YouTube Top Choice for US Teens as Facebook Falls Out of Favor - New Report

Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube have moved into an area online once dominated by Facebook, revealing a shift in the social media landscape; this shift is down to smartphone ownership, according to a new report published by the Pew Research Center.

"Most notably smartphone ownership has become a nearly ubiquitous element of teen life: 95 percent of teens now report they have a smartphone or access to one," the report says.

​Teenagers aged between 13 and 17 are using YouTube more frequently and for longer than they ever used Facebook, dropping from 71 percent to around 50 percent.

Around 95 percent of teenagers in the US say they have access to a smartphone, up 22 percent since 2014-2015. However computer access still varies depending on the level of education among parents.

The study also suggest nearly half of all American teenagers spend almost their entire life online.

"These mobile connections are in turn fuelling more persistent online activities: 45 percent of teens now say they are online on a near constant basis," the report states.

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​The report says the number of teens using the internet "almost constantly" has nearly doubled since its previous study carried out four years ago, however it would appear they're not just spending their lives on Facebook, choosing other social media sites and playing video games instead.