Teen social media use

Cyberbullying

Almost 60% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, and a similar share says it's a major problem for people their age. At the same time, teens mostly think teachers, social media companies and politicians are failing at addressing this issue.Anderson, M. (2018). A majority of teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/09/27/a-majority-of-teens-have-experienced-some-form-of-cyberbullying/ 

Popular Social Media Platforms

A national survey revealed that YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular online platforms among teens. Fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online 'almost constantly.' The survey also finds there is no clear consensus among teens about the effect that social media has on their lives. About a third described that effect as mostly positive, a quarter thought it mostly negative, but 45% said that effect has been neither positive nor negative.

Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens, social media & technology 2018. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018


Media Use and Teen Problems

In surveying more than ten thousand teens, this researcher found that media use is an important factor in adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Social media use was associated with significantly poorer mental health, while hours spent watching television was linked with significantly higher sexual risks.

Merrill, R. (2018).  Associations between media use, mental health, and risky sexual behaviors in adolescence. Doctoral dissertation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=4256&context=etd