Teens’ Experiences on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat

About this research

This study is Pew Research Center’s latest effort to explore the landscape of teens and technology today. It focuses on social media and how the views and experiences of teens vary across sites. This study focuses on three widely used sites by teens: TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. And it unpacks their parents’ views, too.

Why did we do this?

The Center conducts research to inform the public, journalists and decision-makers. Tracking the use of social media and understanding the experiences of teens and their parents today have been key priorities for us over the years. This study brings those two areas together.

Teens are often at the forefront of technology use, and social media sites are no different: Our December report showed that most teens use social media. It’s important to understand how social media play a role in teens’ daily lives – as well as how their parents feel about it.

Learn more about Pew Research Center.

How did we do this?

We surveyed 1,458 U.S. teens and their parents online from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, 2025. Our data collection partner Ipsos recruited the teens via their parents, who were part of its KnowledgePanel.

Findings about teens’ views and experiences represent the views of all U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who live with their parents.

Findings about parents’ views and experiences represent the views of all U.S. parents of teens ages 13 to 17.

For both teens and parents, the overall margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. For the margin of errors of subgroups, refer to the methodology.

This research was reviewed and approved by an external institutional review board (IRB), Advarra. An IRB is an independent committee of experts that helps to protect the rights of research participants.

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and the survey methodology­­­.

Within the big universe that is social media, every site is its own unique world for teens.

For the first time, Pew Research Center went deeper into comparing teens’ experiences on three widely used platforms: TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. And while similarities exist, how and why teens use these sites differ in many ways.

When we ask teens why they use these platforms, three reasons rise to the top. Roughly nine-in-ten or more say entertainment is a reason they use TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat.

Entertainment is a particularly strong motivator for TikTok users. Roughly eight-in-ten of its users cite this as a major reason why they use the platform. Smaller shares – though still majorities – say this for Instagram or Snapchat, according to the survey of 1,458 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17, conducted Sept. 25-Oct. 9, 2025.

Beyond entertainment, most also turn to these sites to keep in touch with friends and family and connect with others who share their interests. Snapchat users are the most likely to say keeping up with friends and family is a major reason, with roughly two-thirds saying this.

Teens also use TikTok and Instagram in a variety of other ways.

In fact, roughly six-in-ten TikTok users say they go there for product reviews. Fewer on Instagram and even smaller shares on Snapchat say the same.

And teens on TikTok and Instagram are there for news more than Snapchat. About four-in-ten or more on TikTok and Instagram say it’s a reason they use it. However, about a quarter of those on Snapchat say the same. Previous Center studies find that adults are increasingly getting news on TikTok, especially young adults.

Keeping up with celebrities is more common on Instagram and TikTok than Snapchat. For instance, majorities of teens on Instagram and TikTok say they go there to keep up with athletes or celebrities. This falls to 37% among those on Snapchat.

Most teens are not going to social media for politics. Even so, more teens on TikTok and Instagram than on Snapchat cite keeping up with politics or political issues as a reason for using these platforms.

Direct messaging and posting

Along with understanding what motivates teens to use these sites, we also asked them how often they direct message or post. We found:

Teens on Snapchat message others and post there at higher rates: 57% say they message people daily on the app. This includes about four-in-ten who do so several times a day. Smaller shares of Instagram or TikTok users say this.

And about three-in-ten teens on Snapchat report posting or sharing on the platform daily, including 17% who do this multiple times a day. About two-in-ten or fewer report doing this on TikTok or Instagram every day.

Screen time

TikTok users are the most likely to say they spend too much time on the app. About three-in-ten teen TikTok users say they spend too much time on it. Smaller shares on Instagram or Snapchat say the same.

Still, the most common response from teens – roughly six-in-ten or more – is that they spend the right amount of screen time on each.

Views of social media’s impact on teen life

How do teens think social media impact them? The answer depends on which part of their life and which platform we ask about.

Among teens, TikTok users are more likely to report that it negatively impacts their sleep than those on Snapchat or Instagram. Roughly four-in-ten say it hurts the amount of sleep they get, compared with about a quarter of those who say the same for Snapchat or Instagram.

And larger shares of TikTok users also say it hurts their productivity, compared with the other two platforms. 

Snapchat stands out for teens saying it helps their friendships. Just under half (44%) report this – higher than the shares on Instagram or TikTok who say the same.

Overall, far fewer teens say these sites hurt their friendships. This lines up with previous findings about teens’ views of social media as a whole.

Across all three platforms, most teen users say it neither hurts nor helps their mental health. Though teens on TikTok and Snapchat are slightly more likely to say the platform helps rather than hurts their mental health. For Instagram, statistically equal shares say it helps as say it hurts. We asked parents how social media overall impacts their teen: About a quarter say they hurt their teen’s mental health, compared with 8% who say they help.

That said, large shares report that these sites do not hurt or help them in these four ways. This is the case across platforms. For friendships, about half to roughly three quarters of users of each site say it neither hurts nor helps.

Impact on self-esteem

About six-in-ten teen TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat users say what they see on each makes no difference in how they feel about themselves. And about a quarter say it makes them feel about equally better and worse.

When teens say these platforms do make them feel better or worse, it leans more positive. For example, 15% of TikTok users say what they see there makes them feel better, while 3% say it makes them feel worse. 

All told, teens tend to have a mostly positive experience on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. About seven-in-ten teens on each platform say this. Very few – just 3% on each – say it’s mostly negative. The rest say it’s about an equal mix of positive and negative.

Harassment and bullying

When it comes to negative experiences, our survey finds that roughly three-quarters of each site’s users see harassment and bullying on the platform as a problem for people their age.

At the same time, a minority of teens have first-hand experience with cyberbullying on these sites. And Snapchat users report this at somewhat higher rates.   

In fact, roughly three-in-ten of its users have experienced at least one of three types of harassment asked about: being called an offensive name, having a rumor spread about them or being physically threatened.

These shares drop to about one-in-five for Instagram or TikTok.

Teens’ experiences on these platforms, at times, differ across demographics groups. Go to “How teens’ experience on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat vary by race, ethnicity and gender” to learn more about how habits and outlooks vary.

To learn how parents are navigating this, read “What parents say about their teen’s uses of social media.” It highlights a disconnect: 28% of teen TikTok users report spending too much time on the site, and that jumps to 44% when parents were asked about their teen’s use of the platform.