Teens and Youth

Attention, parents of third graders: If demographic patterns hold, your children could be in the largest U.S. college freshman class ever.

It may seem as if basic or flip phones are a thing of the past, given that 73% of teens have a smartphone. But that still leaves 15% of teens who only have a basic cellphone and 12% who have none at all, and it makes a difference in the way each group communicates.

Helped by the economic recovery, the share not working or enrolled in school dropped to a historic low of 16% by 2014, a Pew Research Center analysis found.

Texting is the most common and frequent way that teens communicate with all types of friends, but they haven’t abandoned phone calling – especially among their closest friends.

Our latest report focuses on how teens develop and sustain friendships in the digital age, including where they meet, communicate and spend time with friends.

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.

The share of American children living in poverty has declined slightly since 2010 as the nation’s economy has improved. But the poverty rate has changed little for black children, the group most likely to be living in poverty.

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.

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.

Today, 60% of parents have checked their teenagers' profile on a social networking site.