1 in 3 US teens ‘almost constantly’ uses social media sites like YouTube, TikTok: study

One-third of US teenagers say they “almost constantly” use at least one of the top five social media sites such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center.

YouTube remained the clear-cut favorite for the second year in a row, with 93% of users aged 13 to 17 logging into the Google-owned site, according to the survey of nearly 1,500 teens published Monday.

China-owned video-sharing platform TikTok was next at 63%, followed by Snapchat (60%), and Meta’s Instagram (59%) and Facebook (33%), according to the the study, which was first reported by CNN.

Facebook’s usage has fallen off dramatically — from 71% — since the first “Teens, Social Media and Technology” report conducted by Pew in 2015.

The Pew study also found that fewer teens are using X, formerly Twitter, than they did eight years ago. Usage of the Elon Musk-owned site fell to 20% this year, from 33% in 2015.

The study, conducted between Sept. 26 and Oct. 23, shows that growing concerns over social media’s impact on mental health and digital safety hasn’t deterred young people from frequently and heavily engaging with these platforms.

The share of teens reporting that they use the internet “almost constantly” nearly doubled to 46% since Pew’s first survey.

Of the 71% of teens whose social media site of choice is YouTube, 38% told Pew that they visit the site multiple times per day, while 16% said the are on the platform almost constantly.

TikTok users are even more hooked, with 17% saying they almost constantly scroll through the app each day despite it being the first choice of 58%, the study found.

About half of teens use Snapchat and Instagram daily, Pew reported. A somewhat larger share reports using Snapchat almost constantly compared with Instagram, 14% versus 8%.

Meanwhile, far fewer — just 19% of teens — say they use Facebook on a daily basis, with only 3% saying they are on the site almost constantly.  

That’s a far cry from older users of the site. A study commissioned by ClearMatch Medicare over the summer showed the average American aged 65 and older spends most of their time scrolling through Mark Zuckerberg’s site.

Of 2,000 seniors, 24% spent upwards of an hour on social media each day, with 75% of them opting for Facebook, the study found. Just 28% were passing time on YouTube, while only 10% were double tapping on Instagram, according to ClearMatch’s survey.

Representatives for Meta did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The Post has also sought comment from YouTube and Snapchat.