Teens, Technology and Friendships
American teens don’t just make friends in the schoolyard or neighborhood — many are finding new friends online. Video games, social media and mobile phones play an integral role in how teens meet and interact.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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American teens don’t just make friends in the schoolyard or neighborhood — many are finding new friends online. Video games, social media and mobile phones play an integral role in how teens meet and interact.
Fewer teens are working summer jobs, but those who are are more likely to be in the accommodation and food service sector and less likely to be working retail.
As the oldest Baby Boomers reach retirement age and older generations live longer, more counties across America are graying.
Today nearly six-in-ten (57%) say they would not be upset if they had a child come out as gay or lesbian, according to our survey conducted in May.
The share of teens working summer jobs has dwindled, from well over half as recently as the 1980s to less than a third last year.
At least one-in-five people in Japan, Germany and Italy are already aged 65 or older, and most other European countries are close behind.
America is turning gray, with the share of people ages 65 and older expected to rise more than 50% by 2050 – a trend that may burden more families. But Germany and Italy are already there, with a fifth of their population in that age range.
Today, 60% of parents have checked their teenagers’ profile on a social networking site.
Smartphones are fueling a shift in the communication landscape for teens. Nearly three-quarters of teens now use smartphones and 92% of teens report going online daily — including 24% who say they go online “almost constantly.”
In a recent Pew Research survey, more respondents said communication skills were most important for children to have, followed by reading, math, teamwork, writing and logic. Science fell somewhere in the middle.
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