Ross Gilmore / AP ImagesToo often when writing about what teenagers like, we neglect to talk to the most important group of all: teens themselves.
So we decided to put together a "State of the Union" on the American teenager. To learn what American teenagers in 2016 really like (and what they don't), we polled about 60 teens from all across the country. We spoke with teens ages 13 to 19, in middle school, high school, and college.
We asked them about their digital lives and habits, the apps they use and the games they play, pop culture, and politics. Their answers are enlightening and offer a glimpse into what it's like being a teenager in 2016. We've drawn out the highlights below — along with some data from other sources — so keep scrolling for our guide to teenagers in 2016.
Who did we talk to?
For our survey on American teenagers, we talked to a group of about 60 teenagers from across the country, of various socioeconomic classes, grades, and ages. We didn't want to focus on one particular geographic area, so we talked to teenagers across the country, including California, Colorado, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.
Every teen we spoke with owns a smartphone, and most own (or regularly use) a variety of devices, including gaming consoles, tablets, and even desktop computers.
Teens get their first smartphone when they're 11.
Cole Bennetts/Getty Images
On average, the teens we spoke with received smartphones from their parents when they were 11 years old. At their youngest, they received phones when they were 8; at the other end of the spectrum, one teen's parents made her wait until she was 16 before she got a phone.
Teens are shy to talk about how much time they spend on their phones, but it's around 6 hours a day on average.
We got lots of "too many" and "I'm embarrassed to say" responses, but from the numbers we were able to get, we found that teens spend about 6 hours a day on their phones. (This is both in and out of school.)
... And they're spending lots of time in front of other screens too.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Besides owning smartphones, most teens we talked to spent time in front of television sets and gaming consoles (Playstation 4 and Wii were popular answers) as well. Some also use desktop computers.
On average, they spend 11 hours in front of screens every day — but answers ranged from 2 hours to 18 hours, which sounds like it would be literally every waking moment (and maybe it is).
Teens aren't only spending a ton of time online — they're shopping online too.
Clothing have been relatively immune to the rise of e-commerce because most people like to try things on before buying.
However, when it comes to teenage shoppers, the option of being able to try-on clothing before buying is becoming less important according to a survey conducted by Piper Jaffray in 2015.
Only 61% of US teens say they currently prefer to shop for clothing online from retailers that also operate their own bricks-and-mortar stores. That's a significant drop from the 81% of teens last spring who said they preferred to shop at omnichannel fashion (or cross-channel) retailers.
What are teens' favorite apps? Here are a few of the most popular answers ...
Getty Images/Clemens Bilan
The most popular by a landslide: Snapchat.
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
It's no surprise that teenagers love Snapchat. Here's what they had to say about it:
- "It's how I communicate with most of my friends and it's fun." - 15 year old
- "Snapchat because it's pretty much just texting, but with pictures of my beautiful face " - 16 year old
- "Snapchat, because it is fun to send your friends what you're doing, and where you are in a fast and easy way. I also like being able to make stories, for all of my friends to see, and I also enjoy seeing stories of my friends on it and see what they're up to." - 17 year old
Spotify was almost universally heralded as the best music app, and was also listed as a favorite app by a lot of respondents.
Nick Pickles/Getty
Not only did teenagers almost universally name Spotify as their preferred music streaming service — for some teenagers, it's the best app on their phone, hands down:
- "I use it to share music, to see what my friends are listening to, and to find new music." - 14 year old
Instagram was another favorite.
Instagram is a standby favorite of teens, who swear by its filters and direct message feature. Here's what they said:
- "I use Instagram to message my friends funny pictures I see on Instagram." - 15 year old
- "Snapchat and Instagram, I love sharing photos all of the things I do and places I go. I also like seeing what others are up to." - 15 year old
The dark horse: Twitter.
Anthony Quintano/Flickr
You might not expect Twitter to be among teens' favorite apps. After all, the company is having a hard time attracting new users. But a lot of teenagers we talked to really like the platform. Here what they had to say:
- "Twitter because I can update everyone all the time quickly and it's not annoying like Facebook." - 17 year old
- Twitter because "you can voice your opinion on anything you want to and you can somewhat interact with celebrities." - 18 year old
- "My favorite app is Twitter because I am the kind of person who needs to get out my thoughts and Twitter may be like shouting into the void but at least I am heard and often validated by my peers." - 19 year old
Absent from the list: Facebook.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
According to the teens we talked to, they and their friends are still using Facebook — but it's not their favorite app. Here's why:
- "I use Facebook, but I feel like I can't be myself on it because my parents and my friends parents are my Facebook friends." - 16 year old
- "It's mostly outdated." - 14 year old
- "Facebook is good for group events and things but it's definitely not my favorite app." - 15 year old
We also asked which apps are just flat-out uncool.
- Google+. "I don't even really know a time where Google+ was a thing." - 16 year old
- Whisper. "People just don't use it anymore." - 17 year old
- Vine. "I watch Vine videos, but me and my friends don't have accounts or make our own videos, same with YouTube." - 16 year old
This pretty much lines up with what teens across the board are saying.
BI Intelligence
Instagram leads as the "most important" social network among US teens, according to the 2015 edition of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], as reported by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
Most of the teens we talked to wouldn't admit they had fake Instagram ("finsta") accounts.
REUTERS/Brian Snyder
For the uneducated, a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is a portmanteau of the words "fake" and "Instagram." You use it for posting embarrassing or less aesthetically pleasing pictures you wouldn't want to share with all of your friends.
80% of the teens we talked to had no idea what a Finsta was, and 92% said they didn't have one.
"I did have a finsta with a friend, but we don't use it anymore because it got too confusing to know which account you were on, to make sure we were posting on the right one, and not posting on the wrong one by accident," one 16 year old told us.
"A lot of my friends still have them and use them. A finsta is a fake Instagram account people use to post funny pictures they wouldn't normally post for everyone to see. Usually on a finsta you only have your closer friends follow, so you can post embarrassing pictures of yourself without having everyone you've ever talked to see them."
Facebook may be dead to teens, but a surprising number of them are texting their friends through Facebook Messenger.
The most common form of messaging among teenagers, according to our survey, isiMessage or SMS messaging (100% of the teens we talked to use one or both of those). ButFacebook Messenger was mentioned almost as frequently — 80% of teenagers we spoke with say they use Facebook Messenger as a primary or secondary form of communicating with friends. Less popular were WhatsApp, Kik, and Snapchat text.
Overwhelmingly, three phones are most popular with the teenagers we talked to: the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, and Samsung Galaxy S5.
80% of the teenagers we talked to had one of these three phones.
Teenagers are watching both cable and streaming services like Netflix — but there's one clear winner.
Shutterstock
And that's Netflix. Hulu and Amazon were also listed by a lot of the teens we spoke with, but Netflix has the lion's share.
Here's why, in the words of a couple of the teenagers we spoke with:
- "My family has cable, and Netflix and Hulu, but for me all I watch is Netflix, I know my parents will watch the news and sometimes a show on cable, but they also mostly use Netflix or Hulu to watch shows, and movies. I use Netflix more then Hulu because there aren't commercials on Netflix. I only use Hulu when I miss an episode of a show because it will be on there fast." - 17 year old
- "Netflix is life." - 16 year old
Here's what teens are watching on TV (it's mostly Netflix and Netflix-like services).
Over one-half of US children and teens (ages 8 - 18) prefer streaming television over all other types of media, according to a[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
We asked teens what the coolest app, website, or thing on the internet right now that adults probably don't know about. A fair number said that Twitter, Tumblr, and Snapchat are cool (and they are!) and that they think adults don't know about them (but they do!). But there were a few responses we found genuinely surprising.
iStock
We got a fair number of responses from teens who think Twitter, Tumblr, and Snapchat are cool (and they are!) and that they think adults don't know about them (but they do!).
But there were a few responses we found genuinely surprising.
After School.
iTunes
Several teens brought this app to our attention. We first wrote about After School, a social network specifically created for high school students, when it launched and started gaining traction [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
If you're nervous thinking about the kinds of stuff teenagers would post anonymously on a social network, you're not alone. Millions of teens are using it to post their "deepest anxieties, secret crushes, vulgar assessments of their classmates and even violent threats,"[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
Musical.ly.
Screenshot
You've probably never heard of Musical.ly before, but it's already cracked the top 20 in Apple's App Store. The app has quietly grown to its popular status without any press. Musical.ly lets you make music videos of yourself or of other people. It may not seem like a super-compelling value proposition, but 10 of the 60 teens we spoke with listed Musical.ly as the app they were most excited about and doubted adults would know about.
Color Therapy.
Screenshot
Remember when you were a kid and you colored in coloring books? Color Therapy is a stress-relieving, digital coloring book for adults, and the teens we talked with swear by it.
Wishbone.
Wishbone
Launched by Los Angeles venture capital firm Science's mobile studio, Wishbone shows you two options and lets you vote on which one you like more — a spin on the popular "Would you rather" hypothetical question.
Wishbone became somewhat of a viral teen phenomenon, and as of September, just months after it launched, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
Neko Atsume.
Screenshot
You have probably never heard of the Japanese game Neko Atsume, but a number of teens we talked to are obsessed with it. It's a game that literally translates to "cat collecting,"and that's exactly what you do in the adorable game.
Color Switch.
Screenshot/YouTube
Speaking of games, a bunch of teens mentioned Color Switch too. In this game, you must follow each color pattern you're shown on each obstacle in order to progress.
We asked teens who the coolest celebrities are right now.
Neilson Barnard/Getty
Some of the more popular names included Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, 5 Seconds of Summer, Kanye West, DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Ruby Rose, One Direction, "Hamilton" creator and star Lin Manuel Miranda, Drake, and Nicki Minaj.
Yes, the star of the Broadway musical "Hamilton" was named in the same breath as Drake and One Direction. That's him in this picture.
But teens consider YouTube and Vine stars celebrities too.
Kevin Mazur/Fox/WireImage
And most we talked to named a bunch who they like. Interestingly, a lot of the teens we spoke with — the majority, 75% — told us they don't have or use YouTube or Vine accounts, but they use both services voyeuristically just to watch the videos.
There tends to be a lot of overlap between YouTube and Vine stars. Their favorites include: Brendon Urie, Shawn Mendes, Connor Franta, Troye Sivan, Tyler Oakley, Miranda Sings, Shane Dawson, Logan Paul, Lele Pons, Josh Peck, Jenna Marbles, Manny MUA, Ethan and Grayson Dolan, Alx James, Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, Hannah Hart, and Rosanna Pansino.
There was just one media company teens said they were obsessed with.
Lara O'Reilly/Business Insider
We didn't flat-out ask what media teens are consuming, but in their answers about their favorite Viners and what they do online, 30% of teens we spoke with mentioned BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed Video, Tasty (the BuzzFeed food video Facebook page), and BuzzFeed's quizzes.
But as far as slang goes, "Anything is very uncool as soon as BuzzFeed gets it."
That's what one teen told us when we asked about what slang they're using. The teen we were talking to was specifically referencing words like "bae" (if you're living under a rock, this is both an acronym for "before anyone else" as well as a term of endearment) and phrases like "on fleek."
"Nobody has a better bull---t detector than a teenager does," Taylor Trudon, an editor an MTV News and a bona fide teen expert, told us. Trudon is launching a new platform for MTV News called Voices, a for-teens-and-by-teens community, so she knows a thing or two about teenagers. "They can tell when you’re not being authentic."
... So what slang *is* cool, by teens' standards?
Well, here's what they told us. Most of these are no-brainers if you have kids or even just sit around on the internet for any length of time.
- "I use YASSSSSSSS a lot when I get really excited and don't really realize it. I also like slay, even though I know that's kind of stupid."
- "Regularly use: hype (as in 'I'm so hype for this'), mad, dope, low key/high key, lit. Uncool: on fleek, bae, fire, etc."
- "Goals. You might look at a beautiful celebrity or your favorite couple and say they are goals."
- "Me and my friends use Gucci and squad and #goals a lot but in a joking manner. The ones that are uncool are on fleek and holla @ me."
- "I regularly say v instead of very (ex: 'She's v aesthetic') and 'it's lit.'"
- "'Throw shade/spill tea' - talk negatively about someone or gossip. 'Read' - make a judgment."
- "I normally use flames or lit to sound cool. We need to stop saying bae and on fleek."
Then, just for fun, we asked a couple other questions. First up: What do you think about the Kardashians?
Isaac Brekken/Getty Images
Before you abandon all hope for humanity, read their rather rational responses.
- "I don't really pay attention to them because there's always something negative going on with them. Except for Kendall — she stays out of it and I like her for that, even though she's not a Kardashian."
- "I dislike how prominent they are."
- "I dislike the Kardashians. They are currently taking over our generation."
- "I think they are a bunch of spoiled rich people who are cocky and don't deserve much, but they are face and body goals."
- "I don't know much about them, but I feel like society shames them for all of the wrong reasons."
Next: Who would you vote for in the 2016 election, if you could pick any candidate?
REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).
Bernie Sanders won by a landslide (55% of respondents said they'd vote for him).
Also popular: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz.
Finally, we asked teens to send us their home screens so we could take a look at what their phones look like. Scroll through to see what apps are on teens' phones.
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
So, what are today's teens like?
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
From generation to generation, some things about teens remain consistent. Staving off FOMO (fear of missing out) and finding ways to connect and share memories with your peers is essential regardless of when you were a teenager.
But teens today seem more aware of current events and pop culture than they ever were before, and this is probably because they have so many ways to be connected to real-time news and other information outlets.
"This generation grew up using iPads," MTV's Trudon told me. Teens today, she says, are "a lot smarter than they’re given credit for."
» Group hackers
» Hacker Needed
» Hacker Needed
» Hacker Needed
» Hacker Needed
» Hacker Needed
» Hacker Needed
» Hacker Needed