Research: How Teens View Their Digital Lives
A research study from Commonsense Media provides a snapshot of how U.S. teens experience the role of social media in their social and emotional lives.
Common Sense surveyed 1000 kids aged 13-17 to collect information, which seems like a small study for the US. But it is one that offers interesting insights into how kids view social media and themselves.
Using survey data from a nationally representative, probability-based sample of 13- to 17-year-olds, Commonsense Media addressed the following questions:
- How often are teens texting and using Facebook and Twitter?
- What are teenagers’ favorite ways to communicate with their friends and family?
- How do teens think these new communications tools are affecting their friendships and family relations, if at all?
- How does social networking make most teens feel about themselves and their relationships with their peers? Does it make them feel more connected or more isolated? Better about themselves, or more depressed and lonely?
- How do the heaviest social media users compare to other teens in terms of their social and emotional well-being?
Here’s the result of the research (click on the infographic for a larger view):
Common Sense Media Founder and CEO James Steyer is also the author of “Talking Back to Facebook,” a guide to help parents and their children navigate today’s online landscape.
Check out below video about this book:
It’s interesting to see that 49% prefers communicating in person and that 33% communicates by text (wonder if that includes Whatsapp and similar text-apps as well, or just SMS).
What are your thoughts on the outcome of this research? Any parents out there that have a different look on how to understand, or even how you should raise your children?
Source: Commonsense Media