About 1 in 5 teens say they\u2019re online almost constantly<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, Dec. 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Scrolling is still a big part of daily life for American teenagers, despite mounting worries about screen time and mental health.<\/p>\n
A new report from the Pew Research Center<\/a><\/em> found that most teens in the U.S. use YouTube and TikTok every day, and about 1 in 5 say they\u2019re on one of those platforms almost constantly.<\/p>\n The survey of 1,458 teens between 13 and 17 years of age shows that phones, videos and social apps remain deeply ingrained into teen life.<\/p>\n YouTube was the clear favorite, with about 75% of teens saying they use it daily. TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat also ranked high, while Facebook lagged far behind.<\/p>\n \u201cRoughly a third of teens say that they\u2019re on at least one of the five almost constantly \u2014 and that number has stayed steady for several years now,\u201d lead author Michelle Faverio<\/a>, a Pew<\/em> research associate, told The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n The report also showed differences across many groups.<\/p>\n Black and Hispanic teens were more likely than white teens to say they used YouTube, TikTok and Instagram almost all the time. Girls reported heavier use of Snapchat and Instagram, while boys were more likely to use YouTube and Reddit.<\/p>\n Pew<\/em> also found that teens are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence chatbots. About 64% said they\u2019ve used one, and 28% use them daily. Around 16% said they use chatbots several times a day or almost constantly.<\/p>\n ChatGPT was the most commonly used chatbot, followed by Google\u2019s Gemini and Meta AI. A smaller share said they used character-based chatbots such as Character.ai.<\/p>\n The findings don\u2019t surprise mental health experts, but they do raise some concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cOnline life is very much part of kids\u2019 lives,\u201d Eileen Kennedy-Moore<\/a>, a psychologist in Princeton, N.J., who reviewed the findings, told The New York Times<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s not that watching any one YouTube video is going to turn them into a pumpkin, but if they are on it almost constantly, what are they missing?\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers caution that screen time alone doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. Some studies show that longer screen use isn\u2019t always linked to worse mental health. But compulsive or addictive use, experts say, is more concerning.<\/p>\n Kennedy-Moore said constant screen use can disrupt sleep, exercise and in-person friendships, and that chatbots don\u2019t help teens practice real-world social skills.<\/p>\n A recent study in the journal Pediatrics<\/a><\/em> found that kids who had a smartphone by age 12 were more likely to experience depression, obesity and poor sleep.<\/p>\n Lawmakers are also paying more attention. Several U.S. states now limit phone use during school hours, and Australia recently banned social media for kids under 16.<\/p>\n But some experts say parents and caregivers play the biggest role.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your child is young enough to have a bedtime, their devices need a bedtime too,\u201d Kennedy-Moore said. \u201cI can tell you as a clinician, nothing good happens on those devices in the middle of the night.\u201d<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Yale Medicine has more on how social media affects teen mental health<\/a>.<\/p>\n