Navigating the Digital Landscape: A Look at Social Media Trends Among High School Students

In an era defined by digital connectivity, social media has become an integral part of daily life for high school students. Amid national concerns about technology’s impact on youth, many teens are as digitally connected as ever. Understanding the platforms they use, how they use them, and the potential impacts is crucial for parents, educators, and anyone interested in the well-being of adolescents. This article delves into the most popular social media platforms among high school students, exploring usage patterns, demographic differences, and the broader implications of these trends.

The Reign of YouTube

YouTube tops the list of the online platforms. Nine-in-ten teens say they use the platform, making it the most widely used social media platform. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, YouTube continues to be the most widely used social media platform. Overall, 73% of teens say they go on YouTube daily. The survey found Alphabet’s YouTube continues to be the most widely used social media platform. Teens use the platform.

The share of teens who say they visit YouTube every day is substantial - including 15% who do so almost constantly. Many teens are on social media daily - if not constantly - but daily use varies by platform.

While still dominant, YouTube's usage among teens has seen a slight decrease. Despite its continued popularity, the number of teens accessing YouTube had dropped from 95% in 2022. This is down from 71% in 2014-15, though the share of teens who use the site has remained stable in recent years.

Demographic Variations in YouTube Usage

Interestingly, there are notable differences in YouTube usage based on gender and race. On the other hand, boys are more likely than girls to say they use YouTube (93% vs. Inversely, teen boys are more likely than girls to use YouTube this often. Conversely, 19% of male teens responded they constantly use YouTube compared to 11% for female teens.

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At 28% the percentage is even greater for Black teens. The survey also reported that Black and Hispanic teens are also more likely to be constantly accessing YouTube and Instagram.

The Continued Popularity of Instagram

Instagram use follows a similar pattern (66% vs. Instagram was the only other social media network accessed by more than 60% of teens. According to Pew’s survey, 61% used the Meta-owned Instagram, a slight dip from the 62% of two years prior. Similar to YouTube, there was a dip from 2022 when 67% used the social media platform. for one day. While the percent usage was the same from 2022, it was a sharp drop-off from a Pew survey of 2014-15 when 71% of teens had been on the social media network. The share of teens who say they use Instagram almost constantly has increased slightly, from 8% in 2023 to 12% today.

Older teens are also more likely than younger teens to have or have access to a desktop or laptop computer (91% vs. Notably, teens ages 15 to 17 are more likely than those ages 13 to 14 say they use Instagram (72% vs. 43%) or Snapchat (63% vs.

The Landscape of Other Platforms

While YouTube and Instagram dominate, other platforms also play a role in the social media habits of high school students.

While 33% of U.S. teens accessed the microblogging site, that figure dipped to 17% in 2024. Looking at the remaining social media networks accessed; Reddit was used by 14% of teens in 2024 which was unchanged from 2022. We asked about Threads, launched by parent company Meta in 2023, for the first time this year.

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The Ever-Present Smartphone and Internet Access

The foundation of teen social media use is access to devices and the internet. Almost all teenagers (96%) report using the internet daily, with 46% reporting being on the internet almost constantly (up from 24% in 2015). According to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, 95% of teens have access to a smartphone.

The vast majority of adolescents (age 13-17) have access to smartphones (95%, 2023 data), desktop or laptop computers (90%), gaming consoles (83%), and tablet computers (65%) [1]. teens have access to a smartphone, 88% have a desktop/laptop computer, 83% have a gaming console and 70% have a tablet computer at home. With the exception of the tablet, ownership of the other consumer electronics has been consistent over the past few years. Tablet ownership had grown from 65% in 2023 to 70%. Smartphones are becoming a core component of young people's daily lives.

The Digital Divide: Access and Income

There are disparities in device access by household income level: 72% of adolescents in lower-income households have access to a computer compared to 87% of middle-income households and 94% of higher-income households. Desktop or laptop computer: 93% of teens living in households whose annual income is $75,000 or more have access to a home computer. Also, ownership of desktops/laptops and tablets is greatest with higher income households ($75,000+). Access to smartphones among adolescents is more evenly distributed across household levels.

Constant Connectivity: A New Norm

Nearly half of teens say they are online almost constantly, up from 24% a decade ago. Hispanic and Black teens stand out in their screen time. About half or more Hispanic (58%) or Black (53%) teens say they use the internet almost constantly. Being online almost constantly is more common among older teens than younger ones.

Time Spent Online: A Closer Look

Debates about teen social media use often center on how much time teens spend on these platforms. Overall, smartphone, computer and gaming console ownership has remained stable over the past few years. The amount of time spent on the internet varies by age and race/ethnicity. Older teens ages 15 to 17 are more likely to report using the internet almost constantly compared to younger teens (50% vs. 40%).

According to Common Sense Media, half of adolescents (age 11-17) use their smartphones for over 4.5 hours a day. The median number of times that adolescents pick up their smartphones is 51 times per day, with 44% of older adolescents (age 16-17) picking up their smartphones more than 100 times per day. Throughout the day, more than half of adolescents receive over 200 notifications from their smartphones, with 23% of notifications arriving during school hours and 5% during school night hours. The majority of daily smartphone usage comes from social media apps (42%), YouTube (19%), and mobile games (11%) [3].

Across age groups, the average time spent on social media ranges from as low as 4.1 hours per day for 13-year-olds to as high as 5.8 hours per day for 17-year-olds. Girls spend nearly an hour more on social media than boys (5.3 vs.

The Impact of Social Media: Benefits and Risks

Social media is a big part of daily life for lots of teenagers. How big? A 2022 survey of 13- to 17-year-olds offers a clue. Based on about 1,300 responses, the survey found that 35% of teens use at least one of five social media platforms more than several times a day. Social media doesn't affect all teens the same way. Use of social media is linked with healthy and unhealthy effects on mental health. These effects vary from one teenager to another. Social media effects on mental health depend on things such as:

What a teen sees and does online.
The amount of time spent online.
Psychological factors, such as maturity level and any preexisting mental health conditions.
Personal life circumstances, including cultural, social and economic factors.

Healthy Social Media Use

While there has been quite a bit of research on negative aspects of the internet and social media, online environments and digital tools also offer young people positive ways to learn, grow, and connect with each other. Social media lets teens create online identities, chat with others and build social networks. These networks can provide teens with support from other people who have hobbies or experiences in common. This type of support especially may help teens who:

Lack social support offline or are lonely.
Are going through a stressful time.
Belong to groups that often get marginalized, such as racial minorities, the LGBTQ community and those who are differently abled.
Have long-term medical conditions.

Sometimes, social media platforms help teens:

Express themselves.
Connect with other teens locally and across long distances.
Learn how other teens cope with challenging life situations and mental health conditions.
View or take part in moderated chat forums that encourage talking openly about topics such as mental health.
Ask for help or seek healthcare for symptoms of mental health conditions.

These healthy effects of social media can help teens in general. They also may help teens who are prone to depression stay connected to others. And social media that's humorous or distracting may help a struggling teen cope with a challenging day. Friendships help teens feel supported and play a role in forming their identities. So, it's only natural to wonder how social media use might affect teens. Online sharing within social media sites helps many people stay in touch with friends or connect with new ones. And that may be more important for teenagers than other age groups.

Unhealthy Social Media Use

Social media use may have negative effects on some teens. It might:

Distract from homework, exercise and family activities.
Disrupt sleep.
Lead to information that is biased or not correct.
Become a means to spread rumors or share too much personal information.
Lead some teens to form views about other people's lives or bodies that aren't realistic.
Expose some teens to online predators, who might try to exploit or extort them.
Expose some teens to cyberbullying, which can raise the risk of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

What's more, certain content related to risk-taking, and negative posts or interactions on social media, have been linked with self-harm and rarely, death. The risks of social media use are linked with various factors. One may be how much time teens spend on these platforms.

Cyberbullying

Some teens use digital media (texting, gaming, social networking, etc.) to repeatedly harass, threaten, or embarrass a peer. youth age 13-17. They found that almost one in four (23%) teens had been bullied online in the last month, up from 16% in 2016 [6]. The Center's 2021 study found that teens who identify as transgender are more likely to be bullied online (35% compared to 24% girls and 22% boys). Similarly, youth who identify as LGBTQ (32%) are more likely to be bullied online than non-LGBTQ youth (22%). LGBTQ youth (7%) are also more likely to report that they have bullied others than are heterosexual youth (4%) [7].

Social Media and Romantic Relationships

A non-representative survey of high school students done by Montana State University on the impact of technology on romantic relationships found that almost all (95%) of high school students report that technology and social media have influenced adolescent dating relationships [9]. Many high school students also report that social media shapes expectations for romantic relationships in often unrealistic and gender-stereotyped ways. Additionally, 84% of high school students indicate that technology has become an integral part of romantic relationships. Outside of romantic relationships, 34% of youth (age 13-24) also report using social media as a tool for flirting.

Sexting and Sextortion

"Sexting" - sending sexually explicit messages or images electronically - is increasing among youth, and also increases through the teen years [11]. Sexting is often used as a form of flirting and is usually consensual [12]. Among youth under age 18, the prevalence of sending an explicit image or message is nearly 15% and the prevalence of receiving one is 27% [11].

Sexting may also be used to pressure someone into having sex or to actually extort money or sex from a victim ("sextortion") [12]. In 2019, a report found that at least 5% of teens had been the target of sextortion, with non-heterosexual teens having twice as much risk [13]. Boys are more likely than girls to be the victims of sextortion, and they are also much less likely to report their experiences to authorities because of feelings of shame and embarrassment. In most cases, victims of sextortion are targeted by current or former romantic partners or someone else they know [13].

Dating Apps

Dating apps have become increasingly popular with young people. In 2017, YTH found that 34% of youth (age 13-24) have used an online dating site [15]. A 2022 national survey of 15-17-year-olds found that 15% of those who were in relationships met their partner online. The percentage was slightly higher for non-heterosexual adolescents and for non-Hispanic adolescents.

Accessing Health Information Online

Hopelab conducted a survey of teens' (age 14-17) and young adults' (age 18-22) use of digital media to access health information and resources. According to the study, young people regard health professionals as the best resource for answering their sexual health questions, but Google was often the first stop, sometimes replacing a health care visit. The privacy and speed offered by the internet make it especially appealing to young people. Young people who are afraid to turn to parents or other adults with their questions are especially likely to use the internet to find sexual health information.

Navigating the Digital World: Tips for Parents

For most teens, social media is an important part of everyday life. By staying informed, parents can learn how to monitor their teens' social media use and help them navigate these platforms with care. Some parents may have challenges keeping up with their technologically savvy teen. Teens can teach their parents a great deal about use of technologies.

How to Help Your Teens Develop Healthy Social Media Habits

Parents and caregivers need to know more about how social media works and how their teens are using these sites and apps. Ask them for help to learn how much they know about the virtual world.

Monitoring Activities: When your teen creates a personal profile, make sure you are on the same platform so you can monitor their activities. Most social media platforms have an age requirement of 13 before teens are allowed to create their own profiles.
Open Communication: Engage in ongoing conversations with teens about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect, avoiding cyberbullying and sexting (sending sexually explicit photographs or messages), being wary of online solicitation, and avoiding communication that can put personal privacy and safety at risk.
Setting Boundaries: Be clear about what is unsafe to post. This includes sharing their full name, address, specific places they go, phone numbers, vacation plans, or anything else that would help someone identify or locate them.
Privacy Matters: Remind teens that once something is posted online, it is no longer private, even if they think it has been deleted. Work with teens to choose appropriate privacy settings for their social media accounts. Social media sites provide tools for parents on how to set privacy settings. Common Sense Media has "Parents’ Guides" that explain everything you need to know about social media, including how different apps work and how to set privacy controls. Some content is free, and you can subscribe for free for one month to access everything else.
Following the Rules: Stress that the rules of social media must be followed, including age limits. Let teens know you will be monitoring their online activities.
Building a Support Network: Actively develop a network of trusted adults for your teen. When teens are always connected, their rest will be interrupted.
Recognizing Warning Signs: Pay attention to any behavioral changes that might be related to internet use. Signs to watch for include secretiveness, spending increasing amounts of time on the internet, inappropriate sexual knowledge, or sleeping problems.
Financial Awareness: Monitor your teens’ online purchases, whether material or downloadable.
Real-World Connections: Never agree to meet in person someone they have met online. Teens need to talk with a parent or trusted adult first. Avoid chat rooms or discussion areas that look risky or provocative. Encourage teens to trust their instincts. Be wary of those who want too much information.

General Tips for Parents

You can take steps to help your teens use social media responsibly and limit some of the possible negative effects. Use these tips:

Set rules and limits as needed. This helps prevent social media from getting in the way of activities, sleep, meals or homework. For example, you could make a rule about not using social media until homework is done. Or you could set a daily time limit for social media use. You also could choose to keep social media off-limits during certain times. These times might include during family meals and an hour before bed. Set an example by following these rules yourself. And let your teen know what the consequences will be if your rules aren't followed.
Manage any challenging behaviors. If your teen's social media use starts to challenge your rules or your sense of what's appropriate, talk with your teen about it. You also could connect with parents of your teen's friends or take a look at your teen's internet history.
Turn on privacy settings. This can help keep your teen from sharing personal information or data that your teen didn't mean to share. Each of your teen's social media accounts likely has privacy setting that can be changed.
Monitor your teen's accounts. The American Psychological Association recommends you regularly review your child's social media use during the early teen years. One way to monitor is to follow or "friend" your child's social accounts. As your teen gets older, you can choose to monitor your teen's social media less. Your teen's maturity level can help guide your decision.
Have regular talks with your teen about social media. These talks give you chances to ask how social media has been making your teen feel. Encourage your teen to let you know if something online worries or bothers your teen. Regular talks offer you chances to give your child advice about social media too. For example, you can teach your teen to question whether content is accurate. You also can explain that social media is full of images about beauty and lifestyle that are not realistic.
Be a role model for your teen. You might want to tell your child about your own social media habits. That can help you set a good example and keep your regular talks from being one-sided.
Explain what's not OK. Remind your teen that it's hurtful to gossip, spread rumors, bully or harm someone's reputation - online or otherwise. Also remind your teen not to share personal information with strangers online. This includes people's addresses, telephone numbers, passwords, and bank or credit card numbers.
Encourage face-to-face contact with friends. This is even more important for teens prone to social anxiety.
Talk to your child's healthcare professional if you think your teen has symptoms of anxiety, depression or other mental health concerns related to social media use. Also talk with your child's care professional if your teen has any of the following symptoms:
- Uses social media even when wanting to stop.
- Uses it so much that school, sleep, activities or relationships suffer.
- Often spends more time on social platforms than you intended.
- Lies in order to use social media.

Your teen might be referred to a mental healthcare professional who can help.

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