The COVID-19 pandemic has indisputably changed social life in America, and in the two years since it began, there has been concern about the effects of media on young people. Common Sense Media has published its Common Sense Census: Media Use by Teens and Tweens, 2021, which gives a more full picture of how youth are consuming media.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, media use is up, way up: “Use of screen media is up 17% for tweens and teens since the start of the pandemic.” The rate of change is even more significant: “media use has grown faster since the start of the pandemic – over a two-year period – than it has over the four years prior to the pandemic.”

Here are a few additional key findings of the census:

• 79% of youth 13-18 use social media or online videos at least once a week.
• 84% of teens have used social media, but only 34% say they enjoy using it “a lot.”
• YouTube is the most popular platform, followed by SnapChat.
• On average, 8- to 12-year-olds use screen media around 5.5 hours a day, while 13- to 18-year-olds spend 8.5 hours a day on screen media.
• In both the tween and teen age groups, boys use screens for entertainment more than girls.
• Black and Hispanic/Latino children use screens more than their white peers.
• Children in middle- and lower-income households use screens for entertainment more than those in higher-income households.
• Social media use is growing among 8- to 12-year-olds.
• One form of media did not increase during the pandemic: reading.

You can view a one-page summary here.

Or read the report in its entirety here: Common Sense Census: Media Use by Teens and Tweens, 2021