Takeaways About Teen Friendships In Th

Though a lot of parents assume that their teenage children are wasting time online, the Pew research shows that more than half of the teenagers in the US have met new friends online, either through social networks or via video game forums. And, 83 percent of teen social media users say social media makes them feel more connected to information about their friends’ lives, with 70 percent saying they feel more connected with their friends’ feeling. The survey also found that most of these friendships remain online.

Researchers have concluded, based on these new results that teenagers have replaced regular malls with social networks where they chat, laugh and talk with other users much in the same way older generations used to do in real life interactions. Fully 68% of social-media-using teens say they have experienced drama among friends on the platform. They also meet new buddies online, but rarely make new relationships in the real world, a new study says. Pew found that only 20 percent of teens have met an online friend in person. Most teens said they felt pressure to post well-curated content; they also said that they believed their peers were “less authentic” on social media.

“Teens still spend substantial amounts of time with friends in-person, especially at school”, said Amanda Lenhart, Associate Director for Research at the Pew Research Center and the lead author on the report. But between the boys and the girls, it’s the latter who make friends faster on social sites. Seventy-eight percent say they feel more connected to friends when they play games with them. Because when it comes to social media, the rule applies both ways: It’s not official until it’s Facebook official.

School isn’t the only place teens are making friends these days. At least 13 percent of teenagers also get in touch with their peers by playing online videos together.

For parents with teens, that’s probably not much of a surprise. Some 26 percent of all teens have had a conflict with a friend over something that happened online or via text.

Additionally, they are more likely to block or unfriend people after a relationship breakup. A study of adult offenders found that only about 5 percent “pretended to be the same age as the youth victim online”. You can find a lot more information about teens and social media at ConnectSafel.org, the site of a non-profit organization where I serve as CEO.

Additionally, teens often experience psychological pressure imposed by online communication as they feel like they have to post only content that makes them look good (40 percent) or be popular (39 percent). And, for some, social media can bring on sadness with 21 percent reporting, “feeling worse about their own life because of what they see from other friends on social media”.