Social Media, Social Lives Teen Study from Commonsense Media

Some very interesting studies on Internet usage have hit the Interwebs in recent weeks.  Chekka looka these nuggets to become informed about the social media usage of today's teens. For those of you (including me) who are still a safe distance from the teen years, take a good, long look at your sweet child, then take a deep breath and a mental snapshot.  You might also want to steer clear of high schools and shopping malls for awhile.  Now, on to the study.....

The non-profit organization Commonsense Media used a nationally representative, probability-based sample of 13- to 17-year-olds to create the report:

Commonsense Media: Social Media, Social Lives: How Teens View Their Digital Lives

The report illustrated just how much social media is woven into the daily lives of most teens:

• Three out of four (75%) teenagers currently have a profile on a social networking site, and one in five (22%) has a current Twitter account.
• 68% of teens surveyed text a least once a day, half (51%) visit social networking sites daily, and 11% send or receive tweets at least once a day. 
• More than a third (34%) of teens visit their main social networking site several times a day.

While the term "addiction" was not defined in the questions, 41% of cell phone-owning teens answered "yes" when asked whether they would describe themselves as "addicted" to their phones.

The apple does not fall far from the tree in media usage as 28% of those whose parents have a mobile device say they consider their parents "addicted" to their gadgets, and 21% of all teens say they wish their parents spent less time with their cell phones and other devices.  This same sentiment was well illustrated in the 2011 book Alone Together written by MIT psychologist Sherri Turkle.

On a positive note, the study also reveals teens reported various personal impacts from social media including making them feel less shy (29%), more outgoing (28%); more confident (20%), more popular (19%), and more sympathetic to others (19%). Fifteen percent say it makes them feel better about themselves.

The study contains good news for parents eager to maintain communications with their teen as more than a third (37%) say social media use has mainly helped their relationships with family members.

While social media is not going anywhere, some teens long for a break:

• Forty-three percent of teens agree strongly or somewhat that they sometimes wish they could "unplug" 
• More than a third agree at least "somewhat" that they sometimes wish they could go back to a time when there was no Facebook.

While I have no idea where all of this is headed, at least I won't be completely surprised in a few years. Then again, all of social media is only a few years old today, isn't it?

Click here to view a larger version of colorful Infographic from Commonsense Media: