55% of Online Teens Use Social Networking Sites, Pew Says

Lots of interesting information here for those who are attempting to understand how teens actually use these sites. Here are two examples:

The survey also finds that older teens, particularly girls, are more likely to use these sites. For girls, social networking sites are primarily places to reinforce pre-existing friendships; for boys, the networks also provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends. 

According to the authors of the report, boys 15–17 are more likely than girls to use the social networking features of the site to make new friends. Findings indicate that “91% of all social networking teens say they use the sites to stay in touch with friends they see frequently, while 82% use the sites to stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person.” And they use the sites to make plans with friends.

As far as protecting their information online, “66% of teens who have created a profile say that their profile is not visible to all internet users.” Teens are frequent users of online networking sites, with 48% of teens visiting them daily or more often; 26% visit the sites once a day, 22% visit several times a day.

Says Amanda Lenhart, a co-author of the data memo,

“There is a widespread notion that every American teenager is using social networks, and that they’re plastering personal information over their profiles for anyone and everyone to read. These findings add nuance to that story—not every teenager is using a social networking website, and of those that do, more than half of them have in some way restricted access to their profile.”