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During an September 2019 survey, it was found that 25 percent of teens in the United States used Instagram the most out of all social networks. This is hardly surprising, as U.S. teens rated Instagram among their favorite social network for the past few years. In spring 2019, 35 percent of teenagers ranked the photo-sharing app as their most important social network.

Teens and social media in the United States

As evidenced by exasperated parents and teachers everywhere, social media is one of the most popular online activities among teenagers in the United States. Despite the near-constant social media usage, teens are usually reasonably aware of the time they spent online. During an April 2018 survey, 54 and 41 percent of responding teens stated that they spent too much time on their cellphone and on social media respectively. Due to constant interaction with other people online, teens come across a wide range of personalities. The most common personality types that teens come across social media are oversharers (people who share too many personal details on social media) and ranters (people who rant and complain about things a lot).

Social media and emotional well-being

One of the key benefits of social media is that it can make teenagers feel less lonely and more confident and popular. However, with teens who have a low social-emotional well-being, social media can exacerbate pre-existing problems such as feeling left out or being excluded, as well as feeling bad about themselves when their posts did not get enough likes or comments. In the end, online socializing can make up for the lack of friends IRL (in real life) but it can also make things worse for teens who are already in emotional turmoil.