Teens & Youth

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.

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.

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.

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.