New: 20 facts about teens, Facebook, and Twitter


By now, educators and parents are aware that teens use Facebook and Twitter extensively, but a new study delves deeper into the specifics of how teens are using social media and what the experience means to them.

Conducted by the PEW Internet and American Life Project, the snapshot of teen social media use aggregates data from over 800 surveys of teens in a nationally representative group.

And though it’s common knowledge that issues such as privacy and safety are large concerns for teens when using the internet, some of the statistics from the PEW report, especially when discussing different races and genders, may surprise you.

To read all of the statistics from the report, see “Teens, Social Media, and Privacy.”

(Next page: Facts about teens and social media)

[In no particular order]

1. Teen Twitter use has grown significantly: 24 percent of online teens use Twitter, up from 16 percent in 2011.

2. The typical teen Facebook user has 300 friends, while the typical teen Twitter user has 79 followers.

3. Sixty percent of teen Facebook users keep their profiles private, and more report high levels of confidence in their ability to manage their settings (56 percent). Girls are more likely than boys to have a private profile (70 percent vs. 50 percent).

4. Seventy-four percent of teen social media users have deleted people from their network or friends list; 45 percent have removed their name from photos that have been tagged to identify them.

5. Teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-party access to their data; just 9 percent say they are “very” concerned.

6. Teens are considerably more likely to report having positive online experiences than negative ones. Fifty-two percent of online teens say they have had an experience online that made them feel good about themselves.

7. In 2006, only 2 percent of teens posted their cell phone numbers. Now, 20 percent do. Seventy-one percent post the city where they live (up from 61 percent), and 53 percent post their eMail addresses (up from 29 percent).

8. Twenty-four percent of teens post videos of themselves.

9. Boys are significantly more likely to share their phone numbers than girls (26 percent vs. 14percent).

10. African-American teens are much less likely to disclose their real names on a social media profile (95 percent of white teens do this vs. 77 percent of African-American teens).

(Next page: More facts)

11. While those with Facebook profiles most often choose private settings, Twitter users, by contrast, are much more likely to have a public account. Sixty-four percent of teens with Twitter accounts say that their tweets are public, while 24 percent say their tweets are private.

12. Ninety-eight percent of Facebook-using teens are friends with people they know from school. Seventy percent are friends with their parents. Only 30 percent have teachers or coaches as friends in their network.

13. Girls are more likely than boys to be Facebook friends with coaches or teachers (37 percent vs. 23 percent).

14. African-American youth are nearly twice as likely as whites to be Facebook friends with celebrities, athletes, or musicians (48 percent vs. 25 percent).

15. Fifty-eight percent of teen social media users say they share inside jokes or cloak their messages in some way.

16. Insights from PEW focus groups suggest some teens may not have a good sense of whether the information they share on a social media site is being used by third parties.

17. One in six online teens say they have been contacted by someone they did not know in a way that made them feel scared or uncomfortable.

18. Only 8 percent of teens have posted something online, or engaged in online activities, that caused problems for them or a family member, or got them in trouble at school

19. More than half (57 percent) of internet-using teens have decided not to post content online over reputation concerns

20. Close to one in three online teens say they have received online advertising that was clearly inappropriate for their age.

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Meris Stansbury

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