How teens’ experiences on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat vary by race, ethnicity and gender

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.

For years, Pew Research Center has tracked how social media use and experiences differ across demographic groups, including race, ethnicity and gender.

But for the first time, we dive deeper into three major platforms: TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. We find that a teen’s experience isn’t just shaped by which platforms they use, but at times, by who they are.

Jump to the sections below for findings from the Center’s survey of 1,458 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17, conducted Sept. 25-Oct. 9, 2025. We break down differences by race and ethnicity and gender.

This is part of a broader research effort on teens’ views and experiences of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, which you can find here.

Racial and ethnic differences in how teens use and view these sites

Black teens are more likely than White and Hispanic teens to use TikTok.¹ And they also stand out for what motivates them to use the platform.

Black teens on TikTok are especially likely to turn to the platform for news. Roughly six-in-ten Black teens on TikTok say they go there for news. For their Hispanic or White peers, the shares are lower. 

Black teens who use TikTok also stand out in using the platform for product recommendations, keeping up with athletes or celebrities, and connecting with others.

Black teens do not stand out as often from both White and Hispanic teens on Snapchat and Instagram. But Black teens consistently stand out for getting news on all three platforms.

To see more detailed data on how the reasons for using these platforms differ by race and ethnicity, refer to the appendix.

Direct messaging and posting

On TikTok, Black teens are more likely to post daily. Roughly three-in-ten Black TikTok users say they do so. Smaller shares of Hispanic and White users say the same.

Additionally, Black and Hispanic teens on TikTok are more likely to direct message daily than White teens.

White teens on Snapchat are more likely to message people every day. Two-thirds say they do so. This is higher than both Hispanic and Black users.

White Snapchat users are also more likely than Hispanic users to post daily. (Black teens don’t statistically differ from either group.)

How teen boys and girls use and view these sites

Across TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, teen boys and girls share many similar experiences and outlooks. But there are gender differences when it comes to their experiences with screen time and cyberbullying.

Screen time

Teen girls on TikTok are more likely than boys to say they spend too much time on it (33% vs. 23%). Still, both most commonly say that the amount of time they spend on the site is about right.

For Instagram and Snapchat, teen boys and girls are on par in their views of screen time.

Harassment and bullying

Majorities of both boys and girls see harassment and bullying as a problem on these three platforms. And both boys and girls do experience it themselves.

We asked teens whether they’ve ever been bullied in one of three ways: physically threatened, called an offensive name or had a rumor spread about them. Across the three platforms, similar shares of boys and girls say they’ve experienced at least one.

But one place where they differ is rumors. Teen girls are more likely to say a rumor has been spread about them on Snapchat or TikTok.

• 21% of teen girls on Snapchat vs. 14% of boys
• 12% of teen girls on TikTok vs. 7% of boys

Similar shares of both boys and girls say this has happened to them on Instagram.

Previous Center research shows that girls were more likely than boys to be the target of rumor spreading online.