Almost half of today's teens are online on a near-constant basis

[Shawn Knight]

Recap: With well over two billion active users, Facebook is more popular than ever but its demographic is growing older. Younger social media users are increasingly migrating to alternative platforms... and coming online in droves.

Facebook’s grip on America’s youth is weakening. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, the world’s largest social network is no longer the most popular online platform for teens.

New figures from Pew’s latest survey show that YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat – in that order – are the most popular online platforms among US teens ages 13 to 17. Of those polled, 85 percent said they use YouTube, 72 percent use Instagram and 69 percent are on Snapchat.

Only 51 percent of respondents claim to utilize Facebook and for Twitter, usage is far lower at just 32 percent.

Another statistic that leaps off the page is the near ubiquitous use of smartphones among teens. According to Pew, 95 percent of teens own a smartphone or have access to one. Unsurprisingly, this is resulting in way more time spent online as 45 percent of those polled said they are online on a near-constant basis.

As for the impact of social media on the lives of young people, there doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus either way (at least, among the kids themselves). 45 percent of teens surveyed said the effect has been neither positive nor negative, 31 percent said the effect has been mostly positive and 24 percent said it has been mostly negative.

This statistic should be taken with a grain of salt as you’re essentially asking teens to weigh the impact of something that’s the norm for them. Today’s teens don’t know what it’s like to grow up in a world without social media and the Internet; to ask about the impact of something that’s always been around seems a bit unfair.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/74877-almost-half-today-teens-online-near-constant-basis.html

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

We are all doomed.

 

[VitalyT]

So once over-criticized movies like Surrogates (2009 start feeling underrated now.

Feels like the world is on all paddles now, rowing down the toilet. We'll get there.

 

[cuerdc]

Just half? Doubtful.

 

[TomSEA]

Just half? Doubtful.

That's exactly what I thought. I work next to a high school and when they come out in-between classes and during lunch, it is impossible to find a single student who is not glued to their phone. Literally - hundreds of kids walking around, each and every one of them looking at their phones.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Just half? Doubtful.

That's exactly what I thought. I work next to a high school and when they come out in-between classes and during lunch, it is impossible to find a single student who is not glued to their phone. Literally - hundreds of kids walking around, each and every one of them looking at their phones.

Not only are they all on their phones in between classes, bu ton the way into and out of school, at lunch, and during class. Talking to people is a thing of the past.

 

[p51d007]

Just half? Doubtful.

That's exactly what I thought. I work next to a high school and when they come out in-between classes and during lunch, it is impossible to find a single student who is not glued to their phone. Literally - hundreds of kids walking around, each and every one of them looking at their phones.

I call it the P.I.H. syndrome. Phone In Hand
It's like the lifeblood that keeps them going, they are ADDICTED to their phones, can't be without them for a minute. First thing they touch in the morning, last thing they touch at night.

 

[moral hazard]

Just half? Doubtful.

That's exactly what I thought. I work next to a high school and when they come out in-between classes and during lunch, it is impossible to find a single student who is not glued to their phone. Literally - hundreds of kids walking around, each and every one of them looking at their phones.

I call it the P.I.H. syndrome. Phone In Hand
It's like the lifeblood that keeps them going, they are ADDICTED to their phones, can't be without them for a minute. First thing they touch in the morning, last thing they touch at night.

Just half? Doubtful.

That's exactly what I thought. I work next to a high school and when they come out in-between classes and during lunch, it is impossible to find a single student who is not glued to their phone. Literally - hundreds of kids walking around, each and every one of them looking at their phones.

I call it the P.I.H. syndrome. Phone In Hand
It's like the lifeblood that keeps them going, they are ADDICTED to their phones, can't be without them for a minute. First thing they touch in the morning, last thing they touch at night.

I call it MorePhone addiction. While class is being conducted, the school should randomly arrange potted plants, statues, trashcans and traffic cones through the campus. Then, when the students exit class, they will have to pay attention or risk getting clobbered by stationary objects, which all the other students will post online...

 

[Raytrace3D]

Hey guys and gals! I'm throwing a party next week. Bring your phones because we're going to play a game called "stare at your phone the entire time". Go a head and practice first before you come over.

 

[wiyosaya]

Just half? Doubtful.

That's exactly what I thought. I work next to a high school and when they come out in-between classes and during lunch, it is impossible to find a single student who is not glued to their phone. Literally - hundreds of kids walking around, each and every one of them looking at their phones.

Reminds me of the episode of the new Doctor Who where the Cybermen came back and controlled humans through ear-buds.

 

[wiyosaya]

It is unfortunate that kids these days are falling prey to all these parasitic services that prey on them. More kids need to learn to live without their phones and discover that there is a real world out there by taking a hike, playing basketball, baseball, or some other outdoor activity.

Then again, I bet most of the kids doing this have their parents as a prime example of the undeniable fact that there is no life outside of the smart phone.

 

[Adhmuz]

First thing they touch in the morning, last thing they touch at night.

My phone is my alarm clock so it's the first thing I touch in the morning to turn off my alarm, I plug my phone in at night as I get in to bed making it the last thing I touch at night. I'm sure this goes for more people than just teens, I guess they aren't the only ones addicted.