Hopelab & Well Being Trust 12
Key Finding 3
Figure 3. Response to social media
Among 14- to 22-year-old social media users, percent
who say they feel… when using social media
Social media is an integral part of young peoples' lives, with
many teens and young adults reporting a mix of both positive
and negative aspects to its use.
Source: Hopelab/Well Being Trust Teens and Young Adults Survey,
February-March 2018. N=1,242 social media users ages 14-22.
Left out:
Like they always have to show
their best self online:
Like other people are doing
better than they are:
Often
7%
Often
15%
Strongly
agree
14%
Sometimes
27%
Sometimes
42%
Somewhat
agree
39%
Never
27%
Never
15%
Strongly
disagree
22%
Hardly ever
39%
Hardly ever
27%
Somewhat
disagree
25%
• More than nine in ten (93%) teens and young adults report
using social media – sites such as Snapchat, Instagram,
Facebook, and Twitter: 81% say they use it on a daily basis,
including 17% who say they use it "almost constantly" and
54% who do so multiple times a day. Just 7% say they don't
use social media at all.
• Most teen and young adult social media users (73%) say they
feel comfortable with the amount of time and energy they
devote to it, but one in four (24%) say they spend too much
time on social media, and half (51%) say they have taken
a break from it at some point.
• Teens and young adults are far more likely to report frequently
receiving positive than negative feedback from others on social
media: 32% say they "often" get positive comments from others
compared to just 3% who say they "often" get negative comments.
• Nearly two-thirds (65%) say they "hardly ever" or "never" feel left
out when using social media, compared to about a third (34%)
who say they often (7%) or sometimes (27%) do.
• On the other hand, more than half report experiencing some
degree of social comparison pressure, with 57% saying they
feel like other people are doing better than they are (15%
"often" and 42% "sometimes" feel that way when using social
media). And about half (53%) say they feel like they always have
to show the best version of themselves on social media (14%
strongly agree, and 39% somewhat agree with that statement).
Key Findings
