Study: 46% of teens are online almost constantly (Pew 2024)
Pew's 2024 survey of 1,391 U.S. teens found 46% are online almost constantly, up from 24% a decade ago, with YouTube the top platform.
Pew's 2024 survey of 1,391 U.S. teens found 46% are online almost constantly, up from 24% a decade ago, with YouTube the top platform.
Nearly half of U.S. teenagers — 46% — say they are online "almost constantly," according to Pew Research Center's Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 report. Pew surveyed 1,391 teens ages 13 to 17 in September and October 2024. A decade earlier, only 24% said the same.
YouTube dominates teen attention. Nine in ten teens (90%) use YouTube, and 73% visit it daily — including 15% who describe their use as "almost constant." TikTok and Instagram each reach about six in ten teens (63% and 61%), while Snapchat is used by 55%.
The biggest shift is in what faded. Only 32% of teens use Facebook now, down from 71% a decade ago. X has fallen from 33% to 17% over the same period. In short, teens did not leave social media — they moved.
What parents should know
The "almost constantly" share has held steady for the past two years, so this is a settled habit rather than a spike. What matters most is where your teen actually spends time — for most, that means YouTube and TikTok — and what they do there. Passive scrolling feels very different from making, learning, or chatting with friends. Asking "what did you enjoy watching today?" opens more doors than "get off your phone."