Teenagers Prefer Snapchat, YouTube Over Facebook, Study Finds

Teenagers in the US spend most of their time on Snapchat, Pew Research found, illustrating a shift in the social media landscape over the last three years.

Facebook is no longer the most popular social network for America’s youth, according to a new study by Pew Research. “Teens, Social Media and Technology 2018” examines the online habits of US teens between the ages of 13-17 based on surveys conducted in March and April of this year.

When ranking social media platforms US teenagers use the most, Snapchat is third on the list following YouTube and Instagram. However, 35 percent say they use Snapchat most often—more than any other social network.

Snapchat is appealing to more teenagers than three years ago, with 69 percent using the app in 2018 compared to 41 percent in Pew Research’s 2014-2015 survey. Despite general displeasure over the app’s redesign, the study shows that users are still willing to spend time on it.

Just over half—51 percent—of respondents say they use Facebook, compared to 71 percent in 2015. More teens are using Instagram than three years ago, however, at 72 percent compared to 52 percent.

YouTube is visited the most by teenagers in the 2018 study, at 85 percent, with 32 percent saying they use the site most often. Pew Research notes that YouTube was not listed as an option on its 2015 survey, so comparisons are not available.

“This shift in teens’ social media use is just one example of how the technology landscape for young people has evolved since the Center’s last survey of teens and technology use in 2014-2015,” said Pew Research alongside its findings.

Teenagers are more connected than three years ago, with 95 percent owning or having access to a smartphone. This constant access has 45 percent online almost constantly.

The shares of teens who use Twitter and Tumblr are largely comparable to the shares who did so in the last survey. Twitter users dropped one percent to 32 percent and Tumblr dropped from 14 to nine percent. Vine (RIP) was used by 24 percent of teens in 2015, but not included on this year’s survey for obvious reasons.