[ti:Study: Around Half of US Teens Always Online]
[al:Science & Technology]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-12-27]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Nearly half of American teenagers - children ages 13 to 17 - say they are online "constantly" despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health.
[00:19.41]The information comes from a report that was recently released by the Pew Research Center.
[00:27.69]As in past years, YouTube was the most popular platform teenagers used.
[00:35.41]Around 90 percent said they watched videos on the website, down slightly from 95 percent in 2022. 
[00:47.26]Nearly 75 percent of those questioned said they visit YouTube every day.
[00:54.71]There was a small downward change in several popular apps teens used.
[01:02.22]For example, 63 percent of teens said they used TikTok, down from 67 percent.
[01:12.08]Snapchat use went to 55 percent from 59 percent. 
[01:19.22]This small decline could be due to pandemic-era restrictions easing up and kids having more time to see friends in person.
[01:31.39]But the change is probably not big enough to be truly meaningful.
[01:37.02]X saw the biggest decline among teenage users.
[01:42.60]Only 17 percent of teenagers said they use X, down from 23 percent in 2022, the year Elon Musk bought the platform.
[01:56.54]Reddit usage remained the same at 14 percent.
[02:01.19]About 6 percent of teenagers said they use Threads, Meta's answer to X that launched in 2023.
[02:11.72]The report comes as countries around the world try to understand the effects of social media on young people's well-being.
[02:22.57]Australia recently passed a law banning children under 16 from social networks.
[02:30.17]Still, it is unclear how the Australian government will be able to enforce the age limit.
[02:39.42]It is also unclear whether such a ban will come with unexpected or bad effects, such as isolating some children.
[02:50.01]Meta's messaging service WhatsApp was different in that it saw the number of teenage users increase to 23 percent from 17 percent in 2022.
[03:04.93]Pew also asked teenagers how often they use different online platforms.
[03:12.02]A small but notable number said they are on them "almost constantly."
[03:18.08]For YouTube, 15 percent reported constant use, for TikTok, 16 percent, and for Snapchat, 13 percent.
[03:30.42]As in previous public opinion studies, girls were more likely to use TikTok almost constantly while boys went to YouTube. 
[03:41.61]There was no meaningful gender difference in the use of Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook.
[03:49.92]Around 25 percent of Black and Hispanic teens said they visit TikTok almost constantly, compared with just 8 percent of white teenagers.
[04:03.48]The report was based on a public opinion study of 1,391 U.S. teenagers that ran from September 18 to October 10, 2024.
[04:19.70]I'm John Russell.