Who’s Online?: Teenagers Changing Social Media Habits

As desktop computers give way to portable smartphones, young people are able to access the internet more than ever before. According a study by the Pew Research Center, 94% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 use the internet every day, and 24% of teens go online “almost constantly.” The study compares the social media habits of 1,060 teens from various financial and racial demographics across the United States. For a lot of young people, using the internet means using social media, especially Facebook. The survey highlights that 50% of teens with an annual household income below $30,000 use Facebook most often. But as their income increases, that percentage goes down; only 31% of teens from households making $100,000 or more report Facebook as their primary social media platform. Upper-class teenagers are more likely to diversify their social media use, preferring websites like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Still, with more options for online networking than ever, it’s no surprise that 71% of the teens surveyed use more than one social networking site.