Survey: The average teenager has more than 425 Facebook friends

Shawn Knight

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Staff member

It’s no secret that social media is massively popular among today’s youth but perhaps you’d be surprised to learn that a staggering 81 percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 use some form of social media. Of those, 94 percent said they have a Facebook profile according to a recent survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project with the help of Harvard’s Berkman Center.

Facebook outpaces all other social media accounts in use by teens by a huge margin, something that network size clearly reflects. Around half of teen Facebook users have 300 or fewer friends while 44 percent claim to have more than 300 friends. The average number of Facebook friends, according to the report, is more than 425.

pew teenagers facebook facebook friends twitter social media tinstagram

Among those that use social media, only 26 percent said they had a Twitter account but it’s a healthy increase from just 12 percent the previous year. Instagram is also on the rise with 11 percent saying they use the photo sharing service. For comparison, there apparently wasn’t even enough data to report a year before (or Pew simply didn’t measure that service in 2011).

pew teenagers facebook facebook friends twitter social media tinstagram

YouTube and Tumblr also saw modest gains of one percent and three percent, respectively. The prospect for all other services, however, is dismal.

Unsurprisingly, MySpace saw the largest dropoff of teens over the course of a full year. 24 percent of social teens used the service in 2011 but only seven percent said they actively used it in 2012. Usage of Yahoo also dropped from seven percent to just two percent, although it’s unclear exactly which service Pew is referring to specifically.

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I only use Facebook to keep up with old high school friends. I might have added 10 people since I graduated 4 years ago. I don't understand the people who have 300+ friends.
 
I only use Facebook to keep up with old high school friends. I might have added 10 people since I graduated 4 years ago. I don't understand the people who have 300+ friends.

Vanity and a herd mentality.
 
The most I ever had was 150, then I deleted them all since they were boring. I now have a very relaxed <80, and everyone is still boring. :(
 
I don't mind people not knowing who I am on FB as long as he/she doesn't spam link or doesn't have any mutual friend from my other friends
 
I have 97 facebook friends. 70 of which I can easily remove because I don't talk to them.
The rest of my "friends" that are left are there because I see them from time to time. Not because I like them.
 
Zuckenberg and rest of his lot should be put on trial for crimes against humanity.

As you probably guessed I don't have account on Face**** and I despise any mention of it.
 
I need to delete mine, this is how the NSA can frame you for stuff etc. And practically everyone at my school has a youtube account;that's most likely due to the fact we have macbook pros. Stupidest idea EVER, macbooks=expensive, and weak what a school laptop should be=inexpensive,durable and lightweight. And now everyone in this messed up 1984 school LOVES apple. WHen I say I have a computer 10x faster than this macbook kids say "that's not possible macs are the fastest in the world". Maybe people think macs are the fastest because of the price tag-_-. It seems I am ranting;but this is true.
 
Friends are the currency of FB. The more you have the more popular you appear to the world. I signed up again recently (with a fake name) just to look at a friend's page. Now I want to delete my account again. It's just a big waste of time and superficial nonsense.
 
Apparently, that demographic (ie the teenagers) is abandoning FB in droves in favor of Instagram to escape parental supervision.
 
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