What teens say social media gives them: connection, creativity and support

Most teens feel more connected

It's easy to picture social media as something that pulls kids away from each other. Many teens describe the opposite.

In a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of 1,316 teens aged 13 to 17 in the United States, 80% said social media makes them feel more connected to what's going on in their friends' lives. In a 2024 follow-up, about three in four said it helps them stay connected with friends.

The research is American, but Canadian paediatricians point the same way. The Canadian Paediatric Society notes that moderate use can support teens' friendships, and that both no use at all and excessive use are linked to problems.

A place for their creative side

Seven in ten teens (71%) in the 2022 survey said social media gives them a place to show their creative side. For a lot of kids, that's music, art, video editing, writing, fashion, cooking or humour, shared with an audience that cheers them on.

If your teen makes things online, that's a skill worth noticing. Asking them to show you something they're proud of is one of the easiest ways into a good conversation.

Support through tough times

Two in three teens (67%) said social media makes them feel they have people who can support them through tough times. A majority (58%) also said it makes them feel more accepted.

This matters most for kids who don't easily find their people at school: a teen with a rare interest, a chronic illness, or a sense of not fitting in. Online, they can find others who get it.

Pew found these positive views were common across groups of teens. When asked about the overall effect on them personally, 32% said mostly positive, 9% said mostly negative, and most (59%) said neither.

The downsides they also report

Teens are not naive about social media. In the same 2022 survey, 38% said they feel overwhelmed by the drama they see there. About three in ten said it has made them feel their friends were leaving them out (31%) or that they felt pressure to post things that would get lots of likes or comments (29%).

Concern has grown. In Pew's 2024 survey, 48% of teens said social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022. Far fewer, 14%, said it hurts their own mental health, and girls were more likely than boys to say so. About 45% said they spend too much time on it.

So the honest picture is mixed: real benefits, real costs, and teens who can often see both.

Questions that let your teen tell you what works

Starting from respect makes it more likely your teen will come to you when something online goes wrong. A few openers:

• "Which app makes you feel closest to your friends?"
• "Is there anyone you follow who makes your day better?"
• "Is there anything you've started muting or avoiding? What made you do that?"
• "What do adults get wrong about how you use it?"

Then listen more than you talk. If they mention drama or pressure, you don't need to fix it on the spot. Saying "that sounds annoying, what did you do?" keeps the door open.