YouTube dominates teen social media usage, with 90% of teens using the platform, according to new Pew Research data from a survey of 1,391 U.S. teens conducted in late 2024.

Key findings about teen social media preferences:

Most popular platforms:

• YouTube: 90% (slight decline from 95% in 2022)
• TikTok: ~60%
• Instagram: ~60%
• Snapchat: 55%
• Facebook: 32% (sharp decline from 71% in 2014-2015)
• X (formerly Twitter): 17% (down from 33% a decade ago)

Daily usage patterns:

• About 50% use Instagram and Snapchat daily
• 10% use YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook "almost constantly"
• Instagram's constant usage increased from 8% to 12% since 2023
• One-third of teens use at least one platform almost constantly

Demographics differences:

• Gender: Girls use TikTok more (19% vs 13%), boys prefer YouTube (19% vs 11%)
• Race: Black (28%) and Hispanic (25%) teens use TikTok more frequently than white teens (8%)
• Income: Facebook usage is higher in lower-income households (45% for <$30k/year vs 29% for >$75k/year)
• TikTok is more popular among lower-income teens (73%) compared to higher-income teens (59%)

The research was conducted through Ipsos' KnowledgePanel and weighted to represent U.S. teens ages 13-17, considering factors like age, gender, race, ethnicity, and household income.

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