New survey says texting, social media is ‘woven into teens’ romantic lives’

Beyond clinginess, potentially unhealthy behavior can extend to social media, as 16% of all teen daters have been “required” by an ex or current partner to bump ex-girlfriends or ex-boyfriends from their friends or followers lists on Facebook, Twitter or other social sites.

Teens generally frown upon splitting up via text message, but that doesn’t mean they don’t do it. About as many teens with relationship experience have broken up with someone via text (27%) as they have by phone (29%).

When you want to see a setting in which there’s a thrilling, complicated, teen romance unfolding, the junior school hallways is the right place to go, but recently, the social media is catching up to those that are happening in those hallways.

The survey found that only 35 percent of teens have ever even been in a romantic relationship.

Pew found that of the total number of teen respondents, 35% had dated or hooked up before.

According to a survey by Pew Research Center, 27 percent of teens have broken up with someone via text message, and 31 percent have been broken up with in this way.

This study was the third in a series of studies that explored how teens use social media and how they foster relationships.

When enjoying coy with a crush, nevertheless, half of US teens surveyed stated that they had flirted, “friended” or “favored” somebody on social media. Half (48%) of teen daters have deleted an ex-partner from their cellphone’s address book and 38% have untagged or deleted photos of themselves and a former significant other on social media, while a similar share (37%) have unfriended or blocked an ex on social media.

When it comes to meeting romantic partners, most teens do this offline. Most of those online-first partnerings started on social media sites, Facebook in particular.

Forty-seven percent of teenagers have flirted or expressed interest in someone by liking or commenting on someone’s social media posts. Among the teens who have had relationship experience, 65% of boys say social media makes them feel more connected to their significant other’s lives, compared to 52% of girls.

Indeed, the keypads of smartphones and such are often firing off the sparks of young love, or at least like, said the study by the Pew Research Center.

“A lot of adults today have unnecessary worries about the ways in which social media are disrupting adolescents emotional development, and I think this survey suggests…they’re not the evil that many people think of them as”.