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What is social networking if not a giant fulcrum of communication? Even when we claim to be posting photos just to chronicle your trips, we all light up with joy when we see those virtual thumbs pointing upwards.

Posts and pokes, likes and dislikes, comments and replies, instant messaging, group messaging, forums, communities – all these mediums have one big thing in common: sharing information.

Born in the age of mobility, those 18 and younger will have a hard time imagining a world without smartphones, wireless Internet, or social networks. Perhaps not surprisingly then, teens make the most use of these platforms, and are therefore pushing communication to all new heights every day.

Day in and day out

A study conducted by Pew Research on U.S. teens 13 to 17 years old has revealed that, thanks to Internet-connected phones, 92% of teenagers go online every day. As many as 24% claim to be connected every minute of the day. More than half (56%) go online several times a day, and 12% log on just once a day. Just 6% report using mobile Internet weekly, and a only 2% hardly bother to go online at all.

Around three quarters say they have a smartphone or at least have access to one, while 30% have a basic phone (with no smart functions). The report doesn’t say if this is due to financial troubles or really smart parents who want their kids focusing on their studies. Another 12% of teens report not owning a cell phone of any type. Again, no reason is given.
Asked about their preferred mediums, Facebook came in 1st as the most popular and frequently used social media platform, followed by Instagram, and Snapchat. 71% of teens use more than one social network.

Texting is king

“As American teens adopt smartphones, they have a variety of methods for communication and sharing at their disposal. Texting is an especially important mode of communication for many teens,” reports Pew Research Center.

88% of teens either own a smartphone or have access to one. Of those, 90% exchange texts. Around 30 per day, to be exact. Finally, 33% of the text-crazed teens employ various IM apps like Kik and WhatsApp. The full results from the research, including how girls dominate social media and boys are more likely to play video games, are laid out in the original report: Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015.