In a talk delivered to the Family Online Safety Institute's annual conference in November 2015, Lenhart looked a broad themes around how teenagers use social media and mobile phones to create, maintain and end friendships and romantic relationships. Also includes basic statistics on teen internet use, social media platforms and device ownership.

1. How American Teens Use Social &
Mobile Technology for Friendship and
Romance
Amanda Lenhart
FOSI | Annual Conference November 2015

2. November 24, 2015 2pewresearch.org
73% of Teens Have Access to a Smartphone

3. November 24, 2015 3pewresearch.org
Frequency of Internet Use by Teens
% of teens ages 13 to 17 who use the internet with the following frequencies

4. November 24, 2015 4pewresearch.org
Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat Top Social Media Platforms
For Teens

5. November 24, 2015 5How Teens Use Tech for Peer Relationships - Lenhart
Not than many teens using other sites of online
interaction
• 22% of teens use online pinboards (e.g., Pinterest,
Polyvore). 33% of girls use online pinboards, 11% of
boys use them.
• 17% of teens read or comment on online discussion
boards like reddit or digg.
• 11% of teens with cell phones have used anonymous
apps and sites like Whisper, YikYak or AskFM

6. Teens use social and mobile tech for romance & friendship…but
they don’t meet partners online for romantic relationships
November 24, 2015 www.pewresearch.org 6

7. November 24, 2015 7How Teens Use Tech For Peer Relationships - Lenhart
57% of All Teens Make
New Friends Online

8. November 24, 2015 8
Teens Meeting Online Friends In-Person
• Often friends-of-friends, or part of extended network.
• Vet new friends using video and voice to ensure that they are a peer.
• Meet them with other friends, in public places.
“I used iMessage and I joined a group with a couple of my friends, and my friend
invited one of his friends. And then we all just kind of met through the group chat.”
– middle school boy
“I hang out with my friends and I tell [online friends] to hang out with us … I make sure
they FaceTime me so I can see them, and not some 42 year old guy.” – high
school boy
“I've met a person over Instagram, actually. And, I mean, you...it's not like you just kind
of comment on their picture like, hey, here's my number. Text me and let's hang
out. Like you can do that. But for me, I DMed the person. Direct messaged them.
And we talked for about a week, and then I decided he actually seems kind of chill.
I'm going to give him my number. And then I took it slow, like, ‘cause meeting
someone over the Internet isn't always the best idea. So if you’re going to do it,
like do it very carefully.” – high school girl

9. November 24, 2015 9How Teens Use Tech for Peer Relationships - Lenhart
Video Games and Friendships
Games are a critical site of friendship formation and interaction for boys
For boys who have made friends online, video games are on par with social
media as a site for making new friendships
52% of boys make new friends on social media sites; 57% make new friends
playing video games online
78% of girls make friends through social media; just 13% of girls make friends
through games.
78% of teen online gamers say when they play games online it makes them
feel more connected to friends they already know.
52% of online-gaming teens feel more connected to other gamers (whom they
do not consider friends) they play with online.

10. November 24, 2015 10
Social Media as Conduit for Connection
& Social Support
83% of social media users say social media makes them feel more connected
to information about their friends’ lives.
70% of social media-using teens feel better connected to their friends’ feelings
via social media.
60% of teen social media users have had people on the platforms supporting
them through tough or challenging times.
59% of teens with relationship experience say social media makes them feel
more connected to what is happening in their romantic partner’s life.
44% of teen daters say social media helps them feel emotionally closer to their
romantic partner.
63% of teens with dating experience have posted or liked something on social
media as a way to indicate their support of one of their friends’ relationships.

11. Display & Performance of Self
November 24, 2015 How Teens Use Tech for Peer Relationships - Lenhart 11
Social media platforms are sites of carefully calibrated displays
85% of teen social media users agree
that people get to show different
sides of themselves on social media
that they cannot show offline.
77% of social media-using teens agree
people are less authentic and real
on social media than they are
offline.
40% of teen social media users report
feeling pressure to post only content
that makes them look good to
others.
39% of teens on social media say they
feel pressure to post content that
will be popular and get lots of
comments or likes.
“It allows you to show, like, a different side
of yourself. … I mean, you can talk
about different things. If you're in
person with them, you can joke
around. But then like if you're texting
with them or talking about something
serious, you can talk about serious
things and politics and stuff, and it
shows a different side of yourself that
you might not talk about with them in
person.” – high school girl

12. November 24, 2015 12How Teens Use Tech For Peer Relationships - Lenhart
Display & Performance of Relationships
37% of teens with relationship experience have used social media to let their
partner know how much they like them in a way that was visible to other
people in their network.
47% of teen daters say social media makes them feel like they have a place to
show how much they care about their boyfriend, girlfriend or significant
other.
“Yeah. You need to have the padlock emoji with the heart and two people
holding hands.”
On how girls show interest in Instagram:
“Emojis, but the main way you’re going to
know is like when they first say ‘hey.’ How
many y’s do they put on their ‘hey?’”

13. November 24, 2015 13How Teens Use Tech For Peer Relationships - Lenhart
Challenges with Relationships & Social Media
Loss of control over presentation of self - 42% of social media-using teens have
had someone post things about them that they cannot change or control
Oversharing – 88% of teen social media users believe that people share too
much information about themselves on social media
Over-involvement – 69% of teen daters agree that too many people can see
what’s happening in their relationship on social media
Uncertainty – information you see online can be hard to interpret, leading to
jealousy and uncertainty in romantic relationships. 27% of teen daters say
social media makes them feel jealous or unsure of their relationships.
Negative feelings – 21% of teen social media users feel worse about their
own life because of what they see from other friends on social media.

14. November 24, 2015 14www.pewresearch.org
Few Teens Engage in Annoying or Harmful Behaviors Towards
Current or Ex-Partners

15. November 24, 2015 15www.pewresearch.org
A Small Share of Teens
Have Experienced
Controlling or Harmful
Behaviors from a
Current or Former
Romantic Partner
% of teens with dating experience who have
experienced the following from a current
or former romantic partner…

16. November 24, 2015 16
Takeaways
• Smartphones are reshaping our digital landscape
• Teens meet friends online, fewer romantic partners
• Video games are important sites of friendship for many
boys
• Social media = places of connection, support and
display…
• …but also of pressure, oversharing, jealousy and in a few
cases, control and harm
How Teens Use Tech For Peer Relationships - Lenhart

17. @amanda_lenhart @datasociety
amandalenhart.com datasociety.net