US teens survey: 93% use YouTube, 63% use TikTok, 60% use Snapchat, 59% use Instagram, and 33% use Facebook; ~33% use at least one of these “almost constantly”
This reading largely confirms the platform hierarchy in Pew’s 2022 teen social-media survey: YouTube remains near-universal among surveyed teens, while TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram form a second tier and Facebook sits well behind them. The added “almost constantly” measure matters because it distinguishes nominal platform reach from a more concentrated level of day-to-day attention.
First-order effects
YouTube retains the broadest reported teen reach, while TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram remain the principal competing destinations for teen social attention; Facebook’s reported reach is materially lower.
The finding that roughly one-third use at least one major platform almost constantly gives the platforms a clearer signal that a sizable teen segment has exceptionally frequent engagement.
Second-order effects
Brands, creators and product teams seeking teen audiences have reason to prioritize a multi-platform mix centered on YouTube and the TikTok/Snapchat/Instagram group rather than treating Facebook as an equivalent teen-reach channel.
Competition among the four leading teen platforms is likely to focus less on basic adoption than on retaining frequent users, since several services already reach substantial shares of the same population.
Third-order effects
If successive Pew snapshots continue to show this ordering, teen social media will look increasingly like a stable, multi-platform attention market: one broad video incumbent alongside several large social competitors rather than a single universal social network.
The “almost constant” cohort makes time spent and intensity—not just account ownership—a more consequential benchmark for how platforms assess their teen position.
The trend: Teen social use is consolidating around a durable YouTube lead and a competitive cluster of short-form and social platforms, with engagement intensity becoming a key differentiator.
The top social network used by college students changing on a ~3-5 year cadence: “Facebook is an unassailable monopoly” The Blue/Green texts thing bullying most Americans into getting an iPhone: crickets
Pew Research has fascinating new data on social media usage amongst teens including that YouTube still tops the charts for usage. TikTok, Instagram fell while Snapchat grew. Worryingly, 1 in 5 say they are on YouTube or TikTok ‘almost constantly’ https://www.pewresearch.org/ ...
Support for banning TikTok has decreased from 50% of US adults in March to 38% today. Even fewer teens (18%) favor the idea. Not surprisingly, adults and teens who use TikTok themselves are much less likely to support a ban. New from @pewinternet: https://t.co/... [image]
Another interesting wrinkle here: A slightly higher percentage of Dems now oppose a ban compared to those that support one. Was not the case in March https://twitter.com/...
Many teens are on TikTok, including some who use the app “almost constantly.” Overall, teens largely dislike the idea of the U.S. government banning the platform: Half say they would oppose this, far higher than the 18% who would support it. Another 31% are unsure. [image]
NEW: The share of U.S. adults who say they would support the U.S. government banning TikTok has declined from 50% in March to 38% now, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted this fall. 🧵👇 And dive into our full analysis here: https://www.pewresearch.org/ ...
% of U.S. teens who say they ever use... YouTube: 93% TikTok: 63% Snapchat: 60% Instagram: 59% Facebook: 33 Discord: 28 Whatsapp: 21 Twitter (X): 20 Twitch: 17 NEW data from @pewresearch https://www.pewresearch.org/ ... [image]
Which sites and apps are teens in the U.S. gravitating to these days? And how does this differ by gender, race or age? NEW from @pewresearch https://www.pewresearch.org/ ... [image]