YouTube Is The Most Popular Social Media Among Teens, Followed By TikTok

YouTube and TikTok's popularity among teens has skyrocketed in recent years, while other social media platforms, like Facebook, have seen a decrease in teen using their service. A whopping 95% of kids ages 13 to 17 say they use YouTube, according to the Pew Research Center. And 19% say they use YouTube almost constantly,

Pew compared the social media usage of teens in 2022 to seven years ago. After YouTube, TikTok is second most popular among this age group, with 67% of 13 to 17 saying they use it. On top of that, 16% say they use TikTok almost constantly. 

Pew's 2014 to 2015 survey found 71% of teens used Facebook. The new survey found 32% use it in 2022.

Like YouTube and TikTok, teens' use of Snapchat and Instagram has also increased in the past seven years. Twitter and Tumbler usage decreased.

In 2022, a vast majority of teens – 55% – say they spend the right amount of time on social media apps and sites. But 54% say it would be somewhat hard to give up. 

About 36% admitted they spend too much time on social media and only 8% said they spend too little time on social media. Older teens (15 to 17) were more likely than younger teens (13 to 14) to say it would be somewhat difficult to give up social media.

Social media usage also differs between girls and boys – girls were more likely to say it would be difficult to give up social media. Teen boys are more likely to say they use YouTube, Twitch and Reddit, and girls are more likely to say they TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. 

More Black and Hispanic teens reported using TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp compared with White teens, Pew says.

Social media appears to be omnipresent in most teens' lives – 35% said they are using at least one app or site "almost constantly." One-fifth of YouTube users said they are using the video site almost constantly, while a quarter of Snapchat or TikTok users said the same.

Access to devices like computers, smartphones and gaming consoles has also increased since the 2014-2015 survey. Older teens are more likely to have access to these devices than younger teens – and access to computers and gaming consoles also differs by teens' household income.

Kids ages 13 to 17 in 2022 were born between 2005 and 2009, meaning cellphones and laptops have been around their whole lives. On top of that, a lot of traditional media – like TV shows and movies – have moved to digital platforms – like Netflix and YouTube – and a majority of Americans have "cut the cord" or given up cable. 

Another Pew survey published in 2021 found 71% of adults who cut the cord did so because they can find the content they want to watch online.

In 2016, 65% of adults aged 18 to 29 had cable, and in 2021, that number dropped to 34%. 

First published on August 11, 2022 / 11:22 AM

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