.
“Overall, a large majority of the youngest adults use multiple sites and apps. About three-quarters of adults under 30 (74%) use at least five of the platforms asked about. This is far higher than the shares of those ages 30 to 49 (53%), 50 to 64 (30%), and ages 65 and older (8%) who say the same,” Pew said.
Because of the damaging effects, social media platforms are being sued by families and states alike.
“According to a recent 60 MINUTES episode, over 1,200 families are now pursuing lawsuits against Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media companies. These lawsuits are alleging that such companies’ products and services have had a variety of negative mental health effects on the families’ children,” Forbes reported.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Florida House lawmakers have approved a groundbreaking bill that would restrict access to social media for those under the age of 16.
The bill, approved by a vote of 106 to 13, prohibits children under 16 from accessing social media platforms, regardless of parental approval. The motion was taken in response to the dangerously addictive direction that social media companies have paved without regard for the mental health of their users.
“It’s like a digital fentanyl, and even the most plugged-in parent or attuned teen has a hard time shutting the door against these addictive features,” said state representative Fiona McFarland.
The initiative to regulate social media has grown within the past year as multiple state governments have toyed with similar laws. Earlier this year, an Ohio law that requires anyone under the age of 16 to receive parental consent to create a social media account went into effect. Arkansas and Utah have passed similar laws for children under 18.
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +3