Preferred social networks of U.S. teens 2021

During a fall 2021 survey, it was found that Snapchat was the most important social network for 35 percent of U.S. teens. Fast-growing social video app TikTok was ranked second with 30 percent of teenagers in the United States stating it to be their favorite, ahead of legacy platforms Facebook and Twitter.

Teens and the internet in the United States

It is no secret that the young really know what’s what when it comes to new technologies these days. Especially those born in the internet era and who only know of analog telephones and cameras from stories of their elders seem to be constantly online and always following the latest tech trends. In fact, a recent survey shows that some 92 percent of American teens accessed the internet on a daily basis, where 56 claim to connect several times a day, and 24 percent are connected almost constantly to the internet. Furthermore, the move from desktop computers to mobile devices insured that teenagers would be some of the most fervent users of mobile internet, anytime, anywhere.

Most popular social networks of teenagers in the United States from fall 2012 to fall 2021

Characteristic	Fall 2012	Spring 2013	Fall 2013	Spring 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Spring 2016	Fall 2016	Spring 2017	Fall 2017	Spring 2018	Fall 2018	Spring 2019	Fall 2019	Fall 2020	Fall 2021
Snapchat	-	-	-	-	11%	17%	24%	35%	39%	47%	45%	46%	41%	44%	34%	35%
TikTok	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0%	4%	29%	30%
Instagram	12%	17%	27%	30%	29%	29%	23%	24%	23%	24%	26%	32%	35%	35%	25%	22%
Twitter	27%	30%	31%	27%	21%	18%	16%	13%	11%	7%	9%	6%	6%	3%	3%	2%
Discord	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3%	5%
Facebook	42%	33%	27%	23%	12%	13%	15%	13%	11%	9%	8%	6%	6%	3%	2%	2%
Reddit	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1%	-
Other	2%	4%	2%	4%	8%	8%	5%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1%	-
Pinterest	2%	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	3%	1%	-
Tumblr	3%	4%	5%	5%	4%	3%	2%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Google+	6%	5%	4%	4%	1%	1%	1%	1%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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Release date

October 2021

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

fall 2012 to fall 2021

Number of respondents

Fall 2021 n = 10,000

Special properties

most recent wave average age 15.8 years

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

Original question: "What is your favorite social platform?"

Values may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. The source does not provide exact data regarding the age of respondents. No Fall 2014 data regarding the survey question. Data regarding previous periods are from earlier releases.

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