Why, you might think, do teenagers spend so much time on their phones or playing video games? They’re hanging out with friends and, actually, building friendships.
Those activities that look so solitary? They’re not. At least, not to most teens. The activities that have caused many adults to worry about the potential for bullying, narcissism and distractions have become woven into the social fabric of teens’ lives.
This week, Pew Research Center published the results of a survey on the role of technology in the lives and friendships of 1,060 American teenagers (ages 13 to 17). The national survey shows “the creation, maintenance and conflicts of these critical peer relationships have moved, at least partially, onto interactive digital platforms like texting, online video gaming and social media.”
Here are some specific findings:
Meeting friends online
Fifty-seven percent of teens have met a new friend online. Most often they meet them on social media or through online gameplay. Boys (61 percent) are more likely than girls (52 percent) to make online friends. And most often the friendships stay online. Just 20 percent of all teens have met an online friend in person.
Text messaging is the new form of communication
Most teens — 95 percent — spend time with their friends outside of school. But they don’t do it every day. So they text. Up to 88 percent of teens text friends occasionally, with 55 percent doing so daily. In addition to texting, they’re instant messaging, emailing, using video chat, spending time with friends on social media, playing video games, and using apps like Kik and WhatsApp.
Video games create bonds of friendship
Teens more often play video games with one another (83 percent) than by themselves (75 percent). Boys especially use video games to form and maintain friendships with others. For example, 38 percent of all teen boys share their gaming handle as one of the first three pieces of information provided when they meet someone they’d like to be friends with. (Just 7 percent of girls do so.)
Social media strengthens, challenges friendships
A whopping 83 percent of teens say social media makes them feel more connected to information about their friends’ lives. At the same time, 88 percent say people share too much information, and 42 percent of social-media using teens say they’ve had someone post something about them they cannot change or control. Most teens have experienced drama among their friends on social media.
Smartphones have taken over
Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of teens have access to a smartphone. Girls use them more often to communicate with friends, while boys are more likely to interact with friends via video games.
