Lenhart, A., Smith,
A., Anderson, M., Duggan, M., & Perrin, A. (2015, August 6). Teens,
Technology and Friendships. 1-68. Retrieved July 18, 2016, from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/06/teens-technology-and-friendships/
Technology has changed how we view and interact with our
friends. Not only are we making phone calls, but we are not posting to social
media, video chatting and playing online games. Friends are being made easily
and sometimes connections are made.
Surveys have shown how social media impacts friendships and
how teenagers interact with the technology interfering in relationships.
Meeting, Hanging Out and Staying in Touch: The Role of
Digital Technology in Teen Relationships
Inch by inch, teenagers are making friends more and more
online. 57% of the teens surveyed said that they made new friends online, while
22% made two to five friends, with only 20% meeting their new online friends in
person.
Boys were more likely than girls to make friends online. 61%
compared to the 52% made at least one friend online. The survey showed that
older teens were more likely to make new friends online than younger teenagers.
67% of older teens had new online friends.
Teenagers who played video games were to make online
friends. Ages 13-17 teens, 72% made friends online through video games. 83% of
teens played with others, while 75% played the video games online. 89% of the
teens who played video games knew the other person, while 54% were friends only
online and 52% were not friends at all.
Those teens who played video games with others were more
likely to make a lot of friends online. 74% of teens surveyed stated they made
friends online, while 37% made more than five friends online.
Social media brings about another way of making friends.
Teenagers are twice as likely to make friends online through social media. 31%
of teens surveyed made five friends or more online compared to those teens who
did not use social media.
Those teenagers how had access to smartphones were likely to
make more friends online. 60% of teens made new online friends using a
smartphone, compared to the 48% of teens who did not use a smartphone.
Social media and
gaming are the top venues for making new friends.
So many options are available for students to communicate
and make new friends online and in social media. Students can make new friends
through discussion boards, blogs, network and online video games, as well as
many others formats.
Where they made their friends was the question. 36% of the
teens surveyed made friends on social media site like Facebook and Twitter, 21%
made friends on online video games, 6% on video sharing sites like YouTube and
Vine, and 4% made friends using blogging sites like Blogger and Tumblr.
Girls were more likely to make new online friends through
social media, as boys were with video games. 41% of teenage girls had made
friends online through Facebook , Twitter and other social media sites.,
compared to the 31% of teenage boys. 34% of boys met friends online through
video games compared to the 7% of girls.
Of the group of boys surveyed, 31% made friends online through social
media.
The steady flow of teenagers making friends online stem from
the friends they already have and networking through friend’s friends.
When meeting their online friends, older teens were likely
to meet their online friends in person. The meetings happened though mutual
friends after video chatting. The teenagers surveyed found that new online
friends were willing to drive long distance to meet one another and hang out.
They also stated that when meeting, phone numbers are exchanged to help keep in
contact. 80% of teens expect their new online friend to text. 62% of the teens
surveyed exchanged social media usernames, while 39% shared their email
addresses.
Teenagers with smartphone (89%) are more likely to share
their phone number, social media usernames, while those without smartphone
(54%) are likely to share their email address.
When sharing the contact information, the survey found it
depended on the age and gender. Boys ages 13-14 were less likely to share
information, 70% share phone numbers, while more than 80% of girls ages 13-14,
as well as the older teenagers of both genders.
Sharing social media usernames was more popular amongst
girls and older teens (65% and 58%).
While girls are more likely to share social media usernames, boys are
more likely to share gaming usernames42% of younger teenage boys and 36% of
older teenage boys shared their gaming usernames.
Although the data given through the survey showed how teens
exchanged contact information, many gave all forms of contact, while some are
cautious about it.
Once friendships are established, teenagers have many ways
to interact with one another. They have social media, face to face chats,
email, video games, and all kinds of messaging formats.
Of the teenagers surveyed, 95% of them spent time with their
friends outside of school in person. One
quarter of them spend time with their friends on a daily basis, 39% every few
days, and about one third did so less often.
Although teenagers spend time with their friends outside of
school, text messages was a phone based activity that was preferred, is more
frequently, is the most popular in using when communicating.
Other ways for teens to communicate with their friends are
instant messaging (79%), social media (71%), email (64%), video chat (59%),
video games (52%), and message applications (42).
After finding out the avenues in which the teenagers
communicated, the survey then asked what the conversations were about.
Questions about how things were going, sports, and gossip were the most popular
in responses.
It was found that household income had an impact on how
teenagers spent time with their friends. Those teens surveyed in higher earning
income households ($75,000 or more) spent time with their friends outside of
school, as to the lower income households ($30,000 or less) did not spend as
much time with friends outside of school.
When texting, girls were more likely to text friends daily
with 62% compared to the 48% of boys. 15% of boys do not use text messages to
communicate with friends as all.
As another important port for communications, 72% of teens
use social media to post on sites. 23% do this daily as to the 28% do it every
few days. Lower income teenagers were more likely to interact daily as compared
to those teens who household were financially stable. Apps such as WhatsApp and
Kik are sites that the teenagers used to communicate with one another.
Sending messages is popular amongst older teens and girls to
hang out with friends. Those who met friends online are likely to use messaging
formats as well (87%).
With girls using social media, text messages, and messages
to communicate, boys are more likely to do so through video games (74%).
Email is not as popular to communicate with friends. 64% off
teens use email to stay connected with friends. Higher household incomes (71%)
were more likely to email than lower income households (56%).
As social media accounts increase for teenagers, so do the
number of passwords. 19% of the teenagers surveyed shared their password with
others. The survey stated that 23% of teens who had two or more accounts,
shared their passwords, as the 11% who had two or less accounts. Those
teenagers who had five or more accounts (34%) have shared passwords. When
sharing their passwords, teenagers see it as a sign of trust amongst their
peers and partners. Some teens stated that with sharing their passwords, they
felt that their intimacy of friendships and relationships were put in jeopardy.
How Teens Hang Out and stay in Touch with Their Close
Friends
School is the top location that teenagers spend time with
their friends. 83% of surveyed teens said this, while 58% spend time at a
friend’s home, 55% spend time with friends online on social media and
messaging, and 45% doing extra activities outside of school.
55% of teens surveyed spent time with their friends online
on a regular basis. 65% said they met a new friend online while 41% did not.
Frequent contact with
closest friend is facilitated by mobile devices and social media
Staying in touch with each other has become easier due to
the technology of smartphones, social media, gaming, and the internet.
Those teenagers who had access to devices were more likely
to stay in contact with friends. 60% of these teens stayed in contact with
their friends, compared to the 47% of those without internet device access. 62%
of teens who had smartphones were in touch daily with their friends daily and
45% did so several times a day.
Social media has become a favorite for interacting with
friends. 63% of teens make daily contact on social media, while 44% make
multiple contacts with their friends. Those without social media, 47% communicated
with friends, as 30% did so many times a
day. 78% of the teens surveyed who had
five or more social media accounts stayed in touch daily with friends.
Half of teens say
texting is the most common way they communicate with close friends
Text messages ranked highest in the survey in how teenagers
communicated amongst their friends. 49% of the teens said they texted friends.
Girls are more likely to text than boys (55% to 43%). 54% of teenagers ages
15-17 used text messages compared younger teenagers of 41%.
The survey found that household incomes that were above
$75,000 depended on text messages to communicate compared to the lower income
households who depend on social media when communicating.
Teenagers who had access to smartphone or other digital
devices were more likely to texts to communicate with friends. 58% of teens
with smartphones text, compared to the 30% of teens who used a basic phone, and
19% of teens who did not have cellphone access.
Teens without access to smartphones more likely depended on
social media to communicate with friends. They are also more likely to make
phone calls to stay in contact with friends.
Phone-based methods
are overall the most popular ways that teens communicate with closest friends
Again, texting (80%) was the most popular way to communicate
amongst the teenagers in the survey, with phone calls (69%) as a second way to
communicate. Social media was third with 66% and 21% using gaming as ways to
communicate with friends.
The survey found that the teenagers wrote in an answer for
another way to communicate with their friends.
21% of teens responded that they used video chatting or FaceTimed on
their phones, as well as email.
Girls were more likely to use texting (84%), phone calls
(75%), and social media (72%) as means of communication with friends.
75% of boys used texts, 62% used phone calls, and 60% used
social media to keep in touch. That being said, boys are ore likely to use
gaming to communicate with friends.
Teenagers with smart phones are likely to say texting is the
way to communicate (86%), compared to those who do not have a smartphone
(62%). Teens (71%) with smartphones make
phone calls compared to those who do not have smartphone access (62%).
Teenagers (68%) with smartphone access use social media to communicate, as those
who do not have a smartphone (60%).
The reasoning for selecting the ways to communicate depended
on how the teenager felt about the person they wanted to hang out or talk to.
The survey said if the teen wanted to talk to a close friend, they would make a
phone call, as a an acquaintances would receive text messages.
Video Games are Key Elements in Friendship for Many Boys
72% of teens who play games do so on the computer and
majority of them are teenage boys. Because of changes in technology, gamers can
play with others in person (83%) as well as online (75%).
Teenage boys game against friends they know (89%), online
friends only (54%), and those they do
not know (52%).
36% of teen boys stated they met new friends while playing
games online. 23% said they gave their gaming handle to new friends to stay in
contact. When gaming, 83% of teen play in the same room and 33% play on a
network on a weekly basis. When gaming on a network, the teens may not always
know who they are playing with or against. 57% of teenage boys who play online
games considers the other online gamers not friends.
When gaming, 71% of teen boys use voice connection to speak
to other players who are also on the network. This allows for communication
while playing the game with partners, as well as things that are happening
around them and in their lives. Some teenagers even use Skype to communicate
when gaming. This is a major way for teenage boys to make friends. Three
quarters of teens who game said they talk while playing. Talking while gaming
ranks high for teen boys to communicate with others.
When playing, 78% of teens say they feel connected to their
friends, 84% being teenage boys. 52% of teens who play network games feel
connected. But it also had an impact on the teenagers. Anger, frustration, and
happiness were common amongst the emotions experienced when playing online
games. 82% said they felt relaxed, while 30% said they felt angered or
frustrated. These emotions come from poor playing on behalf of the teen or
online player.
Teens, video games and
friends: Other Demographic Differences
Teens who come from higher income household were likely to
play online games with someone they knew in person (94%). Lower income household teens felt they were
more connected to people that were not friends.
Some said they felt relaxed and
happy when playing.
Rural teenagers were less likely to play online games than
those who lived in urban areas. 78% of urban teens play online games, as do 77%
suburban teens and 59% rural teens do. Suburban teens were more likely to play
online games with friends they knew in person (92% suburban vs 77% rural).
Rural teens are more likely to play with friends they know online.
Social Media and Friendship
Social media is important to teenagers today. 76% of
teenagers surveyed used social media. Facebook dominates with Instagram (52%)
and Snapchat (41%) gaining popularity. One third of the teens surveyed used
Twitter.
64% of teens have made a new friend on social media. It also
provides a way for existing friends to stay in touch. 94% spend time with
friends on social media, 30% is everyday and 37% is every few days.
Those teens who use
social media claimed that if allows them to feel more emotionally connected.
40% of girls said they felt connected compared to 26% of boys.
Smartphones provide constant access to social media for
teenagers. With such ease of connecting, teenagers can connect and interact
anywhere.
Because of such access so easily to gain, many of the teens
surveyed felt that too much information is out there and it is not as private.
Nearly 7:10 teens
receive support from friends through social media during tough times
Just like making connections easier amongst online and
personal friends, it also helps with receiving support though up’s and down’s.
Teens with smartphone (71%) are more likely to receive
support than those who do not have such access (58%) to the device.
Self presentation and
curation of social media presence
Presentation is something that all social media user things
about, not just teenagers.
Teenagers are constantly being told to be cautious of what
information and images they post. Post could be misinterpreted, misread, or set
the use up future issues.
Parents are always informing teenagers that their social
media accounts could present themselves to a wide range of audiences when it
comes to future employment and academics.
85% of the teenagers surveyed stated that others are able to
create different personalities online than they can off line. Teens with
smartphone were more likely and able to participate since they had an easier
access to such devices. More opportunities were available to posts such
comments or images. This brings many teens to agree with that others are not as
authentic in their posts and profile.
With authenticity and attention teenagers seek, 40% of teens
surveyed felt pressured to have a positive and attractive profile and posts.
42% of teenagers whose parent have a college degree felt pressured to have
positive content on their social media accounts, while 36% of teens whose
parents have some college and 35% of teens whose parents have a high school
diploma feel like they have to report on social media. Not only do teens feel
pressure to post about themselves, they feel pressured to post on friends pages
if not likes (39%).
42% of the teens surveyed stated that others posted things
about them that they were not able to control; 46% of older teens have deal
with this, 35% of younger teens have dealt with it.
Conflict, Friendships and Technology
Unfortunately, as much as social media helps teenagers feel
connected and form friendships, it can also hurt and break it apart. Conflict
between teenagers causes drama online that can in turn cause issues for both
sides. 68% of teenagers have witnessed this.
Girls reported seeing the drama begin online, with 72% of
girls and 64% of boys encountered such drama. 72% of teenagers of ages 15-17
and 62% of teenagers of ages 13-14 experienced seeing conflicts arise on social
media. Girls are more likely to experience or witness such drama. Teenagers who
used Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat were more likely to see these conflicts
on social media compared to those teenagers who did not have those accounts.
79% of Snapchat users, 75% of Twitter users, and 73% of Instagram users
experience such conflict. These conflicts often go back and forth between
parties. Conflicts can arise by exploring other peoples profiles, pictures, or
posts.
About 26% of the teens surveyed stated that friends will
fight off line about something that happened online or was from a text message,
while 73% had not been involved in such turmoil. Girls are more likely to
report such situations. 32% of girls and 20% of boys were involve in such
conflicts that began online.
31% of teens surveyed said they had conflict with friends
over social media or a text. For those teenagers who did not have social media,
the percentage dropped to 11%.
Smartphones influence online conflicts since access is so easily to come
by.
Teenagers were surveyed about what happened to when a
friendship ended. 60% stated that users unfriended each other, blocked them or
deleted any images of them. 61% of older teenagers have done this as had 52% of
younger teenagers. Teenagers even block
others from their social media sites and phone (53% of girls vs 37% of boys).
Regardless of what actions are taken to stop any further
posts about someone, girls are more likely to unfriend, block, and delete
memories of a previous friendship.
