There have been numerous news articles in recent years comparing teens’ likelihood to spend time together in person today compared to the past. A report from Common Sense Media offers data suggesting that teens are communicating less in-person than they used to, and more through digital means.
The report – “Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences” – is primarily about teens’ use of social media, but contains some interesting statistics on their communication methods, and how they’ve changed since 2012.
It’s no surprise that teens today are heavier social media users than they used to be: 70% report using social media multiple times a day, about twice the proportion (34%) from 2012.
However that doesn’t mean that social media is their preferred way of communicating with friends. Asked to choose between texting, in-person, social media, video-chatting, and talking on the phone, a leading 35% of the more than 1,000 13-17-year-olds surveyed said that texting is their favorite way to communicate with friends. That’s up slightly from 33% who felt that way in 2012.
Social media is also growing as a favored way of communicating, being the top method for 16% of respondents, more than double the 2012 share (7%). And video chatting is also gaining steam, cited by 1 in 10 teens, compared to just 2% in 2012.
The big loser? In-person communication. Only 1 in 3 (32%) teens named this their favorite way to communicate with friends, down from half (49%) in 2012. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.
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