The Pew Research Center surveyed American teenagers about social media and technology. Regarding the study, American teens are shifting their social media habits, with WhatsApp gaining ground as X and other major platforms see declines.
- X (formerly Twitter) usage among teens dropped to 17%, a six-point decline from 2022.
- YouTube remains the most-used platform but fell from 95% to 90% usage among teens over two years.
- TikTok, while still second most popular, saw a slight decline to 63% from 67% in 2022.
- Meta’s Instagram held steady at 61%, while Facebook remained at 32% and Threads had just 6% of teen users.
- WhatsApp rose significantly, with usage increasing from 17% in 2022 to 23% in 2024, overtaking X in teenage users.
- Meta attributed a 48% YoY increase in non-advertising revenue largely to WhatsApp’s business communication features, highlighting its commercial success alongside growing group chat popularity among teens.
WhatsApp’s growth signals shifting preferences among teens for group-oriented, multifunctional platforms, while X and other major apps face challenges retaining younger users.
