Pew Survey Results: Teens, Social Media, and Technology

The Survey performed by the Pew Research Center on teens and their internet usage was a predictable one. By reflecting on what these social media outlets represent, we can easily match the trends in the report with the real life application of social media use by teens. For example, the report shows the highest prevalence of Instagram use by the upper middle class and rich. Instagram is a platform for mostly showcasing places you've been, things you've eaten, and unique videos you've created. All things that are more accessible to families who have money than those who do not. Whereas Facebook, the primary social media outlet for all socioeconomic classes, usually caters more towards postings of family, keeping in touch with friends, and following news and media outlets.

Another predictable aspect of the results were that students from lower socioeconomic communities were online more frequently than their wealthier peers. When wealthy students are actively playing sports, going to clubs, in tutoring, or even running their own small business, students coming from lower socioeconomic families are keeping themselves entertained online because they lack the resources to participate in any of the said activities.

The most striking portion of the results were the percent of females who play video games online or on their phones. I was not expecting the number to be as high as fifty nine percent. Growing up my female classmates were mostly not interested in any sort of video game. Perhaps the spread and variety of games on smartphones has lead this number to increase throughout the recent years. There is also much less stigma in this decade about girls playing video games than there was in the previous ones.

With as many as ninety two percent of teens online, it is imperative as a teacher to reach them in a space where they can relate to and one that they frequent. By interacting with kids through their mediums and incorporating new and fun applications and technologies into their learning, teachers can break through generational barriers and create a space where learning is fun, entertaining, and relatable!