Common Sense Media：2023年青少年智能手機使用報告

2023

Constant

Companion:

AWeekintheLifeofaYoungPerson's

SmartphoneUse

ConstantCompanion:

AWeekintheLifeofaYoungPerson'sSmartphoneUse

COMMONSENSEISGRATEFULFORTHEGENEROUSSUPPORTAND

UNDERWRITINGTHATFUNDEDTHISRESEARCHREPORT

BezosFamilyFoundationCarnegieCorporationofNewYork

JenniferCaldwellandJohnH.N.FisherMargaretandWillHearst

ALetterfromOurFounder

Smartphoneshavebecomeaconstantcompanioninourteens'lives.Fromconnection

withfamilyandfriendstoentertainmentandbackgroundnoise,youngpeoplerelyontheirsmartphonesfordifferenttypesofmentalhealthsupport,relaxation,anddistraction—athomeandatschool,andduringthedayandnight.

Thisyear,CommonSensehasfocusedourresearcheffortsonhearingdirectlyfromyoungpeopleaboutboththeroleandtheimpactofmediaandtechnologyintheirlives.This

reportfillsagapinourunderstandingofhowteensactuallyusetheirsmartphones,

combiningdatafromkids'phonesthemselveswithfeedbackfromourYouthAdvisoryCouncil.Andtheytoldusthatthedrawoftheirsmartphoneisbothcomplicatedandpowerful.Here'swhatelsewelearnedfromthisreport:

?Teensarefieldingabarrageofnotificationsfromtheappsontheirphones.Onatypicalday,participantsreceivedamedianof237notifications.Ofthose,aboutaquarterarrivedduringtheschoolday,and5%atnight.

?Schoolphoneuseiscommon,andpoliciesareinconsistent.Duringschoolhours

almostalloftheparticipantsusedtheirphonesatleastonce,foramedianof43

minutes.Buttheyalsoreportedthatpoliciesaboutphoneuseinschoolsvary—some-timesevenfromclassroomtoclassroom—andaren'talwaysenforced.

?Smartphonesbothhelpandhurtsleep.Overhalfofparticipantsusedtheirphonesonschoolnights,oftentolistentomusictowinddownorgettosleep.Butsometimes

theirdaysaresobusythattheyonlygettorelaxwiththeirphoneatbedtime,andthatpushessleeplater.

Thegoodnewsis,manyyoungpeoplereportedtheyhavegrownsavvierabouttheir

phone'sattemptstodrawthemin,andthey'retakingstepstoprotecttheirdigitalwell-being,likesettingtimelimitsandprioritizingcertaintypesofnotifications.Butthe

businessmodeloftheseappsanddeviceshingesuponyoungpeoplepickinguptheir

phonesandengagingwiththemasmuchaspossible,andit'sclearthatteensarestrugglingtosetboundaries.

Researchlikethishelpsshedlightonwhatyoungpeoplearereallydoingontheirphones,andallowsfamilies,educators,andleaderstobetterunderstandwhereandwhento

providesupport.Buttheindustrycantakestepstorecognizethatyoungpeopleneedtobeabletousetheirphonesforalloftheirimportantbenefitsbutwithoutthechallengesthatnegativecontent,persuasivedesign,andaggressivebusinessmodelsposetodigitalwell-being.

AtCommonSense,wewillcontinuetoprovideparents,caregivers,educators,industryleaders,andpolicymakerswiththetools,resources,research,andinformationtheyneedtohelpkidsbuildhealthierrelationshipswiththetechnologyintheirlives.Andit'sour

hopethatthisresearchallowsforcontinuedfocusonyouthvoicesinourmissiontomakethedigitalworldworkbetterforkidseverywhere.

JamesP.Steyer,FounderandCEO

Authors:

Copyeditors:Designers:

Acknowledgments:

Credits

JennyS.Radesky,M.D.,DepartmentofPediatrics,UniversityofMichiganMedicalSchoolHeidiM.Weeks,Ph.D.,DepartmentofNutritionalSciences,UniversityofMichiganSchoolofPublicHealth

AlexandriaSchaller,B.A.,DepartmentofPediatrics,UniversityofMichiganMedicalSchoolMichaelB.Robb,Ph.D.,FormerHeadofResearch,CommonSenseMedia

SupreetMann,Ph.D.,DirectorofResearch,CommonSenseMedia

AmandaLenhart,M.A.,HeadofResearch,CommonSenseMedia

ChristopherDareandJenniferRobb

EmelyGarciaandChrisArth

ThisresearchwassupportedbyCommonSenseMedia.WethankCandiceOdgersforconsultativeassistancewithsurveymeasures.WealsothankAndyChenfor

assistancecollectingappstoredata.

Suggestedcitation:Radesky,J.,Weeks,H.M.,Schaller,A.,Robb,M.,Mann,S.,andLenhart,A.(2023).ConstantCompanion:AWeekintheLifeofaYoungPerson'sSmartphoneUse.SanFrancisco,CA:CommonSense.

TableofContents

Introduction

1

KeyFindings

3

Methodology

11

MainFindings

14

Discussion

50

References

52

SupplementalTables

54

Introduction

Smartphonesenteredthelivesofchildrenandadolescentsin2007.Comparedtoearlierdevices(flipphones),smartphonesallowedmorethanjusttextingandtakingphotos.Youngpeoplecouldnowbrowsetheinternet,choosefromthou-sandsofmobileapplications("apps")andgames,andconnectimmediatelywiththeircommunitiesthroughsocialplat-forms—fromanywhere.

Asinternetspeedsandcomputingpowerincreasedexponen-tiallyoverthepast15years,smartphoneshavebecomeevenmorepowerfulandversatile,allowinglivestreaming,multi-playergaming,andcreationanddistributionofcontent.Overarelativelyshortperiodoftime,thesehandheldcomputershavebecomeadisruptiveforceinthelivesofyoungpeople,inpositiveandnegativewaysthatadultswhogrewupwithland-linesmaynotfullygrasp.

Gettingasmartphoneisnowariteofpassageformostchil-drenandadolescentsintheUnitedStates.AccordingtoCommonSenseResearch,43%oftweens(age8to12)and88%to95%ofteens(age13to18)havetheirownsmartphone(Rideoutetal.,2022;Pew2022).AbouthalfofU.S.childrengettheirfirstsmartphonebyage11(Rideoutetal.,2022).Youngpeopledescribearangeofsupportiveandstressfulexperienceswiththeirsmartphones—somewishtheyhadn'tgottenonesoearly,whilealsodescribingitasanappendagethattheycannotlivewithout(Morenoetal.,2019).Thedeci-sionofwhentogetasmartphone,andnegotiationsaboutrulesandboundariesaroundsmartphoneuse,arefrequentsourcesofparentalstressandfamilyarguments(Mathesetal.,2021;Francisetal.,2021;Hiniker,Schoenebeck,&Kientz,2016).

Severalfactorscontributetoyoungpeople'sattachmenttotheirphones.First,itisdevelopmentallyappropriateforado-lescentstoseekconnectionandfeedbackfromtheirfriendsandcommunities,andtowanttodosoonafrequentbasis.Childrenandadolescentshavedevelopmentallyadaptivecuriosityaboutinformation,culture,entertainment,andstoriesthathelpthemmakesenseoftheirworld.

However,thedesignandmarketingchoicesmadebytechnol-ogycompaniestomeettheirbusinessobjectivesalsomakeitchallengingforyounguserstoseparatefromtheirsmart-phones.Moretimespentonmobileappstranslatestomoreadvertisingrevenueandin-apppurchases,somanyappscontainpersuasivedesignfeaturestoencourageprolongedengagement(Radeskyetal.,2022;5RightsFoundation,2021).Thesedesignfeaturesincludeencouragementofcontentcreation(sothereisalwaysmorecontenttorecom-mendtousers),reductionoffriction(e.g.,theswipe-upmovementthatallowsausertoeasilymoveontoanothervideo),timepressure(e.g.,notificationsurginguserstowatchalivestreambeforeitstops),quantifiedreinforcers(e.g.,likes,shares,virtualcurrency),oralgorithmicrecommendationsthatanalyzeauser'sdigitalbehaviortopredictwhattheymightclickonnext.

Underlyingthesedesignfeaturesaremarketingincentivestokeepyoungpeopleontheirphones—andideallywintheirbrandalliance.Smartphonesareanunprecedentedmarketingvehiclebecausetheyaretakeneverywhereandprovideinsightintousers'dailybehavior,preferences,andsocialnet-works.Thedatatracesrecordedbysmartphones(suchaslocation,purchases,likes,andshares)allowbusinessestocreateuserprofiles,whichcanthenbesoldorusedtoearnrevenuethroughtargetedadvertising.

Consideringthecompetinginterestsof1)abusinessmodelthatprioritizesengagementand2)adevelopingadolescenthumanuserwithvariouspassions,drives,andobligations,itisnotsurprisingthatbothyoungpeopleandtheirparentscom-plainoffeelingliketheyspendmoretimeontheirphonesthantheyintend(Pew2022;James&Weinstein,2022).

SmartphonesarenearlyubiquitousinthelifeofU.S.adoles-cents,butresearchonhowtheyareusedhasbeenelusive.Thisresearchtypicallyreliesonself-reportingofdailyusagehabits,momentaryreports(e.g.,pingingparticipantsthrough-outtheirdaytoassessmoment-to-momentchangesinmediause),oraskingyounguserswhattheyexperiencethroughtheirphones(e.g.,socialsupportorbullying;toxicorinspira-tionalcontent).However,ifwewanttointerrogatetheroleof

1CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.

smartphones—andalloftheircomplexusesinthedailylivesofyoungpeople,fromcommunicationtoentertainment,creativ-ity,marketing,andproductivity—thenweneedresearchmethodsthatmeasurethebehaviorofphones.Thisispossiblethroughtheharnessingofdatathatisalreadycollectedbytechnologycompaniesandmarketingfirmstomonitorsmart-phoneusers,butthatisnottypicallysharedwithresearchersonanindividual-userbasis.

Forthisstudy,weusedsoftwaretocollectdatafromthesmartphonesofadiversesampleofabout20011-to17-year-olds.Wetheninterpretedthisdatawithassistancefromanadvisorycouncilofyoungpeopletounderstandthenuancedrelationshipsthatyoungpeopledevelopwiththeirsmartphones.

Ourresearchaimedtoaddressthefollowingquestions:

?Howmuchtimearepreadolescentsandadolescentsspendingontheirsmartphones?

?Whichtypesofappsdotheyusemostfrequentlyandforthelongestperiodsoftime,andwhy?

?Aretheyaccessingappsintendedforolderaudiences?

?Howmanynotificationsaretheyreceivingperday,andfromwhichapps?

?Howmuchsmartphoneuseoccursduringschoolhours,andwhy?

?Howmuchsmartphoneuseoccursatnight,andwhy?

?Howmuchtensionorfrustrationarepreadolescentsandadolescentsexperiencingabouttheirsmartphones,andhowdotheymanagethis?

?Aretherenewinsightsaboutyouthexperiencesandpracticeswithsmartphonesthatcouldleadtobetterdesigntoimproveyoungpeople'swell-being?

Tothatend,weenrolled20311-to17-year-oldsintheUnitedStatestoletustracktheirsmartphoneuseforoneweekbyinstallingChronicle,astudyapp(Radeskyetal.,2020).Thisapprunsunobtrusivelyinthebackgroundandprovidescon-tinuousdataaboutwhichappswereusedandwhen,howmanypickupsandnotificationsoccurred,andhowmuchsmartphoneswereusedduringtheschooldayandovernighthours.ThestudywasconductedwithAndroidphoneusersonly,becauseAppledevicetrackingdoesnotsharewiththeresearchcommunitythenamesofspecificnon-Appleappsthatyoungpeoplecommonlyuse(e.g.,socialmediaapps,mobilegames).

Afteranalyzingresults,wereviewedthemwith15membersofthe2023CommonSenseYouthAdvisoryCouncil,agroupof14-to18-year-oldsofvariousraces/ethnicitiesandgenderswholiveincommunitiesacrosstheUnitedStates.TheseyouthadvisorsworkedwithCommonSensefromJanuarytoMay2023,buttheirphoneswerenottrackedaspartofthestudy.Throughtheseconversations,wegainedinsightsintothepushandpullthatadolescentsfeelwiththeirphones,withtheulti-mategoalofimagininghowsmartphonescouldbedesignedtosupporttheagencyofyoungerusers.

Alongwithourmainfindings,thisreportincludesrelevantandactionabletakeawaysforparentsandpolicymakers,aswellasdiscussionpromptsfortalkingwithkidsabouttheirsome-timescomplicatedrelationshipswithsmartphones.

?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE2

KeyFindings

Thekeyfindingsinthisreportcombinegranulardataaboutyoungpeople'ssmart-phoneusewithteens'owninterpretationoftherolethatthesedevicesplayintheirlives.Thisuniqueperspectivegivesusaglimpseintoteens'relationshipswiththeirdevices,includingtheattractionthatsmartphonesandappsholdforteens,thecorrespondingpressures,andthestrategiestheyuse(whetherbarriers,rules,orfriction)tomanagesmartphoneuseintheirday-to-dayexperiences.

1.Thesmartphoneisaconstantcompanion,bothprovidingbackgroundbuzzandencouragingregularpickupsoverthemorethanfourhoursofteensmartphoneuseonanaverageday.

Smartphonesareintegratedintoyoungpeople'slivesinwaysthathelpthemconnectwithfriends,givetheirbrainarest,orhelpthemlaughandcalmdownduringtheirbusydays.Onatypicalday,theparticipantsinourstudyusedtheirsmart-phonesforamedianofalmostfourandahalfhours.However,simplyshowingaveragedailysmartphonedurationacrossoursampledoesn'ttellthewholestory.Someparticipantsusedtheirphonesforonlyafewminutesperday,whileothersaver-agedover16hoursaday(Figure1).

Adolescents'smartphoneusedoesn'talwaysmatchadults'narrativeof"teensalwaysstaringattheirscreens."Inadditiontomoreactiveuse,someteensinourfocusgroupstalkedabouthowtheyalsousetheirsmartphonestoprovideaback-ground"buzz"byplayingmovies,videos,ormusicwhiletheydohomeworkorlaundry.

Andformostoftheteensinoursample,theirsmartphoneswerecloseathandandpickedupandcheckedfrequentlythroughouttheday—amedianof51timesperday,rangingfromtwoto498timesperday.Youngerparticipants(11-to12-year-olds)tendedtopickuptheirphoneslessfrequentlyeachday,whileadolescents(age13andolder)weremorelikelytochecktheirphoneover100timesperday(Figure2).Teensinourfocusgroupstoldusthatyoungersmartphoneusersusuallyhavemorerulesorrestrictionsplacedontheiruse,whileolderteensaregivenmoreindependenceastheylearntheappropriatetimeandplacetousetheirphone.Youngerteensmaybelesslikelytohavepeerswithsmart-phones,andfewerfriendstocontact.

3CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.

FIGURE1.Distributionofaveragedailydurationof

smartphoneuse

0-30min

2%

30-60min

5%

1-2hours

9%

2-3hours

12%

3-4hours

16%

4-5hours

15%

5-6hours

9%

6-7hours

8%

7-8hours

7%

8-9hours

4%

9-10hours

4%

>10hours

9%

FIGURE2.Averagedailysmartphonepickups,byparticipantage

0?25

28%

25%

16%

26?50

36%

15%

12%

51?100

29%

27%

28%

101?150

5%

16%

24%

151?200

0%

8%

20%

>200

2%

8%

0%

11?12

13?15

16?17

?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE4

2.Phoneuseduringschoolhoursisnearlyuniversalbutvarieswidely,reflectingapatchworkofdifferentschoolpolicies.

Smartphoneuseatschoolsisfairlywidespread,anditvariesbasedonschoolrules,teacherandstaffenforce-ment,andstudentcompliance.Duringschoolhours(MondaythroughFriday,8a.m.to3p.m.,excludingholi-days),97%ofparticipantsusedtheirphones,foramedianof43minutes(rangingfromlessthanoneminutetosixandahalfhours).Themediannumberofpickupswas13perschoolday,rangingfromlessthanoneto229.Theappcat-egoriesthattookupthehighestproportionoftimeduringschoolhoursweresocialmedia(32%ofsmartphoneuseduringschoolhours),gaming(17%),andYouTube(26%),amongparticipantswhousedthoseappcategories(Figure3).

Youthadvisorstoldusthatschoolshaveawidevarietyofpoli-cies,andvariableenforcementwithinthosepolicies,whichstudentsmayormaynotfollow:

Formyschool,wedohaveaphonepolicyand

we'renottechnicallyallowedtohaveitoutduringclass,butalotofpeopledoinspiteofthat.And

definitely,Ithinkifyoutrackkidsatmyschool,

theirphoneusage,youwoulddefinitelyseethemcheckingtheirphones,andthenchecking

Snapchatduringclass.

—10thgrader

It'skindofuptoteacherdiscretion.Soatthe

beginningoftheyear,theysaidit'snotallowed,butit'sreallyuptoeachteacherwhethertheyallowitintheroomornot.Alotofthemdo.

—11thgrader

FIGURE3.Median*durationofuseofdifferentsmartphoneappcategoriesduringschoolhours**

SocialMedia(n=126)

YouTube(n=111

)

Gaming(n=119)

Browser(n=150

)

Messaging(n=1

46)

StreamingVideo

(n=30)

ArtandPhotos(

n=133)

MusicandAudio

(n=81)

Reading(n=23)

Calls(n=132)

Shopping(n=37)

Education(n=51

)

Email(n=69)

ParentControls

(n=19)

0

20

10

AverageSchoolDayMinutes(Median)

*Medianisthevaluethat50%oftheusersareunderand50%areover.

**Includesonlyparticipantswhousedthatcategoryofappsduringspecifiedtimeframe.

5CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.

3.Notificationsareplentiful,withhalfofourparticipantsreceiving237ormoreperday.Theseinterruptionsarebothdelightfulanddistracting,

leadingmanyyounguserstofeeltheneedtomanagewhattheygetnotifiedof,andwhen.

Whilephonepickupssignifyhowoftenauserisengagingwiththeirphone,notificationsshowushowoftenaphonetriestoengageitsuser.Onatypicalday,participantsreceivedamedianof237notifications.Ofthenotificationsdeliveredtotheirphone,participantssaworengagedwithaboutaquarter(median46perday).Notificationfrequencyvariedwidely,withmaximumsofover4,500deliveredandover1,200seen(Figures4and5).

Aboutaquarter(23%)ofnotificationsarrivedduringschoolhours,andabout5%duringschoolnighthours,suggestingthatphonesandappscoulddoabetterjobofeliminatingunnecessarynotificationsattimesofdaythataremoredis-ruptivetoyoungpeople.Veryfewparticipantsreceivednonotificationsatallduringschoolhoursorschoolnighthours.

Becausenotificationsaresonumerousandoccurdayandnight,theyrequiremanagementbyyoungusers.Ouryouthadvisorsdescribeddifferentapproachestomanagingtheseinterruptions.Theysaiditwasessentialtofilterorblocknoti-fications,particularlyfrom"spam"content,favoringnotificationsofdirectmessages(DMs)frompeople.

SnapchatandDiscordrankedhighestinthenumberofnotifi-cationssenttoparticipantsinatypicalday,withsomeparticipantsreceivinghundredsofmessagesfromtheseplat-forms.Butouryouthcouncilmembersnotedthatthey'vebecomesavvytothewaysinwhichsomeappstrytopulltheminwithfrivolousnotifications.

Yeah,forme,Ihavenotificationsonfortheappsthataremessagingapps,butthenfortheother

ones,Idon'thavenotificationsonforYouTubeorInstagram…Forme,Idon'tlikethenotificationsthatjusttellyoutogobackontheapporjust

somethingrandomlikethat,likeanupdateor

something.Idon'treallycareaboutthoseones.

ButtheonesIdolikegettingaretheonesthatarefromthemessagingapps,likeifsomeonesends

meatext,Iwannaknowwhatitsays.

—10thgrader

FIGURE4.Averagedailynotificationsreceivedbysmartphones

0-100

20%

101-200

20%

201-300

23%

301-400

9%

401-500

9%

>500

20%

FIGURE5.Averagedailynotificationsseenbytheuser

0-25

28%

26-50

24%

51-100

21%

101-150

12%

151-200

7%

>200

8%

?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE6

4.TikTokisirresistible,offeringbite-sizepleasureandlow-frictioninteractionthatquicklyadaptstotheuser'sinterestsormood.

TikTokwasoneofthemostpopularandlongest-durationappsusedinthesampleof11-to17-year-oldswhosephoneswetracked.TikTokwasusedby50%ofourparticipants,foramedianofonehourand52minutesperday.Comparedtoothersocialmediaapps,TikTokusersweremorelikelytospendseveralhoursperdayusingit(upwardsofsevenhoursaday),oftenduringschoolhoursandovernight.Incontrast,thelongestamountoftimespentonSnapchatandInstagramwasaroundthreehoursperday.

YouthadvisorsexplainedtousthatTikTokprovidesanexperi-encethatothersocialorvideo-sharingplatformsdon't.TikTokwasdescribedas"easy"becausevideossimplystarttoplay—theuserdoesn'thavetomakeanydecisions,sothere'snofriction.AdolescentswetalkedtosaidthattheTikTokalgo-rithm"knows"themsowell,theycanexpectthattheywilllikelyfindsomethingfuntowatch.Iftheuserisn'tinterestedinthevideothatstartstoplay,theappquicklyadaptstosome-thingmoreengagingorthatfitstheirmoodordesires.Finally,thevideosareshort,sotheyprovidesmalldosesofpleasurewhenyoungpeopleneedabreakbutdon'thavealotoftime.

ThenTikTok,Ihonestlyfeeljustbecauseit'ssoeasytofeel,'Oh,Ionlyhave10minutes.LetmegetontoTikTokrightnow'causeIdon'treally

havetimeforanythingelse.'Becauseitprovideskindofinstantentertainment,youdon'treally

havetogoin,likeonYouTubeyouhavetogoin,youhavetosearchforsomething,youhaveto

findavideothatyouwannawatch.Andon

TikTokit'sreallyjustthere.Youcanopenitkindofwheneveryouwant.Andevenonashort

amountoftime,youcanstillwatchatleasttwoorthreevideos.

—11thgrader

IalsothinktheTikTokalgorithmisjustwaybetterthananyoftheothers.EvenInstagramreelsand

thenYouTubeShortsislikethesamethingas

TikTok,butthealgorithmforTikTokisjustway

moreaddicting,Ifeellike[it]…drawsyouinmore,anditalsoadaptsreallyquickly.SoifIskipafewofthesametypeofvideo,it'llstopplayingthat

prettyquickly…Ithinkitjusthappensnaturally.Youjustscrollwithoutreallylookingatacertaintypeofvideoafewtimesandthenyou'llseeit

adaptsandgivesyousomeothertype.

—11thgrader

7CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.

5.Overhalfofteensusedtheirphonesovernightonschoolnights,primarilyforsocialmedia,gaming,orYouTube.

WedefinedschoolnightusageasanyuseMondaythroughFridayduringthehoursofmidnightto5a.m.(excludingholi-days).Overhalfofparticipants(59%)usedtheirphonesonschoolnights,withamedianofabout20minutespernight,althoughuserangedfromlessthanaminutetofivehours.Similarly,67%ofparticipantshadpickupsonschoolnights,withamedianofonepernight,thoughatleastoneparticipantpickeduptheirphone18timesonatypicalschoolnight.

AppcategoriesthattookupthehighestproportionofschoolnightuseincludedYouTube(47%ofsmartphoneusageonschoolnights),socialmedia(39%),gaming(29%),andreading(18%),amongparticipantswhousedthoseappcategories.YouTubeappearedtobethelongest-runningappduetoseveralparticipantsrunningitovernight,likelywithmusicorwhitenoiseplaying.TikTokwasalsocommonlyusedintheovernighthoursonschoolnights,butyouthadvisorsreportedthatTikTokcanbeoverstimulatingandleadtodifficultiesinfallingasleep.

Imightsaythatforcertainapps,likeTikTok,

it'sreallyhardtofallasleeponceyouuseitclosetowhenyou'regonnagotosleep.Ican'tuseit

withinanhour,orelseI'dstruggle…andthen

I'lljustgetbackontheapp'causeI'mnot

sleepinganyway.

—10thgrader

FIGURE6.Median*durationofuseofdifferentsmartphone

appcategoriesduringschoolnights**

SocialMedia(n=60)

YouTube(n=54)

Gaming(n=32)

Browser(n=49)

Messaging(n=27)

StreamingVideo(n=14)

ArtandPhotos(n=24)

MusicandAudio(n=18)

Reading(n=6)

Calls(n=9)

Shopping(n=11)

Education(n=5)

Email(n=11)

ParentControls

(n=3)

0

20

10

AverageSchoolNightMinutes(Median)

*Medianisthevaluethat50%oftheusersareunderand50%areover.

**Includesonlyparticipantswhousedthatcategoryofappsduringspecifiedtimeframe.

?COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.CONSTANTCOMPANION:AWEEKINTHELIFEOFAYOUNGPERSON'SSMARTPHONEUSE8

6.Smartphonescanallowaccess

toage-inappropriateexperiences,

includingsocialmediaforkidsunder13andappswithmature/adult-onlyratings.

Of85participantswhowereunderage13,68%usedsocialmediaapps,andtheyallusedatleastoneapprated"Teen"orhigher.Themostpopularsocialplatformsamong11-to12-year-oldswereTikTok(usedby47%),Snapchat(31%),Discord(25%),Instagram(16%),Facebook(16%),andPinterest(14%).

Inaddition,almosthalf(45%)ofourparticipantsusedappswithmature(17+)oradultonly(18+)ratings,suchasPornhub,fantasysports/bettingapps(YahooFantasySports&Daily,SleeperFantasyFootball),Telegram,Reddit,Parler,4chan,casinogames,orviolentgamessuchasCallofDuty.

Asmallnumber(14)ofparticipantsusedsocialmediaappswithriskyfeatures,likebeingabletoconnectwithstrangersformessaging,sendingphotos,orvideochat.Althoughtheseriskiersocialmediaappsdidnottakeupasmuchtimeasmoremainstreamsocialmediaapps,evenbriefusemightleadtoproblematicinteractionswithadults.

7.Youngusersadmittheyhave

challengesmanagingtheirtechnologyuse,butthroughstepslikecurationandaddingfriction,they'reworkingonit.

Inadditiontotrackingtheirphones,wesurveyedour203participantstoaskwhethertheyhadanyproblemsmanagingtheirtechnologyuse.Overtwo-thirdsofthese11-to17-year-oldssaidthey"sometimes"or"often"finditdifficulttostopusingtechnology,usetechnologyto