Social media has become an important way for young people to share what’s going on in their lives, from family life to success to the ups and downs of being a teenager. Teens also need to decide how they present themselves to the world as they consider when and on what platforms to share aspects of their lives.
In addition to exploring what teens do or don’t post on social media, this chapter explores teens’ experiences with online activities and how they interact with these platforms. We will also discuss the various political activities you may participate in. Overall, only a small percentage of teens report participating in this type of civic engagement, but those who do are more likely to identify as Democrats. Masu.
Teens are much more likely to post about their accomplishments and family than their religion or political beliefs
When it comes to what young people post on social media, accomplishments and family life top the list of topics measured in this study.
About four (43%) of teens say they post about their accomplishments on social media, 34% say they post about their family, and 25% post about their emotions and feelings. respondents said they share what they do. A small percentage of teens, about 1 in 10, say they have posted about their dating life, personal issues, or religious or political beliefs.
Teenage girls stand out for sharing different things on social media. About 49% of girls aged 15 to 17 say they have posted about their family, compared to less than a third of younger girls, older boys, and boys. Older women are also more likely than other women to post about their accomplishments, family, emotions, personal issues, dating lives, etc. See Appendix C for more information.
Some teens, especially older girls, refrain from posting on social media because it can embarrass them.
Teens may consider a variety of factors when deciding whether to post on social media. This includes calculations about how users want to express themselves on these platforms and judgments about the potential consequences that may accompany their posts.
Some young people avoid sharing altogether for fear of embarrassment. 40% of teens say they often or sometimes decide not to post something on social media because they worry that people will use it to embarrass them. states. A similar percentage (38%) similarly said they don’t post something because it doesn’t match how they want to express themselves on these platforms.
Additionally, a third of teens say they don’t share things on social media at least sometimes because they’re worried their words will hurt others, and 27% say it could hurt their chances when applying to school. Because of this, some respondents answered that they refrain from posting on social media. Or work.
These concerns are more common among teenage girls and older girls. Almost half of girls aged 15 to 17 say they often or sometimes decide not to post something on social media because they worry it doesn’t fit with how they want to express themselves on social media. compared to about half of girls aged 15 to 17. -3rd or lower overall for young girls or boys. Older girls are also more likely than younger girls and their men to feel that others may use social media to embarrass them or be offended by what they say. They are more likely to report that they don’t share something on social media, at least sometimes, for a reason.
Although most teens are not politically active on social media, their experiences and views regarding online activity vary by political party.
Engaging with political issues on social media takes many forms. The teens were asked about his three ways to address issues and causes on these platforms. Only a few of them are active on social media.
1 in 10 teens have used social media in the past 12 months to encourage others to take action on political or social issues that are important to them, or to express their concerns about political or social issues. He said he even posted a photo to show his support. However, a slightly smaller proportion (7%) said they had used hashtags related to political or social causes during this period. In total, 15% of teens have participated in at least one of these activities on social media in the past year.
The vast majority of teens, regardless of political affiliation, do not engage with political or social issues on social media in this way. Still, teens who identify as Democrats are more likely than their Republican counterparts to report participating in each of these activities.
About 14% of Democratic teens, including Democratic-leaning independents, say they have used social media in the past year to encourage others to take action on issues they care about. 6% of Republicans and Republican-leaning teens. Democratic teens are also more likely than Republican teens to say they posted a photo showing support for a cause or used an issue-related hashtag on social media in the past year. Highly sexual. In total, Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to have participated in this type of activity on social media in the past 12 months (20% vs. 10%).
There are also some differences by age and gender, with older girls noticeably more politically active on these platforms. One in five girls aged 15 to 17 has been politically active on social media in the past 12 months, compared to about one in ten young girls (12%), or teens of any age. of boys (11%). .
Only a minority of teens believe that social media is very or very important to them or to others in order to get involved in important issues.
Most teens personally do not attach much importance to social media as a forum for political and civic engagement.
Overall, 13% of teens say social media is very or extremely important to them personally in terms of being exposed to new perspectives. Less than 1 in 10 use these platforms to find others who share their opinions (8%), to get involved in political or social issues that are important to them (8%), or to help them They answered that it is at least very important to understand their own opinions. Solving problems (7%) or giving a platform to express political opinions (6%).
A clear majority do not consider these platforms to be personally important for participating in this type of activity. For example, 65% of teens say social media, which provides a platform for expressing political opinions, is not important to them at all.
The personal value that teens place on these platforms varies depending on their political affiliation. About 18% of Democratic teens say social media is very or very important to them in terms of being exposed to new perspectives, compared to 8% of Republican teens. %. And Democrats are at least as likely as Republicans to find these platforms useful for engaging with issues that matter to them, finding people who share their views, and understanding their own perspectives. They are likely to answer that it is very important.
While social media has become the go-to tool for political engagement for some segments of the population, fewer teens believe it is essential for people to use this medium to have a say. Not very accurate. 17% of teens say it’s very or very important for people to speak out about political and social issues on social media, whether or not they do so, but a larger percentage (about 10 4 middle school students) think it is only marginally (17%) or not at all important (20%) to do so.
Some members of this population are not sure about this subject. 21% of teens say they don’t know if it’s important to speak out in this way on social media.
Not only are there partisan differences in being politically active on social media, but Democrats and Republicans place varying degrees of importance on who speaks on social media. About half of Republican teens say it is very or not at all important that people speak out about political and social issues on social media, compared to half of Democratic teens. of teenagers, the figure is 29%. Conversely, Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to think it’s very or extremely important for people to speak out in this way (22% vs. 12%).