4 in 10 U.S. Teens See Problems With Their Smartphone Usage

A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that most U.S. teens between 13 and 17 think they spend just the right amount or too little time on their smartphones and social media. Conversely, 38 percent of all teenagers say they spend too much time on their smartphones and 27 percent claim that social media takes up too much of their time. However, the study also shows that even though this awareness exists, only a minority of respondents have cut back on using said devices and services.

The survey conducted in the fall of 2023 among 1,453 parent-teen-dyads or pairs also highlights significant differences in usage awareness between teenage boys and girls. A third of all surveyed boys and 44 percent of all surveyed girls said their smartphone use is too intense. Girls are also more likely to cut down on their screen time, with 41 percent saying they use their smartphone less, contrasted with 32 percent of all male teens participating in the survey.

An analysis of the services young U.S. residents use regularly shows a clear preference for video-focused platforms like TikTok and YouTube. 17 percent of all respondents said they almost constantly use the former, while the share claiming the same about Alphabet's video service stood at 16 percent. Overall, YouTube and TikTok were used at least once per day by 71 percent and 58 percent of survey participants, respectively. Facebook, a social network mostly mentioned in conjunction with older generations nowadays, was used at least once a day by 19 percent of teen respondents. Compared to a similar survey from 2014, the share of teens saying they're online almost constantly has roughly doubled.

With this development in mind, tackling the issue of prolonged screen time has recently transcended the boundaries of parental guidance and control and has become an issue for state legislators. As ABC News reports, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a new directive requiring schools to implement measures to ban or limit smartphone usage in schools by July 1, 2026. According to a statement by Newsom quoted by ABC, "this new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school." 

A summary by Education Week shows that Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina have wholesale bans of smartphone usage during school time in place, while five other states require the implementation of specific policies by their school districts and four additional states have issued policy recommendations. Most of these laws and recommendations were signed or issued in 2024 in what is likely a reaction to increased pressure on social media platforms to safeguard younger users from harm. For example, in June 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General suggested that said platforms should implement warning labels. However, it's unlikely that U.S. teens will heed such warnings due to only a minority claiming that they indeed spend too much time on their phones and 70 percent of respondents to the cited Pew Research Center survey said using smartphones in their age bracket has more benefits than it does harm.