Pew Research Center: Teens Have Mostly Positive Outlook on Effects of Social Media

Most of the 1,316 U.S. teens who participated in a survey by Pew Research Center expressed positive sentiments about their experiences using social media platforms, but they also acknowledged the darker side to doing so. Pew said eight out of 10 respondents said what they see on social media makes them feel more connected to what’s going on in their friends’ lives, while 71% say it makes them feel like they have a place where they can show their creative side and 67% say these platforms make them feel as if they have people who can support them through tough times. Overall, 32% of respondents believe the effects of social networking sites have been mostly positive, while just 9% saw them as mostly negative and 59% believe social media has had neither a positive nor a negative effect on them. Among the downsides, 38% of teens felt overwhelmed by all the drama they see on social platforms, while 31% said they feel like their friends are leaving them out of things, 29% felt pressure to post content that will generate likes or comments and 23% said social networks make them feel worse about their own life. Those downsides affected girls more than boys, with 45% of girls saying they were overwhelmed by the drama, compared with 32% of boys, and those numbers at 37% and 24%, respectively, for feeling like friends are leaving them out of things and 28% and 18%, respectively, for feeling worse about their own life due to social platforms. Other key findings included: While just 9% of teens said social networking site had a mostly negative effect on them personally, 32% believed this to be true for people their age. Conversely, while 32% of respondents said those platforms had a positive effect on them personally, just 24% said the same about their impact on teens in general.A total of 40% of respondents said they often or sometimes decide not to post something on social media because they worry people might use it to embarrass them, while 38% said they make those decisions because it does not align with how they like to represent themselves on these platforms. Those trends were more prevalent among older teen girls.As far as the topics of social posts, 43% of teens said they post about their accomplishments, 34% about their family and 25% about things related to their emotions and feelings, while just roughly one in 10 post about their dating life, their personal problems or their religious or political beliefs.Pew found that 41% of respondents believe their parents are worried only a little about their social media use or not at all, while 27% said their parents were somewhat worried, 22% said extremely or very worried and 9% were not sure.According to the think tank, 39% of teens say their social networking experiences are better than their parents think while 27% felt the opposite and one-third said their parents’ assessments were fairly accurate.Pew found that just one in 10 teens encouraged others to take action on political or social issues that are important to them or posted a picture to show their support for a political or social issue in the past 12 months, while 7% said the same about using hashtags.Along party lines 20% of teens who identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party engaged in the activities detailed above in the past 12 months, compared with just 10% of Republicans or Republican leaners.Slightly fewer than one out of 10 respondents said social media is extremely or very important to them personally when it comes to exposing them to new viewpoints, getting involved with issues that are important to them, finding other people who share their views, helping them figure out their own views on an issue or giving them a venue to express their political opinions.Pew found that six out of 10 teens feel that they have little to no control over the personal information collected about them by social platforms, but 44% expressed little or no concern about how much those companies know about them, while 20% feel very or extremely concerned about the amount of their personal information those companies might have. Pew wrote in the introduction to its report, “Society has long fretted about technology’s impact on youth. But unlike radio and television, the hyperconnected nature of social media has led to new anxieties, including worries that these platforms may be negatively impacting teenagers’ mental health. Just this year, the White House announced plans to combat potential harms teens may face when using social media. Despite these concerns, teens themselves paint a more nuanced picture of adolescent life on social media. It is one in which majorities credit these platforms with deepening connections and providing a support network when they need it, while smaller—though notable—shares acknowledge the drama and pressures that can come along with using social media.”

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Pew Research Center: Teens Have Mostly Positive Outlook on Effects of Social Media

There are downsides, however, felt more by girls than boys

David Cohen

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David Cohen