THECOMMONSENSECENSUS:

MEDI
AUSEBYTWEENSANDTEE
NS
Common Sense is grateful for the generous support and underwriting that funded this report.

The Honorable John Delaney and

April McClain-Delaney

Delaney Family Fund

www.thrivefoundation.org
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Media included in the study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Types of data presented in this report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Thinking about “time spent with media” and media multitasking . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Aspects of media use that are not included in the survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Survey sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Descriptions and definitions of demographic groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1

Presentation of data in the text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Analysis methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Key Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Overall Media Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Media Usage Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Television and Video Viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Video, Computer, and Mobile Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Reading and Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Tablets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 3
Smartphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Gender and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Media . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Media use differences by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status
among tweens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Media use differences by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status

among teens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Parents and Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Physical Activity and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Social-Emotional Well-Being and Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Media and Homework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Appendix: Questionnaire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Board of Advisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to offer a comprehensive picture of less important to measure the “total time” spent with these
the use of media by young people in the U.S., including the level media. If “screen media use” can mean writing a short story on a
of enjoyment, frequency of use, and amount of time devoted to a computer, video-chatting with relatives, watching videos, reading
wide array of media activities and devices. the news online, or playing games, what is the point of document-
ing the total amount of time teens spend using screens? This
As far as we know, this study is the only large-scale, probability-
study recognizes the variety of activities young people engage in
based 1 survey to explore young people’s use of the full range of
via screen media; in fact, the study offers the first national-level
media:
documentation we are aware of regarding the functional pur-
‹‹ It is based on a large national sample of more than 2,600 poses for which multi-use digital devices are being used, includ-
young people; ing consumption, communication, and content creation. It also
offers a “typology” of young people’s media use, noting the dif-
‹‹ It uses a probability-based, nationally representative sample,
ferent patterns of usage we found: gamers, social networkers,
making the results as reliable as possible;
readers, and the like.
‹‹ It includes both “tweens” (broadly defined as 8- to 12-year-
olds) and teens (13- to 18-year-olds);

‹‹ It includes screen-based media activities (such as watching

TV shows, playing video games, and using social media) as From 1999-2010, the Kaiser Family
well as non-screen media activities (such as reading books or Foundation conducted a series of
listening to music);
landmark studies, called the
‹‹ It documents both the activities engaged in (e.g., using social Generation M studies, that tracked
media) and the devices used (e.g., computers, smartphones,
media use among 8- to 18-year-olds,
and tablets); and
upon which The Common Sense
‹‹ It includes detailed measures of the amount of time young Census builds. However, because of
people spend on these activities and on these devices.
substantial changes in methodology
With the explosion of devices and forms of content in today’s and age groups studied (see the
media landscape, it is increasingly challenging to measure the
“Methodology” section), the findings
time youth spend and the things they do with media and technol-
ogy. Media devices are portable, ubiquitous, and integrated as
from The Common Sense Census
essential tools in young people’s lives, and what counts as “media cannot be compared to those of
use” or even “screen time” is harder to define. It is no longer previous studies, including the Kaiser
simple to define what “TV” or even “reading” is. And measuring Foundation’s Generation M reports.
how much time is spent on a particular activity is not straightfor-
Common Sense Media plans to repeat
ward either, since many media are used in short bursts through-
out the day, while others may be on in the background all this media use census periodically,
the time. so that trends in tweens’ and teens’
It can also be argued that the variety of activities that fall under
media habits can be identified.
the rubric of media use—especially screen media use—makes it

1. See the Methodology section for a fuller discussion of probability vs. convenience samples in survey research.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 5
The primary focus of the study is documenting the basic facts
about the media activities young people engage in (such as
playing video games and using social media) and the devices they
use (such as computers and smartphones). The purpose is to
document the frequency of young people’s use of media; the
amount of time devoted to these activities and devices per day;
how much young people enjoy each media activity; and the differ-
ences among young people by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and
socioeconomic status (SES).

There are many perspectives from which to view, document, and

measure young people’s use of media. In this report, data are
presented from several angles to help illuminate young people’s
media habits as fully as possible. The report’s “Methodology”
section includes an important subsection titled “Types of data
presented in this report,” which should be reviewed before This study recognizes the
delving into the findings.
variety of activities young
Among the questions the study seeks to answer are:

‹‹ Which media activities are young people engaging in most

people engage in via screen
often, and how much time are they spending on those media; in fact, the study
activities?
offers the first national-level
‹‹ Which devices do they use to engage in these activities? For
example, how much of young people’s media content is con- documentation we are aware
sumed on mobile devices? And how much TV viewing takes
place online? of regarding the functional
‹‹ How do media preferences and the amount of time spent on purposes for which multi-use
various activities differ by age, gender, race/ethnicity,
income, or parent education? digital devices are being
‹‹ To what degree do young people use screen media for used, including consumption,
homework?
communication, and content
‹‹ How often are young people multitasking with media while
doing their homework? How do they think this affects their creation.
work?

Our goal is to provide a reliable set of data to help inform the work
of those concerned with young people’s health and well-being:
content creators who are providing high-quality entertainment or
educational media for youth; organizations trying to reach young
people with positive information through the media; researchers
attempting to study the effects of various types of media on
young people’s cognitive, creative, physical, or social-emotional
well-being; policy makers who are crafting public policies con-
cerning youth and media; and parents who are seeking to under-
stand the bigger picture regarding the patterns of media use
among young people today.

6 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 METHODOLOGY

This report is based on a nationally representative survey of use of media for homework was also explored, and those results
2,658 U.S. children age 8 to 18 years old, conducted from are reported separately. The term “entertainment media” is occa-
February 6 to March 9, 2015. The project was directed by Seeta sionally used in the report, to distinguish media used for school
Pai, vice president of research at Common Sense Media, and or homework from media used for other purposes. It is not meant
Vicky Rideout, president of VJR Consulting. Data analyses were to imply that the content being consumed is not educational; in
conducted by Melissa Saphir of Saphir Research. The survey was fact it is likely that some portion of the media young people are
administered by GfK, using their KnowledgePanel©, a probability- consuming is educational or informational. It is also likely that
based Web panel designed to be representative of the United some media use is “functional,” such as looking up directions or
States. The report was written by Ms. Rideout and edited by Dr. checking the weather before an outing.
Pai and Dr. Saphir. A copy of the complete questionnaire is pro-
vided in the appendix to this report. The survey was offered in
Types of data presented in this report
English or Spanish.
There are many perspectives from which to view, document, and
measure young people’s use of media. In this report, data are
Media included in the study
presented from several angles.
Overview of media covered. The media activities covered in the
Frequency: proportion who are “daily” users. One media-usage
survey included: watching television, movies, and videos; playing
variable we report is the frequency with which tweens and teens
video/computer/mobile games; listening to music; using social
engage in certain activities (e.g., watching TV shows) or use
media; reading; and using digital devices for other purposes (such
certain devices (e.g., a tablet). This number is young people’s
as browsing websites, video-chatting, or creating digital art or
estimates of how often they do or use these things (ranging from
music). Definitions of the major media activities are included in
“never” to “every day”). Through this lens, one can see, for
Table 1. The media devices covered in the survey included: books,
example, that 62 percent of tweens say they watch TV “every
newspapers, magazines, CD players, radios, MP3 players, video
day” and that TV watching tops the list of daily activities among
game consoles, handheld video game players, TV sets, comput-
this age group.
ers, tablets, smartphones, e-readers, and other mobile devices.
Total time spent on devices such as computers, tablets, and Proportion who use each medium on any given day. The report also
smartphones includes time spent on any of the media activities documents the percent of young people who engage in a particu-
listed above, plus time spent on any “other” activities such as lar activity—or use a particular device—on any given day in this
emailing, instant messaging, shopping, coding, checking direc- country. In the survey, respondents indicated whether they had
tions or weather, or using apps. done each activity “yesterday”—that is, the day prior to complet-
ing the survey—and if so, how much time they spent doing it and
A note about texting. Texting is by nature episodic, and people
on what device(s). Since the survey was administered evenly
text at various times throughout the day, often in very short
across the seven days of the week over a period of four weeks,
bursts. Pilot tests conducted in preparation for this study indi-
this measure creates a useful index of what happens on any given
cated that respondents could not accurately estimate the time
day in this country. By this measure, one would see, for example,
they spent texting on a given day. Accordingly, texting is mea-
that on any given day 75 percent of tweens watch TV. The pro-
sured by estimates of the number of texts sent in a day rather than
portion of respondents who watch TV on any given day should
time spent texting.
be higher than the percent who say they are “daily” viewers
Entertainment vs. educational media. The bulk of the study con- (62 percent), because that percentage also likely includes some
cerns the use of media for entertainment purposes only; however, of the tweens who say they watch “several times a week.”

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 7
TABLE 1. DEFINITIONS OF MAJOR MEDIA ACTIVITY AND DEVICE CATEGORIES

TOTAL TV/DVD/VIDEO

Total television
Watching TV on a set
‹‹ As broadcast: Includes TV shows or movies viewed on a TV set at the time they were broadcast. Movies are included because so
much of “TV” content is movies that are aired on television networks.
‹‹ Time-shifted: Includes TV shows or movies watched on a TV set but recorded earlier on a DVR, watched “on demand,” or streamed
on a TV set through a program such as Netflix.
Watching TV online
Includes TV shows or movies downloaded or streamed to a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

DVDs
Includes TV shows or movies watched on a DVD.

Online videos
Includes watching videos (other than TV shows or movies) online, at websites such as YouTube. Could include how-to videos,
video podcasts, webisodes, music videos, or funny pet videos.

MUSIC

Listening to music includes all time spent listening to music downloaded to a computer, tablet, iPod, smartphone, or other MP3 player,
through a service such as iTunes; streamed through an app or a service such as Pandora or Spotify on a computer, tablet, iPod Touch, or
phone; on a radio, such as a car radio, transistor radio, or stereo system; or on CDs. Watching music videos is counted in “online videos.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

Includes the use of social-networking sites and mobile apps such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

TOTAL GAMING

Video games
‹‹ Console: Includes games played on a console video-game player such as a Wii, Xbox, or PlayStation.
‹‹ Handheld: Includes games played on handheld devices made specifically for gaming, such as a Nintendo DS, Game Boy, LeapPad, or
similar portable game player.

Mobile games
Includes any games played on a tablet, smartphone, or iPod Touch.

Computer games
Includes any games played on a computer, whether “casual” games such as Solitaire or massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)
such as World of Warcraft.

READING

Reading includes time spent reading “for your own enjoyment” and not for homework or a school assignment. It includes reading
in print (books, newspapers, and magazines); reading ebooks; or reading online (including stories, articles, news, and blogs).

TOTAL SCREEN MEDIA

Total screen media includes time spent engaging in visual media activities on screen devices, including watching TV or videos, playing
games, video chatting, searching the Internet, and reading or writing on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. It does not include time spent
listening to music through screen devices.

TOTAL MOBILE MEDIA

Total mobile media includes media activities on tablets, smartphones, iPod Touches, other iPod/MP3 players, and handheld gamers such
as Nintendo DS or Game Boy. For purposes of this study, laptops are not considered “mobile” devices. Total mobile screen media excludes
time spent listening to music through mobile devices.

8 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Among those who do each activity or use each device, average time The reason we present multiple measures of media use among
spent on the activity/using the device per day. For example, one young people is that the use of any one measure (such as mean
can say that on any given day in this country, 75 percent of time spent among all) may not provide a full, accurate picture of
tweens watch TV, and those who watch spend an average of 2:21 the distribution or spread of that variable. For example, the national
doing so (“2:21” means two hours and 21 minutes; see Notation average time spent playing console video games on any given day
of hours and minutes, pg. 12). Some tweens may have spent all day among all teens is 32 minutes. However, only 27 percent of teens
watching, and others may have watched for only an hour; but the play console video games on any given day, and among these, the
average among all those who watched was 2:21. This can be a average time spent is 2:09. Looking at the time spent in incre-
useful way of understanding, for example, that although black ments gives us another window onto the distribution of this vari-
and white teens are equally likely to watch TV on any given day, able, which we would say is positively skewed—that is, on any
the black teens who do watch average an hour more in viewing given day in this country, most teens aren’t playing video games,
time than the white teens who watch. some are, and a few are spending a lot of time doing so. The high
values of the few pull the national average among all teens higher,
Average time per day among all. Another basic measure presented
which, unless balanced with other ways of viewing the data, may
in the report is the average (“mean”) amount of time spent on
make it appear that every young person is playing console video
each activity “among all” tweens or teens. The amount of time
games for around a half hour a day, when in reality most aren’t
spent with any activity or device per day “among all” reflects both
playing at all.
the percent who engaged in those activities and the length of
time spent doing them. For example, on a typical day 75 percent
Thinking about “time spent with media”
of tweens watch TV, and those who watch spend an average of
and media multitasking
2:21 watching; therefore the average among all tweens is 1:47 per
day. Obviously not all tweens are sitting down and watching TV The fact that young people spend a certain amount of time each
for precisely 1:47 each day. Many aren’t watching at all, some are day with media does not mean that they spend that time doing
watching for an hour, some are watching for several hours, and nothing else but using media. If a teen spends an hour watching
some are watching for many hours. But this average among all TV, an hour listening to music, an hour reading, and an hour using
gives us a quick way to assess where a particular media activity social media, she will have a total of four hours of media use. But
or device stands in relation to other activities, in terms of both it is important to remember that for a portion of the time she is
penetration and popularity. For example, tweens spend an using media, she may be doing other activities at the same time.
average of 1:47 a day watching TV, compared with 28 minutes a For example, she may be watching TV while getting dressed or
day playing console video games and 29 minutes a day reading. cleaning her room, browsing social media while on the bus to
Unless otherwise specified, when a time is given for a particular school, and listening to music while working out. This study docu-
activity (e.g., “teens spend an average of 1:54 a day listening to ments the amount of time young people spend with media, but it
music”), it is the average among all. does not determine whether the time was spent only with media.

Incremental times. Finally, for each activity or device, we bring In addition, many young people often use more than one medium
some of these data together to report what happens on any given at the same time. For example, a teen who spends an hour playing
day in increments. For example, on any given day 25 percent of mobile games and an hour listening to music has a total of two
tweens don’t watch any TV at all, 24 percent watch up to an hour, hours of media use. But he may have done the activities simulta-
25 percent watch one to two hours, 18 percent watch two to four neously—listening to music while playing a mobile game. In other
hours, and 8 percent watch more than four hours. While based words, he may have used two hours’ worth of media in one hour,
on the same data as the “average time spent among all” and the due to simultaneous media use. The survey did not ask what
“average time spent among those who did the activity,” this for- proportion of young people’s media time is spent “media multi-
mulation offers a different perspective that gives us an idea tasking” (using more than one medium at a time).
whether the “average” is being heavily influenced by a few heavy
users or represents the entire sample more evenly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 9
Aspects of media use that are not or with parents, siblings, or friends. To ensure the reliability and
included in the survey validity of the data we collected, we had to limit the length and
complexity of the survey; thus, there were several topics we could
This survey collected the most detailed data available concerning not explore in depth. We hope the broad landscape we do present
the time young people spend with media and the devices they inspires further research into these topics.
use, striving for a comprehensive portrait across a wide variety of
devices and activities. Due to limitations on the length and com-
Survey sample
plexity of the survey, some aspects of young people’s media use
are not covered. This includes the genres of media used (e.g., The use of a probability sample. Unlike the members of most other
sitcoms vs. educational documentaries for television, The Sims vs. online survey panels, KnowledgePanel© members were recruited
Grand Theft Auto for video games, or country vs. rap for music), using probability-based methods such as address-based sam-
the location in which media are used (e.g., in a family room, in a pling and random-digit-dial telephone calls. Households that
car, in bed), the time of day media are used (e.g., before school, were not already online were provided with a notebook computer
after school, or late at night), and whether media are used alone and dial-up Internet access for the purpose of participating in

TABLE 2. U.S. BENCHMARKS AND DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SURVEY SAMPLE

Unweighted Weighted Unweighted Weighted

Demographic Benchmark percent percent n n
Age
‹‹ 8- to 12-year-olds (tweens) 45% 47% 45% 1,259 1,196
‹‹ 13- to 18-year-olds (teens) 55% 53% 55% 1,399 1,462
Gender
‹‹ Boys 51% 50% 51% 1,333 1,366
‹‹ Girls 49% 50% 49% 1,325 1,292
Race/ethnicity
‹‹ White 54% 56% 54% 1,482 1,482
‹‹ Hispanic 23% 24% 23% 648 648
‹‹ Black 14% 10% 13% 275 275
‹‹ Other 6% 4% 6% 114 154
‹‹ 2+ races 3% 5% 4% 139 94
†
Income
‹‹ <$25,000 16% 18% 16% 479 421
‹‹ $25-49,999 21% 23% 21% 606 556
‹‹ $50-74,999 17% 20% 18% 522 465
‹‹ $75,000+ 45% 40% 46% 1,051 1,215
‡
Internet access
‹‹ Yes 83% 94% 86% 2,510 2,287
‹‹ No 17% 6% 14% 148 371
Total sample 2,658 2,658

† Income breaks used in data analysis were less than $35,000, $35,000-$99,999, and $100,000 or more.
‡ Other than the dial-up access provided by GfK for purposes of participating in KnowledgePanel© surveys.
Source of demographic benchmarks: March 2014 Supplemental Data, Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau. Benchmarks for Internet
access are from October 2012 Supplemental Data.

10 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
surveys. The use of a probability sample means the results are Descriptions and definitions of
substantially more generalizable to the U.S. population than are demographic groups
results based on so-called “convenience” samples. Convenience
samples include only respondents who are already online and Income categories. For the purposes of this report, lower-income
who volunteer through word of mouth or advertising to partici- families are defined as those with incomes of less than $35,000
pate in surveys. a year; middle-income families are those earning from $35,000
to $99,999 a year; and higher-income families are those earning
Parental consent and respondent compensation. Parental permis- $100,000 a year or more.
sion was obtained for all respondents. Respondents received a
cash equivalent of $5 for their participation; some African- Age groups. The report uses the word “tweens” to describe the
American respondents received an additional $5 equivalent age group of 8- to 12-year-olds. There is no formal definition of
to improve response rates among this lower-incidence “tweens,” and usage of the term varies widely. The term is used
demographic group. as shorthand and does not reflect a belief about developmental
stages of childhood and adolescence. The report also uses
Margin of error. The margin of error for the full sample for a 50 “teens” or “teenagers” to refer to the age group of 13- to
percent statistic is +/-1.9 percentage points. The margin of error 18-year-olds.
for subgroups is higher.
Race/ethnicity. Where findings are broken out by race/ethnicity,
Weighting. The use of probability-based recruitment methods for results are presented for white, black, and Hispanic youth;
the KnowledgePanel© is designed to ensure that the resulting respondents in the “other” category are included in the total
sample properly represents the population of the U.S., including sample but not in findings that are broken out by race (the cell
geographically, demographically (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnic- sizes of each individual group in the “other” category are not large
ity, income), and in terms of home Internet access. Study-specific enough for us to examine differences between them).
post-stratification weights were applied once the data were final-
ized, to adjust for any survey nonresponse and to ensure the Cell sizes. Many findings are reported for subsets of the full
proper distributions for the specific target population (in this survey sample. For example, the report provides the average
case, 8- to 18-year-olds). Geo-demographic distributions for 8- amount of time spent playing video games among all teens who
to 18-year-olds were obtained from the most recently available use them but also breaks down those findings by gender, race,
supplemental data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current and other demographic variables. If a subgroup has fewer than
Population Survey. 50 members—for example, if fewer than 50 teen girls played
video games—we don’t report those results because the sample
Treatment of outliers. Six respondents reported time estimates size is deemed too small for reliable results. Any cell sizes with
that were not deemed credible or valid, and these respondents 50-74 respondents are noted so that results can be interpreted
were removed as outliers. For example, one outlier reported with caution.
spending 20 or more hours on each of nine different media activi-
ties in a single day. Another reported spending 22 hours using a Non-media variables. The survey included several non-media-
smartphone for homework, 21 hours engaged in “other” activities related measures designed to provide insight into the types of
on a smartphone, and 23 hours video-chatting on a phone, all on young people engaging in various media activities and to explore
the same day. In addition, 11 respondents reported spending 24 possible relationships between these variables and media use.
or more hours on a particular media activity or 20 or more hours These measures include a series of questions on social-emotional
in physical activity, but the rest of their time estimates appeared well-being and on levels of physical activity.
credible. In these cases, the questionable estimates were
replaced with the mean time spent in that activity among respon-
dents of the same age, gender, and (where possible) race, but the
rest of the respondents’ answers were included in the data set.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 11
Presentation of data in the text ate or multivariate analyses where appropriate. In particular, we
carried out the following procedures:
Statistical significance. Where relevant, differences among demo-
graphic groups have been tested for statistical significance. ‹‹ Bivariate analyses to test for associations between a media-
Findings are referred to in the text in a comparative manner use variable (such as time spent or percent who are users)
(e.g., “more than,” “less than”) only if the differences are statisti- and a demographic variable (such as gender or household
cally significant at the level of p<.05. (i.e., differences as great as income);
those noted would occur by chance no more than five times in ‹‹ Bivariate or correlational analyses to test for associations
100). In tables where statistical significance has been tested, between a media-use variable and some other variable, such
superscripts indicate whether results differ at p<.05. Items that as parent engagement with media;
share a common superscript, or that have no superscript, do not
differ significantly. ‹‹ Multivariate analyses to test for differences in the average or
distribution of a media-use variable and the combination of
For example, in Row 1 below, none of the items differs in a statisti- two demographic variables (such as income groups within
cally reliable way. In Row 2, each item differs from the other sig- race/ethnicity), where cell sizes allowed such analyses; and
nificantly. In Row 3, the items in the first and third columns differ
from the item in the second column, but not from each other. And ‹‹ Factor analysis to examine whether there were identifiable
in Row 4, items in Columns 1 and 3 differ from each other, but not dimensions in the way the media-use variables (especially
from Column 2. time spent) were related to each other. For example, do all
young people have the same “profile” of media use, with
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 heavy/medium/light users across devices and activities, or
Row 1 :22 :25 :27 are there different profiles of media use?
a b c
Row 2 20% 35% 50%
a b
Row 3 :10 1:25 :17a
Row 4 13%a 17%ab 23%b

Notation of hours and minutes. Throughout the report, time spent

with media is presented in hours:minutes. For example, “two
hours and 10 minutes” is sometimes presented as “2:10”;
“10 minutes,” when in parenthesis, is presented as “:10” and,
when outside of parenthesis, as “10 minutes.” Total times will not
always sum properly, and percentages will not always add up
to 100 percent due to rounding or multiple response options or
because answers of “don’t know” or “didn’t respond” are
not included.

Analysis methods
We followed a three-step analysis process. First, data were
examined for outliers, missing data, or other anomalies and pre-
pared for analysis, including the creation of composites or recod-
ing of variables. Next, we explored distributions of each major
variable (each major question/sub-question), using descriptive
statistics such as the mean, median, quartiles, and frequencies in
terms of increments. The bulk of the data presented in this report
rely on these descriptive statistics. Finally, we conducted bivari-

12 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 KEY FINDINGS

1
On any given day, American teenagers
Figure 1. On any given day, proportion of tweens who spend ...
(13- to 18-year-olds) average about nine with screen media
hours (8:56) of entertainment media
use, excluding time spent at school or 6%
11%
for homework. Tweens (8- to 12-year-
olds) use an average of about six hours’ 28%
◼ No time
(5:55) worth of entertainment media 27%
◼ 2 hours or less
daily. ◼ 2-4 hours
27% ◼ 4-8 hours
This includes watching TV, movies, and online videos; playing ◼ >8 hours
video, computer, and mobile games; using social media; using the
Internet; reading; and listening to music. Tweens average more
than four and a half hours (4:36) of screen media use a day and
Figure 2. On any given day, proportion of teens who spend ...
teens more than six and a half hours (6:40) a day. A majority of
with screen media
teens (57 percent) spend more than four hours per day with
screen media. (The non-screen portion of young people’s media 6%
use includes listening to music and reading print.)
26% 17%
Of course, averages can mask big differences in screen time use
among youth. Among tweens, for example, on any given day 6 ◼ No time
◼ 2 hours or less
percent don’t use screen media at all, and 28 percent use it for 20%
◼ 2-4 hours
two hours or less; on the other hand, 27 percent spend between 31% ◼ 4-8 hours
four and eight hours with screen media and 11 percent more than ◼ >8 hours
eight hours. Among teens, on any given day 6 percent don’t use
screen media at all, and 17 percent use it for two hours or less;
Note: Segments may not add to 100% due to rounding.
meanwhile, 31 percent of teens spend four to eight hours with
screen media, and 26 percent spend more than eight hours.
listening to music on any given day; but beyond that, there are

2
distinct types of media “diets” and users. Young people who use
similar amounts of screen time spend that time doing very differ-
ent things on their screens.
From gamers to social networkers,
patterns of use vary widely among The study identified six distinct types of media users among
tweens, and five among teens, according to the patterns of their
young media users.
media use. For example, among teens, Social Networkers and
There are substantial variations in the types of media-related Gamers/Computer Users both spend about seven hours a day
activities young people engage in and how they use devices. with screen media (7:03 and 6:57 respectively); but the Social
Almost all tweens and teens spend some time watching TV and Networkers spend more than three hours a day (3:17) using social

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 13
media and only 44 minutes playing games, while the Gamers/ Similarly, among tweens, Mobile Gamers average just under two
Computer Users average two and a half (2:27) hours playing hours (1:44) playing mobile games but only four minutes playing
games and 53 minutes on social media. Neither the Social video games; Video Gamers average more than two hours (2:10)
Networkers nor the Gamers/Computer Users spend much time playing video games; and Heavy Viewers average five hours
watching TV and videos—about an hour and a half a day. But the (5:08) a day watching TV and videos but only three minutes
Heavy Viewers average nearly six and a half hours (6:24) of TV playing video games. All three groups of tweens spend a lot of
and video viewing a day, contributing to their incredible total of time with screen media, but they spend it doing different things
more than 13 hours a day (13:20) with screen media. (a total of 4:48 of screen time among Mobile Gamers, 5:55
among Heavy Viewers, and 6:42 among Video Gamers).

Figure 3. Tween media profiles

9:59
time spent with each type of media

7:41
7:15
6:17 ◼ Other Digital
◼ Social Media
◼ Reading
3:44 ◼ Music
◼ Computer Games
2:16 ◼ Mobile Games
◼ Video Games
◼ TV/Videos

Light Users Readers Mobile Gamers Heavy Viewers Video Gamers Social Networkers
(27%) (11%) (14%) (10%) (23%) (15%) (%) Percent of all tweens

Figure 4. Teen media profiles

16:24
time spent with each type of media

9:34
9:17

5:58
◼ Other Digital
◼ Social Media
◼ Reading
◼ Music
3:40
◼ Computer Games
◼ Mobile Games
◼ Video Games
◼ TV/Videos

Light Users Readers Gamers/ Social Networkers Heavy Viewers

Computer Users
(32%) (13%) (20%) (10%) (26%) (%) Percent of all teens

14 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
3
Boys and girls have very different
4
Despite the variety of new media
media preferences and habits. activities available to them, watching
TV and listening to music dominate
There are stark differences in the media preferences and habits
of boys and girls, in both the tween and teen years. The biggest
young people’s media diets.
difference is in console video game playing: Most boys like Tweens and teens have a plethora of choices when it comes to
console games a lot and play them frequently, and most girls media-related activities, from watching YouTube videos to using
don’t. Girls like reading more than boys do and devote more time Instagram, from playing Angry Birds on a smartphone to playing
to it. Both boys and girls enjoy listening to music and using social World of Warcraft on a computer. But when asked which activities
media “a lot,” but girls enjoy those activities more and spend quite they enjoy “a lot” and which they engage in “every day,” watching
a bit more time doing them. For example, among teens, 27 TV and listening to music dominate. Among tweens, the top
percent of boys say playing video games is their favorite media activity is watching TV: Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) say they
activity; only 2 percent of girls do. Teen boys average 56 minutes watch “every day” (by comparison, 24 percent watch online
a day playing video games, compared with only seven minutes for videos and 27 percent play mobile games every day). Among
girls. On the other hand, teen girls spend about 40 minutes more teens, music is No. 1: Two-thirds (66 percent) listen to music
a day with social media than boys on average (1:32, compared “every day” (by comparison, 45 percent use social media and 27
with :52 among boys). And teen girls spend more time reading percent play mobile games every day).
than boys too: an average of 33 minutes a day, compared with 23
for boys (41 percent of teen girls say they enjoy reading “a lot,”
compared with 19 percent of boys that age). TABLE 3. TOP MEDIA ACTIVITIES, BY AGE

Among Tweens Among Teens

Figure 5. Among teens, percent who say each media activity Percent who enjoy this activity “a lot”
is their “favorite,” by gender
Watching TV 61% Listening to music 73%
Listening to music Listening to music 54% Watching TV 45%
7:41 37%
Playing video games 52% Watching online videos 45%
22%
Playing mobile games 51% Playing video games 42%
Reading
14% Watching online videos 46% Using social media 36%
5% ◼ Girls
◼ Boys Percent who do this activity “every day”
Using social media
14%
Watch TV 62% Listen to music 66%
5% Listen to music 37% Watch TV 58%
Playing video games Play mobile games 27% Use social media 45%
2%
Read 27% Watch online videos 34%
27%
Watch online videos 24% Play mobile games 27%

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 15
5
Tween and teen media consumption is
TV do. A significant number of teens say they use social media
“every day” (45 percent), but that’s far less than the proportion
that listens to music (66 percent) or watches TV (58 percent)
that often. A third of teens (36 percent) say they enjoy using
highly mobile.
social media “a lot,” but that is substantially less than those who
Even though “traditional” media activities such as watching TV say the same about listening to music (73 percent) or watching
and listening to music still dominate, new methods of accessing TV (45 percent). Only 10 percent of teens choose using social
that content are widely used. Overall, mobile devices now media as their “favorite” media-related activity, compared with
account for 41 percent of all screen time among tweens and 30 percent who choose listening to music.
46 percent among teens. Both tweens and teens now interact
with media content across a diverse set of devices. For example,
among teens only half (50 percent) of all TV- and video-viewing
time consists of watching TV programming on a TV set at the
7
Digital screen media are used for many
time it is broadcast; 8 percent involves time-shifted viewing on a
TV set; 22 percent involves watching online videos on platforms purposes: reading, watching, playing,
such as YouTube; 7 percent involves watching DVDs; and listening, communicating, and creating.
14 percent involves watching TV shows or movies on another
device such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone. The time spent Computers, tablets, and smartphones are multipurpose devices

watching videos or TV shows online is divided such that that can be used for any of these activities; designating their use

43 percent is watched on a phone, 31 percent on a computer, simply as “screen time” can miss some important variations. So,

17 percent on a tablet, and 9 percent on an iPod Touch. for the first time that we are aware of, this study quantifies the
time spent using these devices for different functional purposes:
what we call “passive consumption,” which includes watching TV

Figure 6. TV and video viewing among teens, by platform or videos, reading, or listening to music (using the word “passive”
is not meant to imply that the consumer is unengaged); “interac-
DEVICE USED TO WATCH
Smartphone 43%
tive consumption,” which includes playing games and browsing
7% 31%
Computer the Internet; “communication,” which includes video-chatting
8% Tablet 17%
22% iPod Touch 9% and using social media; and “content creation,” which includes
writing or creating digital art or music. Among teens, on any given
◼ Online videos
day 39 percent of their time spent using computers, tablets, and
14% ◼ TV on other platforms
◼ TV on a set as broadcast smartphones is devoted to passive consumption, 26 percent is
50%
◼ Time-shifted TV communication, 25 percent is interactive consumption, and
◼ DVDs 3 percent is creating content (7 percent is “other” unclassifiable
activities).
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

6
Figure 7. Proportion of computer, tablet, and smartphone use
devoted to various activities, among teens

Even among teens, social media use 3%

7%
still lags behind traditional media use.
There is no question that social media have become an integral 39%
25% ◼ Passive consumption
part of most teens’ lives; an average of 1:11 a day is devoted to
◼ Communication
using social media among this age group. But for a generation ◼ Interactive consumption
often defined by its use of social media, it is interesting that it 26% ◼ Creation
doesn’t get the same devotion that listening to music or watching ◼ Other

16 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
8
There is a large “digital equality gap”
types of media content they use (e.g., which shows they watch or
games they play), but 25 percent of teens who go online say their
parents know only “a little” or “nothing” about what they do or
say online, and 30 percent say the same about the social media
in ownership of computers, tablets, and
they use.
smartphones.
Children in lower-income families are significantly less likely than
their wealthier peers to live in homes with digital technologies.
For example, 54 percent of lower-income teens (whose families
10
Many teens multitask with media while
make less than $35,000 a year) have a laptop in the home, com-
pared with 92 percent of higher-income teens ($100,000 a year doing their homework, and most think
or more). One in 10 lower-income teens has only dial-up Internet this has no effect on the quality of
at home, compared with none of the higher-income teens in our their work.
sample. And lower-income teens are much less likely to have
their own smartphones as well (51 percent, compared with 78 Half of teens say they “often” or “sometimes” watch TV (51
percent of higher-income teens). percent) or use social media (50 percent) while doing homework,
and more say the same about texting (60 percent) and listening
to music (76 percent). But most teens say they don’t think these
Figure 8. Digital inequality: Ownership of devices, practices affect the quality of their work (for better or worse):
by family income Among those who engage in each type of multitasking, nearly
two-thirds say they don’t think watching TV (63 percent) or
Laptop in home (teens)
texting (64 percent) while doing homework makes any difference
7:41 54%
92%
to the quality of their work; just over half (55 percent) say the
same about using social media; and 44 percent say the same
Has own laptop (teens)
25% about listening to music. In fact, far more teens think listening to
62% ◼ Low-income music helps their work (50 percent) than hurts it (6 percent).
(<$35,000/year)
Has own smartphone (teens) ◼ High-income
51% ($100,000+/year)

Tablet in home (tweens)

78%

71%
11
There are substantial differences in the
89%
amount of time young people spend
with media, based on family income,

9
More parents are concerned about the
parent education, and race/ethnicity.
There is significant overlap among demographic factors such as
family income, parent education, and race/ethnicity in the U.S.,
type of media content their children and this is reflected in our survey sample. The data do not indi-
use than how much time they spend cate a causal relationship between any of these demographic
using it. variables and media consumption, but there are substantial dif-
ferences that are worth noting for further investigation. In
Over half (53 percent) of teens and 72 percent of tweens say
general, black youth and children from lower socioeconomic
their parents have talked with them about how much time they
groups tend to spend more time with media than Hispanic, white,
can spend with media. But even more young people (66 percent
or higher-SES youth do.
of teens and 84 percent of tweens) say their parents have spoken
with them about the content of the media they use. Most young Income. Tweens and teens from lower-income families spend
people say their parents know “a lot” or at least “some” about the more time with media than those from higher-income homes.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 17
Among teens, it’s a difference of two hours and 45 minutes a day
on average (10:35 vs. 7:50 of total media use). For the most part,
it’s not that lower-income youth are more likely to engage in
media-related activities such as watching TV, listening to music,
or using social media than their peers; rather, it’s that those who
do use media spend more time doing so. For example, 80 percent
of lower-income teens and 82 percent of higher-income teens
watch TV or videos on any given day; but the lower-income teens
who watch do so for an hour and a half more than the higher-
income teens who watch (4:14 vs. 2:41).

Parent education. Tweens and teens whose parent has no more

There are many perspectives
than a high school education spend more time with media than
from which to view, document,
those whose parent graduated from college, although the differ-
ences are a bit smaller than those by income. Among teens, the and measure young people’s
difference is an average of 1:50 per day in time spent with all
media (9:39 among those whose parent has a high school educa- use of media. In this report,
tion, compared with 7:49 among those whose parent has a
college degree). Following the same pattern seen for income, the
data are presented from several
difference is not one of greater likelihood of using media on any angles, to help illuminate young
given day but of a tendency to spend more time using them.
people’s media habits as fully
Race/ethnicity. Black youth report spending substantially more
time with media than white or Hispanic youth. For example, as possible.
among teens, blacks use an average of 11:10 worth of media a day,
compared with 8:51 among Hispanics and 8:27 among whites (a
difference of 2:19 between blacks and Hispanics and 2:43
between blacks and whites). In general, teens from all three
racial/ethnic groups are equally likely to engage in each media-
related activity on any given day, but black youth spend more
time doing so. For example, while black, white, and Hispanic
teens are equally likely to use social media on any given day, black
teens who use social media average about an hour more doing so
than white or Hispanic users (2:59 among blacks, compared with
2:00 among Hispanics and 1:54 among whites).

18 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 OVERALL MEDIA USE

Total media. On any given day in this country, tweens (8- to

12-year-olds) spend an average of about six hours (5:55) and TABLE 4. TIME SPENT WITH MEDIA, IN INCREMENTS
teens (13- to 18-year-olds) spend about nine hours (8:56) with
Among Among
media—outside of school or homework—including TV, video Tweens Teens
games, social media, the Internet, print, and music.
Total Media On any given day, percent who use for:
As discussed in the “Methodology” section, these averages ‹‹ No time 2% 3%
reflect wide variations among young people in terms of the ‹‹ 1 hour or less 6% 3%
amount of time they spend with media on any given day and in
‹‹ 1-2 hours 11% 5%
the patterns of their media use. Very few tweens (2 percent) or
‹‹ 2-4 hours 25% 17%
teens (3 percent) report not using any type of media the previous
‹‹ 4-6 hours 25% 17%
day; but 17 percent of tweens and 8 percent of teens report less
than two hours of media use, while 13 percent of tweens and 31 ‹‹ 6-8 hours 12% 13%

percent of teens report more than 10 hours of use. (This does not ‹‹ 8-10 hours 7% 10%
account for the simultaneous use of multiple media, so the 10 ‹‹ More than 10 hours 13% 31%
hours’ worth of media content may have been consumed in a Percent who use any media 98% 97%
shorter amount of time.) Average time among those who use 6:03 9:12

Total screen media. All told, 8- to 12-year-olds spend an average Average time among all 5:55 8:56
of about four and a half hours a day (4:36) with screen media, Screen Media On any given day, percent who use for:
while teens spend just over six and a half hours a day with screens ‹‹ No time 6% 6%
(6:40). Again, these averages reflect substantial diversity in
‹‹ 1 hour or less 13% 6%
screen time. For example, while almost all (94 percent) teens use
‹‹ 1-2 hours 15% 10%
screen media on a typical day, 16 percent use them for two hours
‹‹ 2-4 hours 27% 20%
or less and 26 percent for more than eight hours.
‹‹ 4-6 hours 17% 18%
Most popular media activities. The most popular media activities ‹‹ 6-8 hours 9% 13%
among both age groups are watching TV and videos, and listen-
‹‹ 8-10 hours 5% 8%
ing to music. But beyond that, young people’s tastes are incredi-
‹‹ More than 10 hours 6% 18%
bly diverse. When it comes to picking a “favorite” media activity,
Percent who use any screen media 94% 94%
no one activity gets more than 30 percent of young people’s
votes. For example, among tweens, 22 percent like playing video Average time among those who use 4:53 7:07

games best, and reading is the favorite for the next largest group Average time among all 4:36 6:40
(16 percent), followed by watching TV (13 percent), listening to Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4
music (10 percent), watching online videos (10 percent), and hours includes from 121 minutes up to four hours; and so on.

playing mobile games (8 percent). Among teens, listening to

music is the favorite of the largest group (30 percent), followed Tweens. Tweens’ interest in TV is reflected in the fact that nearly
by playing video games (15 percent), reading (10 percent), using two-thirds (62 percent) say they watch TV every day (the next
social media (10 percent), and watching TV (9 percent). The most popular activity is listening to music, with 37 percent saying
diversity in tastes and preferences is clear. they do this every day). Watching TV is also the activity most
tweens say they enjoy “a lot,” at 61 percent, followed by listening
to music at 54 percent. Gaming is also very popular among

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 19
tweens, with about half saying they enjoy playing video (52
percent) and mobile (51 percent) games “a lot.” Children in this TABLE 5. MEDIA ENJOYMENT
age group average 2:26 a day watching TV and videos, 1:19 a day PERCENT WHO ENJOY EACH ACTIVITY “A LOT”

playing games, and 51 minutes listening to music.

Among Tweens Among Teens
Teens. While watching TV and videos (at 2:38 a day on average) Watching TV 61% Listening to music 73%
and gaming (1:21 per day) are still popular among teens, listening Listening to music 54% Watching TV 45%
to music (1:54 per day) and using social media (1:11 per day) Playing video games 52% Watching online videos 45%
appear to gain importance once young people enter the teenage Playing mobile games 51% Playing video games 42%
years, adding to the total amount of time teens spend with media.
Watching online videos 46% Using social media 36%
Teens’ love of music can be seen in the fact that two-thirds (66
Reading 41% Reading 30%
percent) say they listen to music “every day,” and 73 percent say
Playing computer games 39% Playing mobile games 27%
they enjoy listening to music “a lot.” Many teens are also daily
users of TV (58 percent) and social media (45 percent) and say Using social media 13% Playing computer games 26%

they enjoy these media “a lot” (45 percent for TV and 36 percent
for social media).
TABLE 6. DAILY USERS
Devices. Both tweens and teens use a wide variety of devices to PERCENT WHO ENGAGE IN EACH ACTIVITY “EVERY DAY”
engage with the TV shows, videos, music, games, and social
media that they use. The television set still occupies the largest Among Tweens Among Teens
chunk of time among 8- to 12-year-olds, but among teens it now Watching TV 62% Listening to music 66%
ranks third in terms of media devices, after smartphones and Listening to music 37% Watching TV 58%
computers. Among both age groups, mobile now accounts for a Playing mobile games 27% Using social media 45%
large proportion of all screen time—nearly half among tweens Reading 27% Watching online videos 34%
and nearly two-thirds among teens. But young people still haven’t
Watching online videos 24% Playing mobile games 27%
totally turned their backs on the older devices. Television sets,
Playing computer games 14% Reading 19%
radios, and print still occupy a substantial amount of young
†
Playing video games 12% Playing computer games 17%
people’s time. Among tweens, for example, 83 percent of
TV-viewing time still occurs on a TV set (although some of that Using social media 10% Playing video games† 15%

is through time-shifting or streaming); 90 percent of reading † Console video games

occurs with print; and 39 percent of music listening happens
through a radio.

TABLE 7. TIME SPENT IN EACH MEDIA ACTIVITY: AVERAGE TIME SPENT PER DAY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Watching TV/DVDs/videos 2:26 Watching TV/DVDs/videos 2:38
Playing video, computer, or mobile games 1:19 Listening to music 1:54
Listening to music :51 Playing video, computer, or mobile games 1:21
Reading :29 Using social media 1:11
Using social media :16 Doing other activities on computer/mobile device :32
Doing other activities on computer/mobile device :13 Browsing websites :36
Browsing websites :12 Reading :28
Video-chatting :06 Video-chatting :13
Going to the movies :02 Going to the movies :03
Total screen media 4:36 Total screen media 6:40
Total media 5:55 Total media 8:56

20 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 Consumption, creation, and communication. With the diversity of
TABLE 8. TIME SPENT WITH EACH MEDIA DEVICE media now available, and the multiple purposes for which digital
AVERAGE TIME SPENT PER DAY devices such as tablets, smartphones, or computers can be used,
it can be argued that there are better ways of classifying young
Among Tweens Among Teens
people’s use of media beyond simply “screen” or “non-screen.”
Television set 1:29 Smartphone 2:42
Screen media activities can include reading, playing games,
Tablet :56 Computer 1:37
researching topics online, communicating via Skype, or watching
Smartphone :48 Television set 1:31
videos, among other things. In addition, digital media devices can
Computer :31 Tablet :45 be used as tools for young people to create their own content—for
Video game console :28 iPod/iPod Touch :36 example, writing blogs or creating digital art or music. This study
iPod/iPod Touch :27 Video game console :32 offers a chance to document the degree to which digital media
Print :26 Radio :27 are used for these purposes at the national level.
Radio :20 Print :20 Overall, the largest proportion of digital device time (time spent
DVD player :14 DVD player :11 using computers, tablets, smartphones, and iPod Touches) is
Handheld gamer :07 Handheld gamer :05 devoted to what can be considered “passive” consumption, such
CD player :04 CD player :05 as watching TV, reading, or listening to music. (Of course,
E-reader :02 E-reader :03
Movie theater :02 Movie theater :03
TABLE 10. CONSUMPTION, COMMUNICATION, AND
Total mobile media 2:21 Total mobile media 4:12 CREATION: TIME SPENT USING DIGITAL MEDIA, BY ACTIVITY
Total mobile screen 1:53 Total mobile screen 3:01
media media Among Among
Activity Tweens Teens
Total screen media 4:36 Total screen media 6:40
Passive consumption 1:02 (41%) 2:06 (39%)
Total media 5:55 Total media 8:56
‹‹ Watching online videos :25 :35
‹‹ Watching TV :18 :22
‹‹ Reading :01 :05
TABLE 9. FAVORITE MEDIA ACTIVITY
‹‹ Listening to music :18 1:04
Among Among Interactive consumption :56 (37%) 1:19 (25%)
Activity Tweens Teens ‹‹ Playing games :44 :44
Playing video games 22% 15% ‹‹ Browsing websites :12 :36
Reading 16% 10% Communication †
:22 (14%) 1:24 (26%)
Watching TV 13% 9% ‹‹ Using social media ‡
:16 1:11
Listening to music 10% 30% ‹‹ Video-chatting :06 :13
Watching online videos 10% 6% Creation :05 (3%) :09 (3%)
Playing mobile games 8% 2% ‹‹ Making art or music :04 :06
Using social media 4% 10% ‹‹ Writing :01 :04
Playing computer games 5% 5% Other §
:08 (5%) :23 (7%)
Creating digital art/graphics 2% 1% Total 2:33 5:21
Writing 1% 1%
Note: This table includes time spent on computers, tablets, smartphones, and
Making videos 1% 1% iPod Touches. † Excludes time spent talking or texting. ‡ Some would consider
posting pictures or comments on social media “content creation,” but we are
Note: Other options in the survey for “favorite” activities included taking/ classifying those activities as “communication.” § Respondents noted the time
editing photos, creating/modifying games, coding, and creating digital music, they spent doing “anything else” on a computer, tablet, iPod Touch, or
but only activities that received at least 1 percent in each age group are smartphone, beyond the specific activities asked about in the survey. These
included in this table. Therefore, totals do not add up to 100%. times have been included here in the “other” category. It is not possible to
determine whether these activities should be considered consumption,
creation, or communication.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 21
“passive” doesn’t mean the user is mentally disengaged with the
content; it simply means the user doesn’t have to be actively TABLE 11. CONTENT CREATION: FREQUENCY OF WRITING,
interacting with it.) “Interactive” consumption, such as playing CODING, AND CREATING DIGITAL ART OR MUSIC

games or browsing websites, occupies a large chunk of time

Percent who “often” or Among Among
among both tweens (39 percent) and teens (26 percent). Among “sometimes”… Tweens Teens
13- to 18-year-olds, a substantial amount of time is devoted to Write something for pleasure 34% 28%
communication2 (28 percent, with 15 percent among tweens). (stories, articles, blogs)†
Only a small portion of time spent with these devices is devoted Create digital art or graphics 19% 19%
to content creation (3 percent in both age groups). Another 6 Create or modify (“mod”) video or 11% 11%
percent among tweens and 7 percent among teens is classified computer games
as “other” activities, and it is not possible to know what portion Create digital music 9% 12%
is passive, interactive, or creative. Write computer programs (or “code”) 6% 10%

These national averages can obscure the fact that many young † This includes writing that is not done on digital media (most writing is done
by hand).
people across the country are making extensive use of digital
media as tools to create outstanding art, write elaborate com-
puter programs, create apps or games, record music, establish
TABLE 12. MEDIA IN THE HOME
and run businesses, direct movies, or produce news reports. But
national data offer an excellent way to assess the overall degree Among Among
to which digital media are being used for these various purposes Device Tweens Teens
among young people as a whole. It should also be noted that this TV set 94% 95%
study concerns use of media outside of school; many young people Video game console 81% 83%
may be making substantial use of media for content creation in Smartphone 79% 84%
the classroom.
Tablet 80% 73%
Content creation may be more episodic than content consump- Laptop computer 73% 77%
tion. Therefore, in addition to measuring the time spent on Desktop computer 56% 63%
content creation, the survey also documented the proportion of Portable game player 53% 45%
young people who say they “often” or “sometimes” use media to
DVR 44% 48%
create content through means such as writing computer pro-
iPod 37% 43%
grams, creating or modifying video or computer games, writing,
iPod Touch 32% 31%
or creating digital art or music. These questions do not cover all
E-reader 26% 29%
possible ways young people might use digital devices to create
content, but they do help give an idea of the frequency of youth-
generated content. A total of 8 percent of tweens and 10 percent
of teens “often” do at least one of these activities (there are no content elsewhere in their lives. For example, about half of all
demographic differences by gender, race/ethnicity, income, or teens (47 percent) and tweens (50 percent) say they “often” or
parent education). Among teens (the age at which these activi- “sometimes” watch videos about how to “make, build, or do
ties are more common), 19 percent “often” or “sometimes” use a something” they are interested in.
computer or mobile device to create digital art or graphics, 12
Media in the home and personal device ownership. Nearly all
percent often or sometimes create digital music, 11 percent often
homes with children age 8 to 18 have a TV set (94-95 percent,
or sometimes create or modify video or computer games, and 10
depending on the child’s age), and the vast majority have a video
percent “often” or “sometimes” write computer programs.
game player (81-83 percent), smartphone (79-84 percent),
In addition, 28 percent of teens “often” or “sometimes” write tablet (73-80 percent), and laptop (73-77 percent). Many young
things for their own pleasure; sometimes that involves using a people have their own devices. For example, among tweens,
computer or similar device to type (although the most common more than half (53 percent) have their own tablets, and nearly
way of writing among young people is by hand). Many young half (47 percent) have TVs in their bedrooms. Among teens, two-
people also use digital media to help them learn how to “create” thirds (67 percent) have their own smartphones, and more than

2. “Communication” includes using social media and video-chatting; the survey did not ask about time spent talking on the phone or texting.

22 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 half (57 percent) have TVs in their bedrooms. In addition, just
TABLE 13. PERSONAL MEDIA OWNERSHIP under half (45 percent) have their own laptops. In almost all
cases, teens are more likely than tweens to have their own media
Among Among
Device Tweens Teens devices; but tweens are more likely to have their own tablets (53
Tablet 53% 37% percent vs. 37 percent) and portable game players (42 percent
vs. 32 percent).
TV set (bedroom) 47% 57%
Portable game player 42% 32% Media devices and income. Children in lower-income families are
Smartphone 24% 67% significantly less likely than their wealthier peers to live in homes
Video game console (bedroom) 22% 34% with computers, high-speed Internet access, or newer digital
technologies.
iPod Touch 21% 20%
Laptop computer 19% 45% Among teens, 41 percent of those in lower-income families
iPod 15% 23% (making less than $35,000 a year) have a desktop computer in
E-reader 7% 9% the home and 54 percent have a laptop in the home, compared
Desktop computer (bedroom) 6% 11% with 76 percent with a desktop and 92 percent with a home
laptop among their peers from higher-income families (making
$100,000 a year or more). One in 10 lower-income teens has
only dial-up Internet at home, compared with no higher-income
TABLE 14. MEDIA OWNERSHIP AMONG 8- TO 18-YEAR-
OLDS, BY FAMILY INCOME teens in this nationally representative sample.

There are also substantial differences by income in ownership of

Lower Middle Higher %-point
Media Type Income Income Income difference smartphones (65 percent of lower-income vs. 93 percent of
In the home: higher-income families), tablets (62 percent vs. 87 percent), and
e-readers (13 percent vs. 41 percent), and there are smaller dif-
‹‹ Smartphone 65%a 85%b 93%c -28
ferences in ownership of more “traditional” media such as video
‹‹ Tablet 62%a 77%b 87%c -25
game consoles (71 percent vs. 88 percent) and even TV sets in
‹‹ E-reader 13%a 28%b 41%c -28
the home (89 percent vs. 98 percent).
‹‹ Video game 71%a 84%b 88%c -17
player Personal ownership of Internet-enabled devices among tweens
‹‹ TV set 89% a
96% b
98% b
-9 and teens varies substantially by income as well. For example,
Have their own: higher-income teens are more than twice as likely to have their
‹‹ Laptop (among 25%a 44%b 62%c -37 own laptops (62 percent, compared with 25 percent of lower-
teens) income teens) and much more likely to have their own smart-
‹‹ Smartphone 51% a
69% b
78% c
-27 phones (78 percent, compared with 51 percent of lower-income
(among teens) teens). There is also a divide in personal ownership of tablets, but
‹‹ Tablet (among 48% a
53% ab
56% b
-8 it’s smaller: Among tweens (where tablet use is the highest), 48
tweens) percent of lower-income tweens have their own tablets, com-
‹‹ TV in bedroom 68%a 52%b 39%c +29 pared with 56 percent of their higher-income peers.
(among all)
‹‹ Video game 37%a 30%b 20%c +17 However, when it comes to media in the bedroom—TV sets and
player in video game players—lower-income children are more likely to
bedroom have those items in their rooms than higher-income youth (for
(among all)
example, 68 percent of lower-income youth have bedroom TV
Note: “Lower income” is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999;
sets, compared with 39 percent of higher-income youth). This
and “higher” is $100,000 or more. “%-point difference” indicates the degree
to which the lower-income group differs from the higher-income group. could be because they are more likely to share rooms with older
Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups
are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ
siblings or to sleep in a multipurpose room that is used as a living
significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common room and bedroom; or it could be due to differences in family
superscript, do not differ significantly.
preferences or the lack of availability of other entertainment
options.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 23
TABLE 15. AVERAGE TIME SPENT WITH EACH MEDIA ACTIVITY AND DEVICE PER DAY

Average time among all Percent who use Average time among those who use
Activity Tween Teen Tween Teen Tween Teen
a b a
Watching TV/videos 2:26 2:38 85% 81% 2:51 3:15b
TV on TV set 1:29 1:31 71%a 64%b 2:05a 2:21b
‹‹ Live‡ — 1:19 — 58% — 2:15
‹‹ Time-shifted ‡
— :12 — 14% — 1:23
a b
TV on other device :18 :22 15% 19% 2:03 1:59
‹‹ Computer :04 a
:09 b
4% a
9% b
1:49 §
1:37
‹‹ Smartphone :04 :08 3%a 6%b † 2:16
‹‹ iPod Touch :03 :02 2% 1% † †
‹‹ Tablet :07 a
:04 b
7% a
4% b
1:37 1:49§
Online videos :25a :35b 35%a 45%b 1:12 1:18
‹‹ Computer :06 a
:11 b
10% a
17% b
:58 1:07
‹‹ Smartphone :05 a
:15 b
8% a
22% b
1:02 1:08
‹‹ iPod Touch :04 :02 4% 3% 1:41 §
†
‹‹ Tablet :11 a
:06 b
16% a
8% b
1:07 1:10
Other
‹‹ DVDs :14 :11 14%a 9%b 1:46 1:57
Watching movies (in theater) :02 :03 2% 3% † †
a b a b a
Listening to music :51 1:54 57% 81% 1:29 2:20b
‹‹ Computer :02a :16b 3%a 12%b † 2:11b
‹‹ Smartphone :10a :41b 12%a 40%b 1:25 1:41
‹‹ Tablet :06 :07 10% 8% :57 a
1:36b
‹‹ Radio :20a :27b 34% 34% :58a 1:20b
‹‹ CDs :04 :05 5% 6% 1:13§ 1:16§
‹‹ iPod/MP3 player :09a :18b 12%a 17%b 1:17a 1:46b
Gaming 1:19 1:21 66%a 56%b 2:00a 2:25b
a b a
Video games :35 :37 33% 28% 1:46 2:13b
‹‹ Console :28 :32 27% 25% 1:44 a 2:09b
‹‹ Handheld :07 :05 11%a 6%b 1:07a 1:31b
Computer games :11a :19b 13% 14% 1:29a 2:14b
Mobile games :33a :25b 45%a 34%b 1:13 1:12
‹‹ Smartphone :09 a
:15 b
14% a
23% b
1:05 1:04
‹‹ Tablet :19 a
:07 b
27% a
9% b
1:12 1:12
‹‹ iPod Touch :05 :03 7% a
4% b
1:02 1:15§
Using social media :16a 1:11b 15%a 58%b 1:43 2:04
‹‹ Computer :01a :13b 2%a 14%b † 1:35
‹‹ Smartphone :10a :45b 9%a 40%b 1:56 1:52
‹‹ Tablet :03 a
:08 b
4% a
8% b
† 1:43
‹‹ iPod Touch :01 a
:06 b
2% a
4% b
† 2:21§

24 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 Average time among all Percent who use Average time among those who use
Activity Tween Teen Tween Teen Tween Teen
a b a
Reading :29 :28 43% 29% 1:07 1:37b
‹‹ Books (print) :24 a :15b 36%a 17%b 1:07a 1:28b
‹‹ Books (electronic) :02 :03 5% 4% :49§ 1:28§
‹‹ Magazines :01a :03b 4% 5% † :56b
‹‹ Newspapers *
a
:02b 2%a 3%b † †
‹‹ Computer *
a
:02 b
1% a
5% b
† :45
‹‹ Tablet :01 :01 2% 1% † †
‹‹ iPod Touch * * * 1% † †
‹‹ Smartphone *
a
:02 b
*
a
4% b
† :52§
Other digital activities
Computer (other) :07a :27b 10%a 25%b 1:09a 1:48b
‹‹ Browsing websites :04 a :14b 7%a 21%b :50a 1:09b
‹‹ Making art/music :01 :02 2% 2% † †
‹‹ Video-chatting :01 a
:04 b
1% a
4% b
† 1:54§
‹‹ Writing *
a
:02 b
1% a
3% b
†
‹‹ Anything else :01 a
:04 b
2% a
8% b
† :59
a b a b
Smartphone (other) :10 :36 10% 37% 1:39 1:36
‹‹ Browsing websites :03 a
:15 b
5% a
22% b
† 1:06
‹‹ Making art/music :01 :02 2% 2% † †
‹‹ Video-chatting :03 :06 3% a
7% b
† 1:18
‹‹ Writing *
a
*
b
*
a
1% b
† †
‹‹ Anything else :03 a
:13 b
4% a
22% b
:57 §
1:01
Tablet (other) :10 :13 13% 12% 1:17 1:45
‹‹ Browsing websites :04 :05 6%a 9%b 1:16§ :54
‹‹ Making art/music :01 a
*
b
3% a
1% b
† †
‹‹ Video-chatting :01 :02 2% 2% † †
‹‹ Writing * :02 1% 1% † †
‹‹ Anything else :02 :04 5% 4% :39 §
1:40§
iPod Touch (other) :05 :05 4% 4% 2:01§ 1:57§
‹‹ Browsing websites :01 :02 2% 2% † †
‹‹ Making art/music * * 1% 1% † †
‹‹ Video-chatting :01 :01 2% 1% † †
‹‹ Writing * * * * † †
‹‹ Anything else :03 :02 2% 3% † †
Total screen media 4:36a 6:40b 94% 94% 4:53a 7:07b
Total media 5:55a 8:56b 98% 97% 6:03a 9:12b

* Indicates more than zero but less than one-half minute. † Indicates sample size of users is too small for reliable results (n=<50). ‡ Question asked only of teens.
§ Small cell size: n=50-74.
Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 25
26 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 MEDIA USAGE TYPOLOGY

Young people differ widely in their media preferences and pat- relatively rare category, so we would be sure to capture tweens/
terns of use. On their own, the measures for “total media time” or teens who exhibited that behavior preferentially and not everyone
“total screen time” can mask substantial variations in the types who had any instance of that behavior. In this way, we were able
of media young people are devoting their time to. Almost all to distinguish six profiles among tweens, and five among teens.
young people spend some time watching TV and listening to
For example, among teens, we first identified Heavy Viewers as
music, but beyond that, their media “diets” look very different
those who were at least at the 75th percentile in terms of time
from one another. In many cases, those who report spending a lot
spent watching TV or videos (210 minutes). We then defined
of time using one particular medium spend far less than their
Gamers/Computer Users as those who spent at least 180
peers using other types of media—for example, they might
minutes (75th percentile) on console/handheld (but not mobile)
devote a great deal of time to mobile games but almost none to
gaming, or any computer game time (a rare occurrence) and a
video games. The study identifies several distinct patterns of
significant amount of computer use. The remaining teens were
media use among young people, which we call media-use
then classified to be Social Networkers if they spent 85 minutes
profiles.
(75th percentile) or more on social media; Readers if they spent
Media profiles were created based on factor analysis of time 30 minutes or more on reading or any writing time; or Light Users
spent in various media activities. Our rationale was that there if they didn’t fall into any of the other categories. We then further
may be underlying dimensionality to the data—that time spent validated these categories by examining how they were associ-
on a particular medium may be related to time spent on another ated with various demographic variables, and how they com-
medium, but not on a third, and so forth. We wanted to uncover pared to other media use indicators’ relationships with similar
these relationships to see if we could classify youth into “profiles” demographics. In the end, this analysis indicated that youth can
of media use based on the types of media activities they tended be categorized into mutually exclusive profiles of media use,
to engage in and devices they tended to use the most. presented below.

Factor analysis is a statistical method that allows one to look at Tweens. Among tweens, the study identified six media profiles:
underlying relationships among a large number of variables, and heavy video gamers (“Video Gamers,” 23 percent of all tweens),
it indicates how much of the variation in those variables can be social media users (“Social Networkers,” 15 percent), heavy
explained by each grouping (or “factor”). Within each age group, mobile gamers (“Mobile Gamers,” 14 percent), heavy readers
we identified a number of key distinct factors in the data. After (“Readers,” 11 percent), heavy TV and video viewers (“Heavy
examining the factor loadings alongside the univariate distribu- Viewers,” 10 percent), and the rest of this age group, classified as
tions of the time-spent measures, we identified cut points in the light media users (“Light Users,” 27 percent).
time-spent variables that produced distinct groups of youth with
‹‹ Video Gamers. These 8- to 12-year-olds average more than
different media-use “profiles.” We then assigned individual cases
two hours a day (2:10) playing video games and three hours
to a single profile using mutually exclusive definitional criteria
a day (3:00) watching TV and videos. They also play almost
based on the factors, so that every tween or teen would fall into
an hour’s worth (:57) of mobile and computer games. All told,
a single category based on the pattern of his or her activities.
they spend an average of nearly seven hours a day (6:42)
Once a case was assigned to one category, it could not also be
with screen media. The Video Gamers are mostly boys
assigned to another; the categories and thus profiles are mutually
(68 percent), spend less time reading than most of the other
exclusive.
media profiles (:17 a day), and are the most likely of any group
Definition of the categories. We tried to begin either with the most of tweens to have video game players in their bedrooms
extreme definition (those who spent a lot of time in the activity) (41 percent). More of them say they enjoy playing video
of a very common category (shared by many cases), or with a games “a lot” (83 percent) than any other activity (the next

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 27
 closest is watching TV, which 68 percent say they enjoy “a Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of Readers have a parent with
lot”). No other group of young people enjoys playing video a college or advanced degree (compared, for example, with
games nearly as much as these tweens do (the closest are the 31 percent of the Video Gamers and Heavy Viewers). Just
Mobile Gamers; 54 percent of them enjoy playing video over half (57 percent) of tween Readers are girls.
games “a lot”).
‹‹ Heavy Viewers. Tweens in the Heavy Viewers group watch
‹‹ Social Networkers. Most tweens don’t use social media yet, TV and videos for five hours a day (5:08), and this is by far
but those who do are quite devoted to social networking and their dominant media activity (they hardly play video games
to screen media in general. They spend an average of 1:43 a at all, but they do play mobile/computer games for an
day using social media and are more likely to say they enjoy average of :26 a day). All told they average about six hours
social networking “a lot” (57 percent) more than any other (5:55) a day with screen media. These tweens tend to live in
activity except listening to music. (None of the other tween media-centric homes: Two-thirds (64 percent) have TVs in
media profiles is even in the double digits in terms of enjoy- their rooms (compared with 22 percent of the Readers), and
ment of social media.) This is also the only tween group in half (52 percent) say the TV is left on in their homes all or
which a majority has their own smartphones (60 percent, most of the time (compared, for example, with 15 percent of
compared, for example, with 9 percent of Readers and 15 Readers and 18 percent of Light Users). They are somewhat
percent of Video Gamers). The Social Networkers are pre- more likely to be girls than boys (57 percent vs. 43 percent),
dominantly girls (70 percent) and are more likely than the and they are less likely than Readers and Light Users to have
Mobile Gamers and Readers to be from families earning less a parent with a college degree (31 percent for Heavy Viewers
than $35,000 a year (34 percent). These tweens are the vs. 62 percent of Readers and 44 percent of Light Users).
heaviest screen users of all—all told, they spend an average
‹‹ Light Users. More than one in four tweens belongs to the
of nearly eight hours a day (7:55) with screen media.
Light User group. These children spend the least amount of
‹‹ Mobile Gamers. Mobile Gamers love playing mobile games time with media of any group, 2:16 a day, including a total of
(75 percent enjoy it “a lot,” and it’s the most popular activity an hour and a half (1:35) with screen media. The only medium
among this group by far, well above the level of enjoyment any that a majority of Light Users enjoys using “a lot” is TV (56
other tween group expresses for mobile gaming). These percent). These tweens read far less than any other group,
tweens spend nearly two hours a day (1:44) playing mobile averaging nine minutes a day. They also average the least
games, but they hardly play video games at all, averaging only amount of time per day listening to music, at only about a half
four minutes a day. They are more likely to be female than the hour (:33) a day. They are fairly evenly split by gender (54
Video Gamers (46 percent vs. 32 percent), and in addition to percent are male) and are less likely than other tweens to
gaming, this group also reads for a significant amount of time have their own tablet devices (44 percent), compared, for
(:43 a day, compared with :17 among the Video Gamers). All example, with 68 percent of Mobile Gamers and 61 percent
told, the Mobile Gamers average 4:48 a day with screen of Social Networkers.
media, about two hours less than the Video Gamers. This
category demonstrates why it’s not possible to paint all chil-
dren who play games with the same brush.

‹‹ Readers. Tween Readers love reading more than any other The 6 profiles for tweens are:
type of media activity—85 percent of them enjoy it “a lot,”
with their second favorite activity being watching TV, at a Video Gamers, Social
distant 51 percent. There is no other group of tweens that
comes close to this level of enjoyment of reading; the next
Networkers, Mobile Gamers,
closest is the Mobile Gamers, at 43 percent. More than half
Readers, Heavy Viewers,
(57 percent) of readers say they read “every day,” and they
average more than an hour and a half a day (1:35) reading. and Light Users.
They use far less screen media than other kids their age (an
average of 1:34 a day, compared with 4:36 among all tweens).

28 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Teens. Among teens, five distinct profiles of users were identified: TVs). Half of them (49 percent) say they read “every day,” far
heavy video viewers (“Heavy Viewers,” 26 percent of all teens), more than other teens. Seven in 10 (71 percent) say they
heavy gamers and computer users (“Gamers/Computer Users,” enjoy reading “a lot,” which is also much higher than other
20 percent), heavy readers (“Readers,” 13 percent), heavy social teens, who range from 17 percent among the Light Users to
media users (“Social Networkers,” 10 percent), and light media 31 percent among the Gamers/Computer Users.
users (“Light Users,” 32 percent).
‹‹ Social Networkers. Social Networkers—10 percent of all
‹‹ Heavy Viewers. The Heavy Viewers—one in four of all teens—spend more than three hours a day (3:17) using social
teens—have the highest media usage among either age media, far more than other teens. They are more likely to say
group. Teen Heavy Viewers average more than 13 hours a day they enjoy using social media (70 percent) than other teens
(13:20) with screen media, including nearly six and a half (for example, 29 percent of Light Users do, and 42 percent of
hours (6:24) watching TV and videos, two hours (2:09) using Heavy Viewers do). They watch TV for about an hour and a
social media, over an hour playing mobile/computer games half (1:34) a day and are on their smartphones for two and a
(1:14), and about an hour (:57) playing video games. They also half hours (2:34) for things other than social media or gaming.
listen to music for 2:40 and read for about a half hour (:32). All told, these young people spend seven hours a day (7:03)
Heavy Viewers are more likely than other teens to come from with screen media, on average. They tend to be female (66
lower-income homes, to have TVs and video game players in percent), and almost all of them have their own smartphones
their rooms, and to live in homes where the TV is left on all (84 percent).
the time. Not surprisingly, they are also more likely than other
‹‹ Light Users. Nearly a third (32 percent) of teens are in the
teens to say they enjoy watching TV and online videos “a lot.”
Light User group. These young people spend an average of
‹‹ Gamers/Computer Users. Gamers/Computer Users—one in 3:40 using media on any given day, including about two and
five of all teens—also spend a lot of time with screen media, a half hours (2:26) a day with screen media. They use a mix
averaging nearly seven hours (6:56) a day. A lot of this time of media, aren’t very passionate about any one type of media,
is spent playing games (2:27), but they also watch TV and and don’t tend to use any particular medium for very long
videos for an hour and a half (1:34) a day and use computers each day. The exception to this generalization is listening to
for things other than gaming for nearly three hours a day music: 70 percent say they enjoy listening to music “a lot,”
(2:42), mainly browsing websites (:39), listening to music and they average 1:15 a day doing it. They watch TV or videos
(:37), and using social media (:25). Gamers/Computer Users for an average of just over an hour a day (1:09), play video
are mostly boys (70 percent) and are more likely than most games for an average of 18 minutes, use social media for an
other teens to have a parent with a college or advanced average of 15 minutes, and play mobile games for an average
degree. And they are more likely than other teens to enjoy of 14 minutes.
playing video or computer games “a lot.”

‹‹ Readers. Readers (13 percent of all teens) spend an average

of an hour and a half (1:31) reading, far more than other teens.
(The other media profiles range from less than a minute a day
among the Light Users up to :32 a day among the Heavy The 5 profiles for teens are:
Viewers.) Readers don’t eschew screen media; they spend an
average of three hours a day with screens, including 1:22 Heavy Viewers, Gamers/
watching TV and videos, 20 minutes using social media, and
18 minutes playing mobile games. The vast majority of their
Computer Users, Readers,
reading is done in print (1:13 a day, compared with :18 for Social Networkers, and
digital reading). Readers are more likely than the other media
profile groups to be female (62 percent) and to have a parent Light Users.
with a college or advanced degree (45 percent), and they are
a lot less likely to have TVs in their bedrooms (33 percent) (in
contrast, 73 percent of the Heavy Viewers have bedroom

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 29
TABLE 16. TWEEN MEDIA PROFILES

Light Video Social Mobile Heavy

All Users Gamers Networkers Gamers Readers Viewers
Percent of all tweens 100% 27% 23% 15% 14% 11% 10%
Total screen media 4:36 1:35 a 6:42b 7:54b 4:48c 1:34a 5:55b
Total media 5:55 2:16a 7:41b 9:59b 6:17 c 3:44d 7:15bc

Average time per day with each media activity:

‹‹ Watching TV/DVDs/videos 2:26 1:05a 3:00b 3:12b 2:26c 1:00a 5:08d
‹‹ Playing games 1:19 :18a 3:06b 1:12c 1:57 d :18a :29a
‹‹ Video :35 :04a 2:10 b :24c :04a :02 a :03 a
‹‹ Computer :11 :08 :16 :10 :09 :09 :20
‹‹ Mobile :33 :06a :41 b :39 b 1:44c :07 a :06a
‹‹ Listening to music :51 :33a :45ac 1:44b :48c :36ac :50ac
‹‹ Reading :29 :09a :17 b :21 b :43b 1:35c :31b
‹‹ Using social media :16 — — 1:43 — — —

Percent who enjoy each media activity “a lot”:

‹‹ Watching TV 61% 56%a 68%bc 51%a 65%b 51%a 77%c
‹‹ Playing video games 52% 50%a 83%b 31%c 54%a 34%c 41%ac
‹‹ Playing mobile games 51% 44% a
54% a
49% a
75% b
32% c
48%a
‹‹ Reading 41% 39%ab 31%a 30%a 43%b 85%c 36%b
‹‹ Using social media 13% 5%a 7%a 57%b 2%a 4%a 3%a

Demographic characteristics: Percent who are:

‹‹ Female 49% 46%a 32%b 70%c 46%a 57%a 57%ac
‹‹ Lower income (<$35,000/year) 25% 24%ac 26%ac 34%a 15%b 21%bc 34%ac
‹‹ White 51% 48%ac 53%abc 45%ac 61%b 58%ab 44%c
‹‹ Black 13% 11% 16% 16% 9% 10% 19%
‹‹ Hispanic 24% 25% 21% 30% 20% 22% 28%

Media environment and ownership: Percent who have:

‹‹ Bedroom TV 47% 38%a 57%bc 57%ce 48%abe 22%d 64%bc
‹‹ TV on all/most of the time in home 34% 18%a 45%b 41%b 42%b 15%a 52%b
‹‹ Their own tablets 53% 44%a 54%ac 61%bc 68%bc 43%a 48%ac
‹‹ Their own smartphones 24% 21%a 15%ac 60%b 15%ac 9%c 20%a

Parents: Percent whose parent has:

‹‹ A college degree 40% 44%a 31%b 33%ab 40%ab 62%c 31%b
‹‹ Spoken to them a lot about media† 58% 63%a 56%a 48%b 65%a 64%a 51%ab
Physical activity:
‹‹ Physically active “every day” 36% 34% 36% 33% 38% 43% 32%
‹‹ Average time in physical activity 1:07 :59 a
1:14 b
1:10 b
1:05 b
1:13 b
1:03b

Note: A dash (“—”) indicates that the mean is zero minutes by definition of the media type. Superscripts (a,b,c,d,e) are used to denote whether differences between
groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript,
do not differ significantly. † The survey asked whether parents had talked with their children about five issues related to media: when they can use media, how much time
they can spend with media, which types of media they can use, staying safe online, and being responsible and respectful online. This item reflects the proportion whose
parents have spoken with them about all these issues.

30 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 17. TEEN MEDIA PROFILES

Light Heavy Gamers/ Social

All Users Viewers Computer Users Readers Networkers
Percent of all teens 100% 32% 26% 20% 13% 10%
Total screen media 6:40 2:26a 13:20c 6:57 b 3:00d 7:03b
Total media 8:56 3:40a 16:24c 9:17 b 5:58d 9:34b

Average time per day with each media activity:

‹‹ Watching TV/DVDs/videos 2:38 1:09a 6:24b 1:34 c 1:22c 1:34 c
‹‹ Listening to music 1:54 1:15a 2:40b 1:59c 1:32ac 2:16bc
‹‹ Playing games 1:21 :32a 2:11b 2:27b :30a :44 a
‹‹ Video :37 :18 a :57 b 1:12 b :12 a :12 a
‹‹ Computer :19 — :28 a
1:00 b
— —
‹‹ Mobile :25 :14 a
:46 b
:15 a
:18 ac
:31 bc
‹‹ Using social media 1:11 :15a 2:09b :53c :20d 3:17 e
‹‹ Reading :28 *
a
:32b :29b 1:31c :22b

Percent who enjoy each media activity “a lot”:

‹‹ Watching TV 45% 40%a 62%b 35%a 42%a 41%a
‹‹ Playing video games 42% 37%a 49%b 56%b 31%ac 25%c
‹‹ Using social media 36% 29% a
42% b
27% a
31% a
70%c
‹‹ Reading 30% 17%a 24%b 31%b 71%c 27%b
‹‹ Playing mobile games 27% 26%a 31%a 24%a 25%a 24%a

Demographic characteristics: Percent who are:

‹‹ Female 48% 47%a 51%a 30%b 62%ac 66%c
‹‹ Lower income (<$35,000/year) 24% 22%a 33%b 17%a 16%a 25%a
‹‹ White 57% 55%ac 48%c 66%b 58%abc 64%ab
‹‹ Black 13% 11% a
23% b
9% a
9% a
12%a
‹‹ Hispanic 22% 27%a 21%ab 15%b 25%a 18%b

Media environment and ownership: Percent who have:

‹‹ Bedroom TV 57% 51%a 73%b 56%a 33%c 62%a
‹‹ TV on all/most of the time in home 37% 31%a 52%b 35%a 20%c 39%a
‹‹ Their own tablets 37% 33%a 42%b 35%ab 41%ab 33%ab
‹‹ Their own smartphones 67% 67%a 65%ab 68%a 57%b 84%c

Parents: Percent whose parent has:

‹‹ A college degree 34% 32%a 26%a 41%b 45%b 30%a
‹‹ Spoken to them a lot about media† 43% 43%ab 37%b 44%ab 54%a 42%ab

Physical activity:
‹‹ Physically active “every day” 32% 34%a 32%ab 24%b 36%ab 34%ab
‹‹ Average time in physical activity 1:01 1:08 a
:54 ab
:47 b
1:08 a
1:13a

Note: A dash (“—”) indicates that the mean is zero minutes by definition of the media type. Superscripts (a,b,c,d,e) are used to denote whether differences between
groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript,
do not differ significantly. * Less than one minute but greater than zero. † The survey asked whether parents had talked with their children about five issues related to
media: when they can use media, how much time they can spend with media, which types of media they can use, staying safe online, and being responsible and respectful
online. This item reflects the proportion whose parents have spoken with them about all these issues.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 31
32 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 TELEVISION AND VIDEO VIEWING

These days “watching television” can mean many things: watch-

ing TV shows or movies on a TV set as they are aired; time- TABLE 18. WATCHING TV: TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS
shifting TV programming, either by recording shows for viewing
Among Among
at a later time or by watching on the TV set “on demand” or On any given day … Tween Teens
through a proprietary service such as Netflix; or watching shows Percent who watch TV for:
or movies online (on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone). In addition
‹‹ No time 25% 29%
to this “television” viewing, many young people watch online
‹‹ 1 hour or less 24% 20%
videos (on sites such as YouTube), including everything from
‹‹ 1-2 hours 25% 20%
how-to videos to music videos to funny pet videos. This study
measures all these types of viewing. First we explore television, ‹‹ 2-4 hours 18% 19%

including watching on a TV set and watching TV shows online. ‹‹ More than 4 hours 8% 11%
Total who watch TV 75% 71%
Popularity of television and time spent watching. Despite all the
Average time among those who watch 2:21 2:40
new types of media available to young people today, television
Average time among all 1:47 1:53
continues to be one of the most popular and widely used. On any
given day, 75 percent of tweens and 71 percent of teens say they Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4
hours includes from 121 minutes up to four hours. Table includes TV/movies
“watch TV” (either on a TV set or online), and those who do watched on a TV set and online but does not include time spent watching
watch spend an average of 2:21 and 2:40 doing so, respectively. DVDs or non-TV/movie online videos, at websites such as YouTube.

This is an average of 1:47 a day among all tweens and 1:53 a day
among all teens. higher-income ones to have TVs in their rooms, despite the fact
that they are slightly less likely to have a TV in the home. Among
Far more tweens say they watch TV “every day” (62 percent)
tweens, 66 percent of lower-income children have bedroom TVs,
than they do any other activity (listening to music is second at 37
compared with 29 percent of higher-income children; among
percent). Among teens, TV has the third-highest number of
teens, 69 percent of lower-income and 46 percent of higher-
“daily” users (58 percent) after listening to music and using
income youth have TVs in their rooms. (This may be because
smartphones, more than those who use social media (45
lower-income youth are more likely to share a room; the survey
percent) or computers (41 percent) daily and far more than those
did not explore whether or not that is the case.) Among higher-
who play video games on a daily basis (15 percent). Sixty-one
income youth, there is a large difference in the prevalence of
percent of tweens and 45 percent of teens enjoy watching TV “a
bedroom TVs between the tween (29 percent) and teen (46
lot”; among tweens, no other medium is enjoyed more, and
percent) years.
among teens watching TV places second, after listening to music.
Many young people live in homes where the TV is often left on
TV in the home. Nearly all (95 percent of) 8- to 18-year-olds have
as background, whether anyone is explicitly “watching” it or not.
TV sets in the home, and the presence of TV does not vary
Among all 8- to 18-year-olds, 8 percent say the TV is on “all” the
between tweens and teens. But more than one in 10 lower-
time and 27 percent say “most” of the time. Fourteen percent say
income children doesn’t have a TV in the home (89 percent do,
the TV is “hardly ever” or “never” left on when no one is watching.
compared with 96 percent of middle-income and 98 percent of
There are some demographic differences in the homes where TV
higher-income children).
is left on all the time; twenty percent of black children say the TV
Many young people have TVs in their rooms, including just under is on “all” the time, compared with 6 percent of Hispanic and 7
half of all tweens (47 percent) and 57 percent of all teens. percent of white children. There are similar but smaller differ-
Interestingly, lower-income children are much more likely than ences by income and parent education.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 33
TABLE 19. TOTAL TV VIEWING: DEVICES AND TIME-SHIFTING

Among Tweens Among Teens

Average time Proportion of all Average time Proportion of Proportion of
Device spent watching TV time spent watching all TV time TV-set time
TV set 1:29 83% 1:31 81% —
‹‹ Time-shifted* — — :12 11% 13%
‹‹ Live* — — 1:19 70% 87%
Computer, tablet, or smartphone :18 17% :22 19% —
Total 1:47 100% 1:53 100% 100%

* Question only asked of teens.

Time-shifted viewing and watching TV on other devices. Although Demographic differences in TV viewing. There are substantial
many young people watch TV on computers, tablets, or smart- differences in young people’s use of television by race/ethnicity,
phones, this is still far less common than watching TV on a TV income, and parent education. In general, black youth and those
set. For example, on any given day 71 percent of tweens watch in lower-income homes or homes with parents without a college
TV on a TV set, while only 14 percent watch on any other device; degree are more likely to have TVs in their bedrooms, to watch
among teens, 64 percent watch on a TV set and 19 percent watch TV “every day,” and to watch for longer. (There is a lot of overlap
on another device. In terms of the amount of time spent watching in these groups, and due to the limited number of higher-income
TV or movies on each device, 83 percent of tweens’ viewing and black youth in the survey sample, it is not possible to determine
81 percent of teens’ viewing occurs on a TV set. For teens, the whether race would be a predictor independently of income or
results of the survey also document the proportion of viewing parent education.) For example, among teens who watch TV,
on a TV set that is time-shifted, as opposed to viewed “as broad- those with a high school-educated parent watch for 16 minutes
cast.”3 Of all teen viewing on a TV set, 13 percent is time-shifted longer than those with a college-educated parent (this measure
and 87 percent is not. Therefore, among teens, total TV viewing includes watching on a TV set and watching TV shows online);
(online and on a TV set) is now divided such that 70 percent is lower-income teens watch 59 minutes more than higher-income
watching TV as it is broadcast on a TV set, 11 percent is watching teens; and black teens watch for 29 minutes more than white
time-shifted TV on a TV set, and 19 percent is watching on teens. In addition, black youth of both age groups are more likely
other devices. to say they enjoy watching TV “a lot” than their white or Hispanic

TABLE 20. TV ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Watching Habits/Opinions All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a
TV in the bedroom 47% 48% 47% 57% 60% 53%b
TV on “all” the time at home 9% 9% 9% 8% 9% 7%
Enjoy watching “a lot” 61% 62% 60% 45% 43% 48%
a b
Watch “every day” 62% 58% 65% 58% 58% 59%
On any given day, percent who watch 75% 75% 76% 71% 71% 70%
a
Average time among those who watch 2:21 2:13 2:30 2:40 2:24 2:57b
Average time among all 1:47 1:40 1:54 1:53 1:43a 2:04b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

3. In our piloting, we found that tweens could not reliably distinguish between the different modalities of TV programming. Thus, the survey did not ask this age
group to make these distinctions.

34 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 21. TV ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Watching Habits/Opinions White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic
a b c a b
TV in the bedroom 37% 77% 59% 54% 76% 58%a
TV on “all” the time at home 7%a 20%b 9%a 8%a 19%b 4%a
Enjoy watching “a lot” 59%a 73%b 59%a 44%a 54%b 41%a
Watch “every day” 62% 70% 64% 57%a 70%b 59%a
a b a
On any given day, percent who watch 74% 87% 77% 70% 74% 73%
a b b a b
Average time among those who watch 2:02 2:59 2:35 2:23 3:34 2:52ab
Average time among all 1:30a 2:35a 1:59b 1:40a 2:39b 2:05ab

TABLE 22. TV ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND FAMILY INCOME

Among Tweens Among Teens

Watching Habits/Opinions Lower Middle Higher Lower Middle Higher
a b c a b
TV in the bedroom 66% 47% 29% 69% 57% 46%c
TV on “all” the time at home 13%a 8%b 5%b 15%a 8%b 3%c
Enjoy watching “a lot” 61% 60% 64% 49%a 42%b 46%ab
Watch “every day” 65%a 63%a 55%b 65%a 57%b 56%b
On any given day, percent who watch 81%a 74%b 72%b 70% 70% 72%
a a b a b
Average time among those who watch 2:37 2:08 1:50 3:21 2:35 2:13b
Average time among all 2:07a 1:50a 1:19b 1:22a 1:50b 1:35b

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more.

TABLE 23. TV ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND PARENT EDUCATION

Among Tweens Among Teens

High Some College High Some College
Watching Habits/Opinions School College Degree School College Degree
TV in the bedroom 66%a 60%a 23%b 67%a 64%a 39%b
TV on “all” the time at home 16%a 7%b 4%b 13%a 8%b 4%c
Enjoy watching “a lot” 59% 64% 60% 41%a 49%b 45%ab
a a b a a
Watch “every day” 69% 64% 54% 61% 63% 52%b
On any given day, percent who watch 79%a 78%a 71%b 71%a 75%a 66%b
Average time among those who watch 2:40a 2:27a 1:59b 2:59a 2:42a 2:15b
Average time among all 2:06a 1:55a 1:24b 2:07a 2:02a 1:30b

Note: Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 35
peers. While there are no statistically significant differences
among tweens in enjoyment of TV by income or parent educa-
tion, teens from lower-income homes and those whose parents
have lower educational attainment enjoy TV more than teens
from higher-income homes and those with a college-educated
parent. With regard to gender, there are no differences between
tween or teen boys and girls in terms of the percent who watch
TV on a typical day, but teen girls watch for about 20 minutes
longer than teen boys.

Online videos. Many young people also like watching online

videos on sites such as YouTube, whether it’s music videos,
how-to videos, funny pet videos, or video podcasts. Just under
half of all tweens (46 percent) and teens (45 percent) say they
enjoy doing this “a lot.” A quarter (24 percent) of tweens and a
third (34 percent) of teens watch online videos “every day.” On
any given day, 35 percent of tweens and 45 percent of teens do
so, and those who do average 1:12 and 1:18 respectively (that’s an
average of 25 minutes and 35 minutes among all). Enough
tweens and teens watch non-television programming on YouTube
that 34 percent of tweens and 31 percent of teens can name a
favorite YouTube show, channel, or star. Tweens are most likely
to watch on a tablet (16 percent, on any given day), and teens are
most likely to watch on a smartphone (22 percent) or computer
(17 percent).

36 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 MUSIC

For all the societal focus on young people’s screen media use,
listening to music continues to have a powerful and enduring TABLE 24. LISTENING TO MUSIC:
appeal, especially among teenagers. This section of the report TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS
pulls together survey data on music, including enjoyment, fre-
Among Among
quency of use, time spent listening, devices used for listening, On any given day … Tweens Teens
and demographic differences in music-listening habits.4 Percent who listen for:

Popularity and time spent. Listening to music is at or near the top ‹‹ No time 43% 19%
of young people’s media-activity preferences. Among teens, ‹‹ 1 hour or less 37% 32%
music dominates. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of teens ‹‹ 1-2 hours 10% 21%
say they enjoy listening to music “a lot,” far more than those who ‹‹ 2-4 hours 7% 17%
say that about any other activity (watching TV is a distant
‹‹ More than 4 hours 4% 12%
second, at 45 percent, and using social media is at 36 percent).
Total who listen to music 57% 81%
And while there is a great deal of diversity as far as which activity a
Average time among those who listen 1:29 2:20b
teens name as their “favorite,” 30 percent choose listening to
Average time among all :51a 1:54b
music, twice as many as the next most popular activity—playing
video games—which garners 15 percent. On any given day, far Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours, and
2-4 hours includes from 121 minutes up to and including four hours.
more teens listen to music than engage in any other media activ-
ity—an overwhelming 81 percent, compared with 58 percent who
use a smartphone for anything and 71 percent who watch TV on
any device. On average, among all teens, nearly two hours a day
is devoted to listening to music (1:54).

Devices used to listen to music. Among tweens, radios are the Figure 9. Proportion of time spent on various devices listening
most common way of listening to music (accounting for to music, by age
39 percent of listening time), followed by smar tphones
◼ Smartphone ◼ Radio ◼ iPod/MP3 player
(20 percent), iPods (18 percent), and tablets (12 percent). Among
◼ Tablet ◼ Computer ◼ CD
teens, smartphones (40 percent) are the dominant device, fol- 7:41
lowed by radios (24 percent), iPods (16 percent), and computers Among tweens
(14 percent). 20% 39% 18% 12% 8%

4%
Gender and music. Both boys and girls like listening to music a lot,
Among teens
and they both listen frequently and for fairly substantial amounts
36% 24% 16% 6% 14%
of time. But there is no question that girls like music even more
4%
than boys do. Among tweens, listening to music is the activity
girls enjoy the most (64 percent enjoy it “a lot”); for tween boys, Note: Segments may not add to 100% due to rounding.

listening to music comes after playing video games, watching TV,

and playing mobile games (45 percent enjoy listening to music “a
lot”). Among teens, fully 80 percent of girls say they enjoy listen-
ing “a lot,” with watching TV a distant second at 48 percent and

4. Time spent watching music videos is counted under online videos.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 37
using social media third at 44 percent. Listening to music tops girls this age spend just over an hour (1:03). Among teens, boys
teen boys’ media-activity preferences as well (66 percent enjoy listen to music for over an hour and a half (1:37), while teen girls
it “a lot”), but playing video games is a very close second (at listen for more than two hours a day (2:12) on average.
62 percent).
Race/ethnicity, income, and music. There are no differences by
When teens were asked to choose their “favorite” media activity, race/ethnicity or by income in how much teens and tweens enjoy
37 percent of girls picked listening to music more than any other listening to music (there are substantial differences when it
activity; reading and using social media are tied for second at 14 comes to some other activities, such as watching TV). Nor are
percent each. Three-quarters (74 percent) of teen girls say they there differences by race or income in the likelihood of listening
listen to music “every day,” compared with 58 percent of teen on a given day. But black youth tend to spend more time listening
boys. Both boys and girls devote a substantial amount of time to to music than other young people do. Among teens who listen to
music, even as tweens but especially as teens. On average, 8- to music on any given day, black youth spend an average of 1:05
12-year-old boys spend 40 minutes a day listening to music, while more than white youth do listening (Hispanics fall in the middle).

TABLE 25. MUSIC ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Listening Habits/Opinions All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a b a
Enjoy it “a lot” 54% 45% 64% 73% 66% 80%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 10% 7%a 13%b 30% 22%a 37%b
Listen “every day” 37% 31%a 44%b 66% 58%a 74%b
On any given day, percent who listen 57% 50%a 65%b 81% 77%a 86%b
Average time among those who listen 1:29 1:19 1:37 2:20 2:06a 2:34b
Average time among all :51 :40a 1:03b 1:54 1:37a 2:12b

Note: Statistical significance should be read within each age group. Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant
(p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

TABLE 26. DEVICES USED TO LISTEN TO MUSIC: ON ANY GIVEN DAY, TIME SPENT LISTENING TO MUSIC ON EACH DEVICE

Among Tweens Among Teens

Average time Proportion of time spent Average time Proportion of time spent
Device among all listening among all listening
Computer :02 4% :16 14%
Smartphone :10 20% :41 36%
Tablet :06 12% :07 6%
Radio :20 39% :27 24%
CD :04 8% :05 4%
iPod/MP3 player :09 18% :18 16%
Total :51 100% 1:54 100%

Note: Columns may not total due to rounding.

38 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 SOCIAL MEDIA

This section of the report pulls together the survey data regarding
social media use, including the degree to which young people TABLE 28. SOCIAL MEDIA USE: TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS
enjoy using social media, the frequency of their use, the average
Among Among
amount of time they spend using social media, the devices they On any given day … Tweens Teens
use to access social media, what parents know about their
Percent who use social media for:
social media activities, and the use of social media during and as
‹‹ No time 85% 42%
part of homework. In addition, this section explores demographic
‹‹ 1 hour or less 10% 32%
differences in social media use, including by age, gender, and
‹‹ 1-2 hours 3% 11%
race/ethnicity.
‹‹ 2-4 hours 2% 8%
Popularity and time spent. There is no question that using social
‹‹ More than 4 hours 1% 7%
media is a very popular activity among teens in this country—
Total who use social media 15% 58%
especially girls. On any given day, almost six in 10 (58 percent of)
Average time among those who use 1:43 2:04
teens use social media, and those who do use it spend an average
a
of about two hours (2:04) doing so. (Among all teens, that is an Average time among all :16 1:11b

average of 1:11 per day.) Just under half (45 percent) of teens say Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4
hours includes from 121 minutes up to and including four hours.
they use social media “every day.” But given the societal attention
paid to teens and social media, it is somewhat surprising to learn
that only about a third (36 percent) of teens say they enjoy using they’re teenagers, on any given day 58 percent of youth use social
social media “a lot” and that only 10 percent say it’s their “favor- media, and the average time spent of two hours (2:04) a day
ite” media activity. (By comparison, 73 percent of teens enjoy among users is quite substantial.
music “a lot,” and 30 percent say it’s their favorite type of media.)
Gender and social media. Girls plainly enjoy using social media
And it is somewhat surprising that on any given day 42 percent
more—and use it more often and for longer—than boys. Among
of teens don’t use social media at all.
teens, social media is popular with both boys and girls, but the
Age and social media. Some tweens—especially girls—use social disparity is clear. Forty-four percent of teen girls enjoy it a lot,
media, but this activity really takes hold during the teen years. On compared with 29 percent of boys. (Again, this is far fewer than
any given day, 15 percent of 8- to 12-year-olds say they use social the proportion of girls who say they enjoy music “a lot” [80
media (9 percent of boys and 22 percent of girls). By the time percent], or boys who say they enjoy video games “a lot” [62%].)

TABLE 27. SOCIAL MEDIA ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Social Media Habits/Opinions All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a b a
Enjoy it “a lot” 13% 7% 18% 36% 29% 44%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 4% 1%a 7%b 10% 5%a 14%b
Use it “every day” 10% 7%a 14%b 45% 38%a 52%b
On any given day, percent who use it 15% 9%a 22%b 58% 51%a 64%b
Average time among those who use 1:43 1:09 1:57 2:04 1:42a 2:22b
Average time among all :16 :06a :26b 1:11 :52a 1:32b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 39
More than half (52 percent) of teen girls say they use social especially popular among black teens. Eighteen percent of black
media “every day,” compared with 38 percent of boys. On any teens say using social media is their “favorite” media activity,
given day, two-thirds (64 percent) of teen girls use social media, compared with only 8 percent of whites and 9 percent of
compared with 51 percent of boys. Among those who do use Hispanics. And among those who use social media on any given
social media, boys spend an average of 1:42 a day, and girls spend day, black teens spend about an hour more using it (2:59 a day,
2:22 (this means the average among all teens is :52 a day for boys compared with 1:54 among whites and 2:00 among Hispanics).
and 1:32 for girls).
Devices. Teens are far more likely to access social media on their
Race/ethnicity and social media. Using social media is a popular smartphones than through any other device. In terms of time
activity among teens regardless of race/ethnicity; on any given spent with social media, 63 percent of teens’ social media time is
day, 58 percent of white teens, 57 percent of black teens, and 55 spent on smartphones, 18 percent on computers, 11 percent on
percent of Hispanic teens use social media. And teens of all three tablets, and 8 percent on iPod Touches. (It is worth remembering
races/ethnicities are equally likely to say they enjoy using social that only 67 percent of teens own a smartphone capable of
media “a lot”: 35 percent of whites and 38 percent of black and accessing a social-networking site.)
Hispanic teens. But there are some signs that social media use is

TABLE 29. SOCIAL MEDIA ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Social Media Habits/Opinions White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic
a b ab
Enjoy it “a lot” 10% 17% 15% 35% 38% 38%
a b a a b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 3% 10% 4% 8% 18% 9%a
Use it “every day” 8%a 15%b 13%b 46%a 49%a 37%b
On any given day, percent who use it 13% 18% 19% 58% 57% 55%
§ a b
Average time among those who use :59 † 2:10 1:54 2:59 2:00a
Average time among all :08a :35ab :24b 1:06a 1:43b 1:06ab

† Cell size too small for reliable results. § Small cell size: n=50-74.
Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

TABLE 30. DEVICES USED TO ACCESS SOCIAL MEDIA

ON ANY GIVEN DAY, TIME SPENT USING SOCIAL MEDIA ON EACH DEVICE

Among Tweens Among Teens

Average time Proportion of Average time Proportion of
Device among all social media time among all social media time
Smartphone :10 65% :45 63%
Computer :01 8% :13 18%
Tablet :03 20% :08 11%
iPod Touch :01 8% :06 8%
Total :16 100% 1:11 100%

Note: Columns may not total due to rounding.

40 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Social media and homework. Two issues have arisen concerning
social media and homework. One is the possible benefit of young TABLE 31. HOMEWORK AND SOCIAL MEDIA
people using social media to connect with one another (and
Among Among
teachers) about homework; the other is the possible distraction Percent who … Tweens Teens
that results from youth using social media while they are doing
Use social media during homework:
their homework. The survey measured the prevalence of both
‹‹ Often 4% 21%
practices. On any given day, only a small proportion of young
‹‹ Sometimes 8% 29%
people use social media for something related to their homework:
1 percent of tweens and 6 percent of teens. On the other hand, ‹‹ Hardly ever 7% 17%
12 percent of tweens and 50 percent of teens say they often or ‹‹ Never 80% 32%
sometimes use social media while they’re doing their homework, Say using social media during homework †:
including 21 percent of teens who say they “often” do this. Most
‹‹ Mainly helps the quality of 13% 14%
who do this say they don’t think it affects the quality of their work their work
(55 percent of teens), although more say it mainly hurts their ‹‹ Mainly hurts the quality of 31% 31%
homework (31 percent) than those who say it mainly helps their work
(14 percent). ‹‹ Doesn’t make a difference 56% 55%

Parents and social media. The vast majority of young people say † Among those who do this.

their parents have spoken with them about staying safe online
(87 percent of tweens and 86 percent of teens) and about being
“responsible, respectful, and kind” online (86 percent of tweens TABLE 32. PARENTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
and 85 percent of teens). However, not all parents know what
Among Among
happens on their children’s social media platforms. Among teens Percent who say their parents … Tweens Teens
who use social media, about a third (32 percent) say their parents
Have talked to them about:
know “a lot” about what they do on sites such as Facebook,
‹‹ Staying safe online 87% 86%
Twitter, and Instagram. Another third (32 percent) say their
parents know “some” about what they do on those sites, and 30 ‹‹ Being “responsible, respectful, 86% 85%
and kind” online
percent say they know “only a little” or “nothing.” Among tweens
who use social media, parental awareness is higher, with more Know … about what they do on social media†:
than half (54 percent) saying their parents know “a lot” about ‹‹ A lot 54% 32%
what they do on such sites and 16 percent saying they know only ‹‹ Some 22% 32%
a little or nothing. ‹‹ Only a little 11% 21%
‹‹ Nothing 5% 9%
‹‹ Not sure 8% 5%

† Among those who “often”/”sometimes” use social media.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 41
42 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 VIDEO, COMPUTER, AND MOBILE GAMES

In one sense, the category of “gaming” can be seen as a distinct an average of 1:19 a day among all tweens and 1:21 a day among
type of media activity: engaging interactively with a game all teens.
through a digital device, be it a video, mobile, or computer game.
The most common type of gaming among young people is mobile
But of course “gaming” covers a wide range of activities, from
gaming (on a tablet, smartphone, or iPod Touch). For example, on
casual gaming with Solitaire or Angry Birds played by a single
any given day 34 percent of teens play mobile games, 25 percent
player on a mobile device, to video gaming played with a partner
play console video games, and 14 percent play computer games.
on a console, to playing massively multiplayer online games
Although fewer youth play video or computer games, those who
involving intricate virtual worlds populated by a global citizenry.
play do so for longer. Teens who play console video games play
While the survey did not delve into details concerning the genres
of games played, it did explore differences by device. And as it
turns out, different types of gaming attract quite different audi- Figure 10. On any given day, time spent by teen boys playing
ences. Broadly speaking, console video games are played heavily video, computer, or mobile games
by boys of all ages and races and avoided by most girls; mobile
games are played by both genders; and computer games are 14%
most popular among white males.
28%

In the sections below, the report explores each type of gaming 17% ◼ No time
individually, but first we provide a brief overview of gaming as ◼ 1 hour or less
◼ 1-2 hours
a whole. 16% 24% ◼ 2-4 hours
◼ >4 hours
Overview of gaming. Gaming is popular, and when looking at all
types of gaming combined, on any given day 66 percent of
Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4 hours
tweens and 56 percent of teens play games, and those who play
includes from 121 minutes up to four hours; and so on. Segments don’t add to
spend an average of 2:00 and 2:25 doing so, respectively. This is 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 33. TOTAL GAMING: TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

On any given day … All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
Percent who play games for:
‹‹ No time 34% 31%a 37%b 44% 28%a 62%b
‹‹ 1 hour or less 31% 25%a 37%b 23% 24%a 22%b
‹‹ 1-2 hours 15% 14% 16% 12% 16%a 7%b
‹‹ 2-4 hours 14% 20%a 7%b 12% 17%a 6%b
‹‹ More than 4 hours 7% 10%a 4%b 9% 14%a 4%b
a
Total who play electronic games 66% 69% 63% 56% 72% 38%b
Average time among those who play 2:00 2:25a 1:31b 2:25 2:48a 1:41b
Average time among all 1:19 1:40a :57b 1:21 2:01a :39b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 43
TABLE 34. DEVICES USED FOR GAMING

Among Tweens Among Teens

Average time Proportion of Average time Proportion of
On any given day, time spent playing … among all total gaming time among all total gaming time
Video games :35 44% :37 46%
‹‹ Console :28 35% :32 40%
‹‹ Handheld :07 9% :05 6%
a b
Computer games :11 14% :19 23%
Mobile games :33 42% :25 31%
‹‹ Smartphone :09 a
11% :15 b
19%
‹‹ Tablet :19 a
24% :07 b
9%
‹‹ iPod Touch :05 6% :03 4%
Total 1:19 100% 1:21 100%

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

for an average of 2:09 a day, and those who play computer games
average 2:14, while those who play mobile games average 1:12. TABLE 35. OWNERSHIP OF GAMING DEVICES

Some gamers (mainly boys) play for long periods of time. On any Among Tweens Among Teens
given day, one in 10 tween boys and one in seven teen boys plays In Have In Have
video, computer, or mobile games for more than four hours. Device home their own home their own
Among teen boys, 6 percent play video games for more than four Console game player 81% 22% 83% 34%
hours, 3 percent play computer games that long, and 1 percent Portable game player 53% 42% 45% 32%
play mobile games (the rest play a combination of types of Tablet 80% 53% 73% 37%
games). Smartphone 79% 24% 84% 67%

Gaming devices. More than eight in 10 tweens (81 percent) and iPod Touch 32% 21% 31% 20%
teens (83 percent) have video game consoles at home. Many
have video game consoles in their bedrooms, especially among
boys (29 percent of tween boys and 48 percent of teen boys).
The next most widely owned device that can be used for gaming
is a tablet (80 percent of tweens and 73 percent of teens have
these in their households), followed by smartphones, portable
game players such as the Game Boy or Nintendo DS, and devices
such as the iPod Touch.

44 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 36. MOBILE GAME ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Playing Habits/Opinions All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a b a
Enjoy playing “a lot” 51% 55% 46% 27% 35% 18%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 8% 9% 8% 2% 3% 1%
a b a
Play “every day” 27% 24% 29% 27% 29% 24%b
On any given day, percent who play 45% 45% 44% 34% 39%a 29%b
Average time among those who use 1:13 1:19 1:06 1:12 1:15 1:09
a
Average time among all :33 :36 :29 :25 :29 :20b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

Mobile games. Among tweens, mobile gaming is primarily a

tablet-based activity, while among teens it’s primarily a smart- TABLE 37. MOBILE GAMES: TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS
phone-based activity. Regardless of whether games are played
Among Among
on a phone, a tablet, or an iPod Touch, the amount of time spent On any given day … Tweens Teens
playing is roughly the same, among those who do play (about an
Percent who play for:
hour and a quarter). Among both tweens and teens, boys spend
‹‹ No time 55% 66%
more time playing mobile games than girls do (13 minutes more
‹‹ 1 hour or less 32% 26%
among tweens and six minutes more among teens, on average),
but the differences are not nearly as extreme as they are with ‹‹ 1-2 hours 7% 5%

console video games. ‹‹ 2-4 hours 4% 3%

‹‹ More than 4 hours 1% 1%
Console video games. On any given day, 27 percent of tweens and
Total who play mobile games 45% 34%
25 percent of teens play console video games; but the gender gap
Average time among those who play 1:13 1:12
in gaming is large. In fact, 38 percent of tween boys and
41 percent of teen boys play console video games on any given Average time among all :33 :25
day, compared with 16 percent of tween and 7 percent of teen
girls. Among those who do play, tweens play for an average of
1:44 a day, while teens who play do so for somewhat longer TABLE 38. CONSOLE VIDEO GAMES
(2:09). This averages out to about a half hour a day among all TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS
tweens (:28) or teens (:32).
Among Among
On any given day … Tweens Teens
There is a remarkably large gender gap when it comes to enjoy-
ment of and time spent playing video games, a larger gap than is Percent who play for:

seen for any other media activity. For example, among tweens, ‹‹ No time 73% 75%
71 percent of boys say they enjoy playing video games “a lot,” ‹‹ 1 hour or less 14% 9%
compared with 34 percent of girls. Among teens, the difference ‹‹ 1-2 hours 6% 7%
is 62 percent of boys compared with only 20 percent of girls. In ‹‹ 2-4 hours 5% 5%
fact, playing video games is the favorite media activity among
‹‹ More than 4 hours 1% 3%
both tween and teen boys, but only a handful of girls say playing
Total who play console video games 27% 25%
video games is their favorite (among tweens, 38 percent of boys a
Average time among those who play 1:44 2:09b
and 6 percent of girls say video games are their favorite, and
Average time among all :28 :32
among teens 27 percent of boys and only 2 percent of girls do).
On average, teen boys play for 56 minutes a day, compared with
Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4
hours includes from 121 minutes up to and including four hours.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 45
TABLE 39. CONSOLE VIDEO GAME ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Playing Habits/Opinions All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a b a
Video game player in bedroom 22% 29% 16% 34% 48% 20%b
Enjoy playing “a lot” 52% 71%a 34%b 42% 62%a 20%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 22% 38%a 6%b 15% 27%a 2%b
Play “every day” 12% 19%a 5%b 15% 23%a 5%b
a b a
On any given day, percent who play 27% 38% 16% 25% 41% 7%b
Average time among those who play 1:44 1:55a 1:16b 2:09 2:16 †
a b a
Average time among all :28 :43 :12 :32 :56 :07b

TABLE 40. CONSOLE VIDEO GAME ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Playing Habits/Opinions White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic
a b b a b
Video game player in bedroom 15% 40% 32% 32% 44% 33%a
Enjoy playing “a lot” 54% 54% 49% 43% 46% 39%
a b ab
Say it is their “favorite” activity 20% 30% 23% 16% 10% 13%
Play “every day” 11% 15% 12% 15% 15% 14%
On any given day, percent who play 30% 31% 24% 24% 28% 25%
Average time among those who play 1:29 † 2:05 2:18 † 2:09
a b ab
Average time among all :26 :38 :30 :32 :30 :32

TABLE 41. CONSOLE VIDEO GAME USE, BY AGE AND FAMILY INCOME

Among Tweens Among Teens

Playing Habits Lower Middle Higher Lower Middle Higher
On any given day, percent who play 28% 27% 26% 25% 25% 24%
§
Average time among those who play 1:50 1:44 1:37 2:09 2:09 2:09
Average time among all :30 :28 :26 :33 :32 :31

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000+. There are no statistically significant differences in this table.

TABLE 42. CONSOLE VIDEO GAME USE, BY AGE AND PARENT EDUCATION

Among Tweens Among Teens

High school Some College High school Some College
Playing Habits or less college degree or less college degree
On any given day, percent who play 28%a 29%ab 23%b 25%ab 29%a 21%b
Average time among those who play 1:51 1:51 1:30 2:07 2:22 1:58
Average time among all :34 a :32a :20b :31ab :41a :25b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly. † Sample size too small for reliable results. § Small cell size: n=50-74.

46 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
only seven minutes a day among teen girls. There are no differ-
ences by race/ethnicity in the level of enjoyment of video games TABLE 43. COMPUTER GAMES
or in the percent who play on any given day, among either age TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS

group. However, among tweens, white youth play for a shorter

Among Among
amount of time than their black or Hispanic peers. There are also On any given day… Tweens Teens
no differences by income in the percent who play or the length of Percent who play for:
time they play; but there are some nonlinear differences by ‹‹ No time 87% 86%
parent education.
‹‹ 1 hour or less 8% 6%
Computer games. Playing computer games is much less common ‹‹ 1-2 hours 3% 3%
among young people than playing either mobile or console video ‹‹ 2-4 hours 2% 3%
games. On any given day, 13 percent of tweens and 14 percent of ‹‹ More than 4 hours 1% 2%
teens play computer games; but those who play average 1:29
Total percent who play 13% 14%
among tweens and over two hours (2:14) among teens, a fairly a
Average time among those who play 1:29 2:14b
substantial amount of time (this is an average of 11 minutes a day
Average time among all :11 :19
among all tweens and 19 minutes among all teens). Although the
proportion of boys who play computer games is much smaller
than the proportion of those who play video games, there is still
a substantial gender divide. For example, among teens, 21
percent of boys and 7 percent of girls play computer games on
any given day, and the average time spent playing is 30 minutes
a day for teen boys and seven minutes for girls. There are also
differences by race/ethnicity, with white youth playing computer
games more often than their black or Hispanic peers. One in five
white teens plays computer games “every day,” compared with
13 percent of black and 10 percent of Hispanic teens; and on any
given day, 16 percent of white tweens and 18 percent of white
teens play, compared with 8 percent among black tweens and
teens. On average, white teens play computer games for 24
minutes a day, compared with nine minutes among blacks and 13
minutes among Hispanics. There are no differences in time spent
playing computer games by income or parent education.

TABLE 44. COMPUTER GAME ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Playing Habits/Opinions All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a b a
Enjoy playing “a lot” 39% 45% 33% 26% 38% 13%b
a
Say it is their “favorite” activity 5% 6% 4% 5% 9% 1%b
Play “every day” 14% 15% 13% 17% 23%a 10%b
On any given day, percent who play 13% 14% 12% 14% 21%a 7%b
Average time among those who play 1:29 1:37 1:18 2:14 2:26 1:38§
Average time among all :11 :14 :09 :19 :30a :07b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly. § Small cell size: n=50-74.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 47
TABLE 45. COMPUTER GAME ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Playing Habits/Opinions White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic
a a b a ab
Enjoy playing “a lot” 41% 45% 31% 28% 27% 22%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 6% 2% 4% 7%a *
b
3%c
a b
Play “every day” 16% 15% 10% 21% 13% 10%b
On any given day, percent who play 16%a 8%b 11%ab 18%a 8%b 9%b
a
Average time among those who play 1:37 † † 2:16 † †
a ab b a b
Average time among all :15 :08 :07 :24 :09 :13ab

TABLE 46. COMPUTER GAME USE, BY AGE AND FAMILY INCOME

Among Tweens Among Teens

Playing Habits Lower Middle Higher Lower Middle Higher
On any given day, percent who play 11%ab 15%a 10%b 13% 13% 17%
Average time among those who play † 1:21 † † 2:19 2:08§
Average time among all :10 :12 :10 :17 :18 :21

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more.

TABLE 47. COMPUTER GAME USE, BY AGE AND PARENT EDUCATION

Among Tweens Among Teens

High school Some College High school Some College
Playing Habits or less college degree or less college degree
Play on any given day 11%ab 10%a 16%b 13% 13% 16%
§
Average time among those who play † † 1:20 † 1:58 2:11
Average time among all :10 :11 :13 :20 :16 :21

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly. * Less than one percent but greater than zero. † Sample size not large
enough for reliable results. § Small cell size: n=50-74.

48 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 READING AND WRITING

In addition to asking about young people’s use of screen media

and music, the survey explored reading and writing among TABLE 48. READING: TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS
tweens and teens. (Writing is counted as “media use” only if it is
Among Among
done on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.) This section of the On any given day … Tweens Teens
report brings those data together, including enjoyment of reading
Percent who read for:
and writing, frequency, time devoted to those activities, devices
‹‹ No time 57% 71%
used to read and write, and differences by age, gender, race/
‹‹ 1 hour or less 31% 15%
ethnicity, income, and parent education. Unless otherwise speci-
‹‹ 1-2 hours 7% 8%
fied, all findings concern reading and writing for pleasure outside
of school and not as part of a school assignment. However, the ‹‹ 2-4 hours 4% 4%

survey also asked about time spent reading for homework, and ‹‹ More than 4 hours 1% 2%
those findings are included separately. Total percent who read 43% 29%
Average time among readers 1:07 1:37
Popularity of reading, and time spent. Many tweens (41 percent)
and teens (30 percent) say they enjoy reading “a lot,” although Average time among all :29 :28

they enjoy other media activities more (watching TV, listening to Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4
hours includes from 121 minutes up to and including four hours.
music, playing video and mobile games, and—for teens—using
social media). When young people are pushed to name their
“favorite” media activity, 16 percent of tweens and 10 percent of
teens name reading (reading ranks second after playing video online among tweens, and they spend an average of one minute
games among tweens and is tied for third with using social media a day reading magazines. Teens also devote more time to reading
among teens, after listening to music and playing video games). print books than doing any other type of reading (54 percent of
their reading time, or :15 a day). Among this age group, online
Despite the plethora of other activities available to them, both
reading takes up only five minutes a day and ebooks only
tweens and teens still read for fun. One in four (27 percent of)
three minutes.
tweens and one in five (19 percent of) teens report reading for
fun “every day.” On any given day, nearly half (43 percent) of 8- to
Age and reading. Reading for pleasure is clearly a more popular
12-year-olds and one in three (29 percent of) teens spend at least
activity among 8- to 12-year-olds than it is among teenagers. The
some time reading for fun. Although fewer teens than tweens
proportion who enjoy reading “a lot” is lower in the teen years (41
read on any given day, those teens who do read spend more time
percent of tweens vs. 30 percent of teens), as is the percent who
at it than their younger peers (an average of 1:37 compared with
read “every day” (27 percent vs. 19 percent) and on any given day
1:07 among tweens who read). Among all young people, this
(43 percent vs. 29 percent). It is not possible to know from this
averages out to about a half hour a day reading for fun (:29
survey why this is. It may be that the abundance of other types of
among tweens and :28 among teens).
media available to teens takes time away from reading or makes
Print vs. electronic reading. When it comes to reading for fun, print reading less attractive; or perhaps teens spend so much time
books still dominate among both tweens and teens. Very few reading for school that they simply don’t have the inclination (or
young people read ebooks. When looked at from the perspective don’t need) to read for fun on their own. It could also be that teens
of the amount of time devoted to reading on various devices, are engaging in several other life activities that leave less time for
including reading online, 83 percent of reading time among reading. But another critical point emerges from the data: When
tweens is spent with print books (:24 a day, on average). Only two teens do read for pleasure, they spend a longer time doing so than
minutes a day, on average, is spent reading ebooks or reading their younger counterparts—about a half hour more per day. So

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 49
TABLE 49. DEVICES USED FOR READING

Among Tweens Among Teens

Average time Proportion of Average time Proportion of
On any given day, time spent reading: among all reading time among all reading time

Print
‹‹ Book :24 83% :15 54%
‹‹ Magazine :01 3% :03 11%
‹‹ Newspaper * 1% :02 7%

Electronic
‹‹ Ebook :02 7% :03 11%
‹‹ Computer * 1% :02 7%
‹‹ Tablet :01 3% :01 4%
‹‹ Smartphone * 1% :02 7%
Total :29 100% :28 100%

* Denotes more than zero but less than half a minute.

Note: In the survey, online reading (on a computer, tablet, or smartphone) was defined as “articles, stories, news, or blogs.” It is likely that respondents also encounter text
online in other venues, which could also be considered “reading,” such as when they read a post on a social-networking site and browse websites.

in the end, the average amount of time devoted to leisure reading tweens and teens who do read for fun, boys and girls spend an
is the same among both age groups. equal amount of time doing so—just over an hour a day among
tweens and a little over an hour and a half a day among teens.
Gender and reading. Starting at a young age, and continuing
through the teenage years, girls enjoy reading more than boys do, Parent education, race/ethnicity, and income. When exploring the
and they do it more often. Among tweens, half (50 percent) of data by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, the variable
girls say they enjoy reading “a lot,” compared with 33 percent of that is most clearly related to children’s reading is parent educa-
boys; among teens, 41 percent of girls and 19 percent of boys tion, although the association is not always linear or consistent
enjoy reading “a lot.” On any given day, girls are more likely to across age groups. Young people with at least one parent with a
read for fun than boys, by a margin of 13 percentage points among college degree are more likely to enjoy reading and to spend time
tweens (50 percent vs. 37 percent) and 10 percentage points reading for pleasure than those whose parents have no more than
among teens (34 percent vs. 24 percent). However, among those a high school education. For example, there is a 10- to 15-

TABLE 50. READING ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Reading Habits/Opinions All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a b a
Enjoy reading “a lot” 41% 33% 50% 30% 19% 41%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 16% 10%a 21%b 10% 5%a 14%b
Read “every day” 27% 23%a 31%b 19% 14%a 23%b
On any given day, percent who read 43% 37%a 50%b 29% 24%a 34%b
Average time among readers 1:07 1:11 1:04 1:37 1:36 1:37
a
Average time among all :29 :27 :31 :28 :23 :33b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

50 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
percentage-point difference in the proportion of youth saying The age groups differ in terms of the association between parent
they enjoy reading “a lot” between those with a high school- education and time spent reading among readers. Tweens who
educated parent and those whose parent has a college degree (10 read for fun on any given day spend about the same amount of
percentage points among tweens, 15 among teens). Similarly, time doing so, regardless of the parent’s level of education. In
there is a 16-percentage-point difference in the proportion of contrast, among teen readers, there is a nonlinear association:
tweens and teens who read on any given day, based on the par- Teen readers with the least educated parents read the longest
ent’s level of education. (1:58); those whose parent has some college read for the shortest

TABLE 51. READING ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Reading Habits/Opinions White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic
a b ab
Enjoy reading “a lot” 44% 34% 38% 31% 23% 27%
a b ab
Say it is their “favorite” activity 17% 10% 15% 10% 7% 8%
a ab b
Read “every day” 31% 25% 24% 18% 20% 18%
On any given day, percent who read 44% 41% 41% 30%a 18%b 27%a
Average time among readers 1:10 1:00§ 1:07 1:37 † 1:26
Average time among all :31 :25 :27 :30 :22 :24

† Sample size not large enough for reliable results. § Small cell size: n=50-74.

TABLE 52. READING ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND FAMILY INCOME

Among Tweens Among Teens

Reading Habits/Opinions Lower Middle Higher Lower Middle Higher
Enjoy reading “a lot” 36%a 44%b 40%ab 25%a 30%ab 33%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 17% 14% 17% 8% 9% 11%
a b ab
Read “every day” 22% 30% 28% 18% 19% 19%
a b b a b
On any given day, percent who read 36% 45% 46% 23% 30% 31%b
Average time among readers :58 1:11 1:05 1:46 1:37 1:31
a b ab
Average time among all :21 :32 :31 :24 :29 :28

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more.

TABLE 53. READING ENJOYMENT AND USE, BY AGE AND PARENT EDUCATION

Among Tweens Among Teens

High school Some College High school Some College
Reading Habits/Opinions or less college degree or less college degree
Enjoy reading “a lot” 36%a 42%ab 46%b 23%a 28%a 38%b
Say it is their “favorite” activity 14%a 13%a 19%b 8%a 8%a 13%b
Read “every day” 22%a 27%ab 32%b 14%a 20%b 23%b
On any given day, percent who read 36%a 40%b 52%b 22%a 37%b 38%b
Average time among readers 1:09 1:04 1:08 1:58a 1:23b 1:32ab
Average time among all :25ab :26a :35b :26ab :23a :35b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 51
time (1:23); and teen readers with the most educated parents fall Writing. Some children enjoy writing things for their own plea-
in between (and are not significantly different from the other two sure, such as stories or blogs. Roughly one in 10 say they enjoy
groups). When considering the mean reading time among all, both writing “a lot” (13 percent of tweens, 9 percent of teens). Eight
age groups exhibit a nonlinear pattern of differences by parent percent of tweens and 7 percent of teens say they “often” write
education. Among all youth in both groups, those with a college- things that aren’t for school, and on any given day about
educated parent read more (:35 for tweens and for teens) than 12 percent of tweens and 9 percent of teens do so.
those with a parent who has some college education (:26 for
While some young people do their writing on their digital devices,
tweens, :23 for teens). However, this association is nonlinear in
this is not the preferred medium; they are more likely to do their
that reading times of tweens and teens whose parents have the
writing by hand than to type on a computer, tablet, or smart-
least education are statistically no different from those of their
phone. On any given day, 11 percent of tweens and 5 percent of
same-age peers whose parents have more education.
teens write something for fun by hand, but only 1 percent and
3 percent respectively use a computer to do so, and fewer still use
Reading for homework. Of course, many young people read for
other devices. Overall, the average amount of time spent writing
school as part of a homework assignment. Because so much time
for pleasure on any digital device on any given day is less than a
is spent reading for school, those data were also collected, to help
minute among tweens and four minutes among teens.
paint a fuller picture of young people’s reading lives. Tweens are
equally likely to read for homework (46 percent) or for pleasure Girls like writing more than boys do (19 percent vs. 7 percent
(44 percent) on any given day; but teens are more likely to read enjoy it “a lot” among tweens, and 13 percent vs. 6 percent among
for homework (44 percent) than for fun (29 percent). Among teens). On any given day, 19 percent of tween girls and 7 percent
those who do read for homework on any given day, tweens spend of tween boys write something for their own pleasure; among
an average of 45 minutes doing so, and teens spend an hour teens, 12 percent of girls and 6 percent of boys do.
(1:00). Among all youth, this averages out to 21 minutes a day
among tweens and 26 minutes among teens.

TABLE 54. READING FOR HOMEWORK

Among Among
Homework Reading Habits Tweens Teens
On any given day, percent who read 46% 44%
for homework
Average time spent reading for :45a 1:00b
homework, among those who do
Average time spent reading for :21 :26
homework, among all

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between

groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts
differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a
common superscript, do not differ significantly.

52 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 COMPUTERS

In addition to exploring the degree to which young people engage Activities on the computer. Among tweens, computers are most
in various media activities (such as listening to music or playing commonly used for playing games, followed by watching videos.
games), the survey also asked how young people use various Among teens, the most common activity on a computer is brows-
media devices (such as computers and tablets). In this section, ing websites (21 percent do this on any given day), followed by
the report brings together data regarding computers in young watching online videos (17 percent) and playing games and using
people’s lives: ownership, frequency of use, types of activities social media (tied at 14 percent). Also, 12 percent of teens listen
engaged in, and demographic differences in use. Unless other- to music on a computer on any given day. In terms of time spent
wise specified, all findings concern using a computer for some- on various activities, the largest amount of teens’ computer time
thing other than school or homework. However, the survey did is devoted to playing computer games (:19), followed by listening
ask about time spent using a computer for homework, and those to music (:16), browsing websites (:14), and using social media
findings are included separately in the section of this report titled (:13). Relatively few young people say they enjoy coding; a total
“Media and Homework.” of 8 percent of tweens and 9 percent of teens say they enjoy it “a
lot” or “somewhat.” The proportion who enjoy coding does not
Time spent using computers. On average, tweens spend a half
vary significantly by age, gender, or race/ethnicity. Fewer than
hour each day (:31) using computers for non-homework pur-
1 percent say coding is their “favorite” thing to do, among various
poses, while teens spend three times as long (1:37 on average).
media activities.
On any given day, 22 percent of tweens and 38 percent of teens
use a computer for non-school purposes; those who do spend an Demographic differences in computer use. Older children are much
average of 2:26 among tweens and 4:14 among teens using a more likely to use computers than their younger counterparts.
computer (either laptop or desktop). Teens are twice as likely as tweens to say they use a computer for
something other than homework “every day.” Four in 10 teens and
two in 10 tweens use computers on a daily basis. Among teens,
TABLE 55. COMPUTER USE: TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS there is a small difference by gender: Boys are slightly more likely
than girls to be daily users (44 percent vs. 38 percent), probably
Among Among
because they are playing computer games. In terms of race and
On any given day … Tweens Teens
ethnicity, Hispanic youth are least likely to use computers on an
Percent who use a computer for:
everyday basis, and white teens are the most likely to do so.
‹‹ No time 78%a 62%b
White teens spend an average of about a half hour more per day
‹‹ 1 hour or less 9% 9%
using computers than Hispanic teens. Higher-income teens (from
‹‹ 1-2 hours 6% 7% families earning $100,000 a year or more) and teens whose
‹‹ 2-4 hours 4%a 10%b parent has a college degree are most likely to use a computer
‹‹ More than 4 hours 3% a
13% b
“every day,” compared with those from lower-income homes and
Total percent who use a computer 22% a
38% b whose parents have less education.
Average time among those who use 2:26a 4:14b
Average time among all :31a 1:37b

Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4
hours includes from 121 minutes up to four hours. Table does not include time
spent using a computer at school or for homework. Superscripts (a,b,c) are
used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant
(p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not
have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ
significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 53
TABLE 56. COMPUTER USE: TIME SPENT IN SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

Among Tweens Among Teens

Average Average
On any given day, time spent Average Percent who among those Average Percent who among those
using a computer to … among all do activity who do among all do activity who do
Play computer games :11 13% 1:23 :19 14% 1:56
Watch online videos :06 10% :53 :11 17% 1:03
Watch TV online :04 4% 1:38 :09 9% 1:22
Browse websites :04 7% :50 :14 21% 1:09
Listen to music :02 3% 1:22 :16 12% 2:11
Use social media :01 2% 1:00 :13 14% 1:35
Make digital art/music :01 2% :51 :02 2% 1:33
Video-chat :01 1% 1:10 :04 4% 1:54
Write * 1% :28 :02 3% 1:19
Read * 1% :35 :02 5% :45
Do anything else :01 2% :28 :04 8% :48
Any computer use :31 22% 2:26 1:37 38% 3:08

* Less than one minute but more than zero.

Note: Table does not include use of a computer at school or for homework.

TABLE 57. COMPUTER OWNERSHIP AND USE, BY AGE AND GENDER

Among Tweens Among Teens

Computer Access/Habits All Boys Girls All Boys Girls
a
Desktop in the home 56% 57% 55% 63% 66% 59%b
Laptop in the home‡ 73% 71% 74% 77% 78% 76%
Either desktop or laptop in the home 84% 83% 86% 88% 89% 87%
a
Have their own laptop 19% 18% 20% 45% 41% 48%b
Use a computer "every day" 20% 19% 21% 41% 44%a 38%b
On any given day, percent who use 22% 21% 22% 38% 42%a 34%b
Average time among those who use 2:26 2:24 2:28 4:14 4:08 4:21
Average time among all :31 :31 :32 1:37 1:45 1:29

‡ Other than the one provided for participation in the research panel.
Note: Table does not include use of a computer at school or for homework. Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically
significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ
significantly.

54 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 58. COMPUTER OWNERSHIP AND USE, BY AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Computer Access/Habits White Black Hispanic White Black Hispanic
a b b a b
Desktop in the home 61% 46% 46% 70% 49% 53%b
Laptop in the home‡ 79%a 66%b 60%b 82%a 70%b 68%b
Either desktop or laptop in the home 90%a 76%b 73%b 93%a 80%b 80%b
Have their own laptop 20% 17% 16% 48%a 35%b 38%b
a ab b a b
Use a computer "every day" 22% 21% 15% 47% 36% 27%c
On any given day, percent who use 24%a 17%ab 17%b 43%a 28%b 29%b
Average time among those who use 2:21 † 2:41 4:07 † 4:26
a ab
Average time among all :34 :24 :27 1:46 1:12 1:18b

TABLE 59. COMPUTER OWNERSHIP AND USE, BY AGE AND FAMILY INCOME

Among Tweens Among Teens

Computer Access/Habits Lower Middle Higher Lower Middle Higher
a b c a b
Desktop in the home 37% 59% 69% 41% 65% 76%c
Laptop in the home‡ 53%a 75%b 88%c 54%a 80%b 92%c
Either desktop or laptop in the home 67%a 89%b 94%b 70%a 91%b 98%c
a b
Have their own laptop 16% 19% 21% 25% 44% 62%c
Use a computer "every day" 17%a 19%a 24%b 34%a 41%b 47%b
On any given day, percent who use 17%a 23%b 23%ab 30%a 39%b 44%b
Average time among those who use 3:29a 2:20b 1:51§ 5:13 4:05 3:53
Average time among all :35 :33 :25 1:34 1:35 1:44

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more.

TABLE 60. COMPUTER OWNERSHIP AND USE, BY AGE AND PARENT EDUCATION

Among Tweens Among Teens

High school Some College High school Some College
Computer Access/Habits or less college degree or less college degree
Desktop in the home 40%a 59%b 68%c 51%a 65%b 72%c
‡ a b c a b
Laptop in the home 55% 73% 88% 68% 83% 83%b
Either desktop or laptop in the home 70%a 87%b 95%c 80%a 91%b 94%b
Have their own laptop 20% 19% 17% 38%a 47%b 49%b
Use a computer "every day" 18% 21% 21% 34%a 42%b 49%b
On any given day, percent who use 17%a 22%ab 26%b 33%a 36%a 46%b
Average time among those who use 2:34§ 2:38 2:14 4:30ab 4:55a 3:33b
Average time among all :26 :34 :35 1:30 1:45 1:38

Note: Tables do not include use of a computer at school or for homework. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically
significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ
significantly. † Sample size too small for reliable results. ‡ Other than the one provided for participation in the research panel. § Small cell size: n=50-74.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 55
Collecting data about computers in an online survey. Because this Computers in the home. Among both tweens and teens, laptops
survey was conducted using an online panel, all participants have are more prevalent than desktop computers. About nine out of 10
at least one computer in the home. The research firm, GfK, used children from higher-income families have a laptop at home
probability-based methods to recruit participants to join their (88 percent of tweens and 92 percent of teens), and about seven
panel, including address-based sampling and random-digit-dial in 10 have a desktop (69 percent of tweens and 76 percent of
telephone calls. Using these methods means that participants teens). But these rates drop substantially among lower-income
without computers or Internet access were likely to be contacted youth, where half have a laptop at home (53 percent of tweens
in equal proportion with their representation in the general popu- and 54 percent of teens) and four in 10 have a desktop
lation. Those who were not already online but agreed to join the (37 percent of tweens and 41 percent of teens). And lower-
panel were given a notebook computer and dial-up Internet income children are far less likely to have their own laptops (as
access. Once participants joined GfK’s survey panel, the comput- opposed to having one in the home) than higher-income youth
ers and Internet access provided to those who lacked them could are. Among teens, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of higher-
be used for any purpose in addition to participating in surveys. income youth have their own laptops, compared with only a
Since originally joining the research panel, these participants may quarter (25 percent) of lower-income teens—a 37-percentage-
well have obtained additional computers or upgraded their point difference.
Internet access. As compared with traditional online convenience
There are still some young people who live in homes with neither
panels—in which anyone can sign up, participants are recruited
a laptop nor a desktop computer. Sixteen percent of tweens and
online, and heavy Internet users tend to be overrepresented—the
12 percent of teens say they don’t have either type of computer
sample used for this survey does a better job of accurately repre-
at home (other than the notebook-style computer given to them
senting the broader population. However, because all partici-
to take surveys). This includes three in 10 children from lower-
pants were now online, the sample is not truly representative of
income homes (33 percent of tweens and 30 percent of teens).
homes with no computers or Internet access.
There are also some young people whose only home Internet
In this survey, for all questions about computer ownership (dis- access is through a dial-up connection. One in 10 lower-income
cussed in the following section), the phrase “other than the one teens still connects to the Internet through dial-up at home, com-
provided to you by GfK in exchange for your participation in these pared with 1 percent of middle-income and no higher-income
surveys” was added for those respondents whose families did not teens in our sample (only teens were asked this question).
have a computer or Internet access at the time they joined the
panel. Therefore we can identify any homes that were not online
when recruited to participate in the panel and that have not pur-
chased any new computers or updated their Internet access from
the dial-up service provided to them at that time.

56 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 TABLETS

Tablet devices are clearly no longer a novelty in young people’s Demographic differences in tablet ownership and use. There are
homes: Eighty percent of tweens and 73 percent of teens have some differences in tablet ownership and use by gender; for
tablets in the home. Tablets have penetrated quickly, and they example, tween girls are 6 percentage points more likely to have
have become more identified with younger children than with their own tablets than boys, and girls who use tablets tend to do
teenagers, probably because so many teens have their own so for longer than boys (3:00 vs. 2:05 among tweens). But there
smartphones and can more easily use those while they’re out and are no differences in ownership of tablets by race within either
about. age group. It is not possible to compare times spent with tablets
among children of different racial and ethnic groups, due to low
Age differences. Tweens are more likely to own their own tablets
sample sizes of users. But there are significant differences by
than teens are, and on any given day far more tweens than teens
family income. Because tweens are the primary users of tablets,
use one. More than half (53 percent) of tweens have their own
and because educational content providers may be targeting
tablets, compared with 37 percent of teens. On any given day, 37
tweens on this device, the table below presents differences in
percent of tweens use a tablet, compared with 19 percent of
ownership and use of tablets among tweens by income. Even
teens. Those teens who do use a tablet, however, do so for longer
among lower-income tweens, a large majority (71 percent) do
than tweens—an average of 3:57 a day compared with 2:34
have tablets in the home, and nearly half (48 percent) have their
among tweens.
own tablets. But higher-income tweens have much greater
access: Eighty-nine percent have one in the home, 56 percent
have their own, and 71 percent use one at least weekly.
TABLE 61. TABLET OWNERSHIP AND USE
Activities on the tablet. Both tweens and teens use tablets for a
Among Among
Tablet Access/Habits Tweens Teens large variety of activities, from watching TV shows to using social
media. Among teens, no single activity dominates. Among
Tablet in the home 80%a 73%b
tweens, playing games and watching online videos (on websites
Have their own tablets 53%a 37%b
such as YouTube) are the main ways kids use their tablets. On any
Use a tablet “every day” 29%a 21%b
given day, 27 percent of tweens play games and 16 percent watch
On any given day, percent who use 37%a 19%b
online videos on a tablet, and those who do so spend an average
Average time among those who use 2:34 a 3:57b of about an hour on each activity (1:12 for games, and 1:07 for
Average time among all :56 :45 videos); the average among all tweens is 11 minutes a day for
videos and 19 minutes a day for games.

TABLE 62. TABLET OWNERSHIP AND USE AMONG TWEENS, BY FAMILY INCOME

Tablet Access/Habits All Tweens Lower Middle Higher

a b
Have a tablet in the home 80% 71% 80% 89%c
Have their own tablets 53% 48%a 53%ab 56%b
Use a tablet at least weekly 63% 55%a 64%b 71%c

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more.

Note: Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 57
TABLE 63. TABLET USE: TIME SPENT ON SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES: TIME SPENT PER DAY USING A TABLET FOR EACH ACTIVITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Average Average
Average Percent who among those Average Percent who among those
Activity among all do activity who do among all do activity who do
Watching TV :07 7% 1:37 :04 4% 1:49
Watching online videos :11 16% 1:07 :06 8% 1:10
Using social media :03 4% † :08 8% 1:43
Playing games :19 27% 1:12 :07 9% 1:12
Browsing websites :04 6% 1:16 :05 9% :54
Making digital art/music :01 3% † * 1% †
Video-chatting :01 2% † :02 2% †
Writing * 1% † :02 1% †
Listening to music :06 10% :57 :07 8% 1:36
Reading :01 2% † :01 1% †
Doing anything else :02 5% :39 :04 4% 1:40
Any tablet use :56 37% 2:34 :45 19% 3:57

* Less than one minute but greater than zero. † Sample size too small for reliable results.
Note: Table does not include time spent using a tablet at school or for homework.

58 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 SMARTPHONES

The vast majority of young people live in homes where at least Demographic differences in smartphone ownership and use.
one person has a smartphone (79 percent of tweens and 84 Because only a small proportion of tweens own smartphones,
percent of teens). A quarter (24 percent) of tweens and two- this section will focus on demographic differences in smartphone
thirds (67 percent) of teens have their own smartphones. In a ownership and use among teens. There is no difference in the
time when the common perception is that all teens are using proportion of teens with a smartphone in the home, or in their
smartphones all the time, it is useful to remember that more than rates of personal ownership of smartphones, based on gender or
three in 10 teens don’t have smartphones. Almost all of those race. However, there are substantial differences in smartphone
who do have smartphones say they use them “every day.” On any ownership by income. Almost all (94 percent of) teens in higher-
given day, those who use smartphones say they spend an average income families say someone in their home has a smartphone,
of between 3:35 (among tweens) and 4:38 (among teens) doing while only 65 percent of lower-income teens do. Three-quarters
so. (This includes listening to music, watching videos, playing (78 percent) of higher-income teens have their own smart-
games, and using social media, but it does not include time spent phones, compared with 51 percent of lower-income teens.
talking on the phone or texting.) Among all youth, that’s an
But interestingly, lower-income teens who use smartphones on
average of 48 minutes a day among tweens and 2:42 a day
any given day spend far more time doing so than their higher-
among teens.
income peers (possibly because they have fewer other Internet-
capable devices such as laptops, desktop computers, and

TABLE 64. SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP AND USE tablets). Almost half (47 percent) of lower-income teens use
smartphones on any given day, and those who do spend an
Among Among average of 6:18 doing so. This is well above the 4:50 spent by
Smartphone Access/Habits Tweens Teens
middle-income teens who use smartphones (57 percent do so on
Smartphone in the home 79%a 84%b any given day) and far more than the 3:03 average among the 69
Have their own smartphone 24%a 67%b percent of higher-income teens who use smartphones on any
a b
Use a smartphone “every day” 21% 64% given day.
a b
On any given day, percent who use 22% 58%
Activities on smartphones. Using social media and listening to
Average time among those who use 3:35 4:38 music are the two activities that dominate teens’ use of their
Average time among all :48a 2:42b smartphones (excluding texting and talking, which were not

TABLE 65. SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP AND USE AMONG TEENS, BY INCOME

Smartphone Access/Habits All Teens Lower Middle Higher

a b
Smartphone in the home 84% 65% 87% 94%c
Have their own smartphone 67% 51%a 69%b 78%c
a b
Use a smartphone “every day” 64% 48% 65% 76%c
On any given day, percent who use 58% 47%a 57%b 69%c
Average time among those who use 4:38 6:18a 4:50b 3:03c
Average time among all 2:42 3:18a 2:45a 2:07b

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more.

Note: Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 59
 teens to try to capture a total amount of time spent texting, but
TABLE 66. SMARTPHONE USE AMONG TEENS data on how many teens text on any given day, and on the
TIME SPENT IN SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES average number of texts sent, are included in the next section.

On any given day, Percent Average Frequency and amount of texting. The results of the survey docu-
time spent using a Average who do among those
who do
ment the proportion of young people who text on any given day
smartphone to … among all activity
and the number of texts they send. While this generation of
Use social media :45 40% 1:52
young people is widely perceived as being near-constant texters,
Listen to music :41 40% 1:41
only about half (53 percent) of all teens send text messages on
Play games :15 23% 1:04
any given day (by comparison, for example, 81 percent listen to
Watch online videos :15 22% 1:08 music and 64 percent watch TV). Not all young people have their
Browse websites :15 22% 1:06 own smartphones—67 percent of teens have one—which limits
Watch TV :08 6% 2:16 the proportion who text.
Video-chat :06 7% 1:18
Among those teens who text, the average number of texts sent
Make digital art :02 2% † in a day is 55, but as with media time, the average masks some
or music
real diversity in how many texts young people send. Many texters
Read :02 4% :52
(28 percent) send 10 or fewer texts in a day, and another third
Write * 1% †
sends between 11 and 30. Another third sends more than 30
Do anything else‡ :13 22% 1:01 texts, including 21 percent who send 51 or more.
Any smartphone use 2:42 58% 4:38
Demographic differences in texting. Because of the relatively small
*Indicates more than zero but less than one-half minute. † Sample size too
small for reliable results. ‡ Other than texting or talking.
number of tweens who text, the study explores demographic
differences in texting among teens only. On any given day, boys
and girls are equally likely to send text messages, but girls do so
measured in terms of time spent on these activities). On any far more times throughout the day. On average, teen girls send
given day, 40 percent of teens use a social-networking site on 69 texts a day, compared with 39 among boys. The biggest dif-
their phones or listen to music through their phones. Other ference in texting is by income, probably because lower-income
popular activities, engaged in by about one in five teens each day, teens are less likely to have smartphones than those from higher-
include playing games, browsing websites, and watching online income homes. On any given day, 66 percent of higher-income
videos. Many teens (22 percent) engage in phone-based activi- teens send text messages, compared with 36 percent of lower-
ties other than those listed in the survey. The survey did not ask income teens.

TABLE 67. TEXTING AMONG TEENS, BY GENDER, RACE/ETHNICITY, AND FAMILY INCOME

Gender Race/Ethnicity Family Income

Texting Habits All Boys Girls White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher
a b
On any given day, percent who text 53% 50% 56% 54% 50% 51% 36% 54% 66%c
Among texters, percent who send:
‹‹ 1-10 texts 28% 34%a 22%b 30% 27% 23% 27% 27% 28%
‹‹ 11-30 texts 34% 35% 34% 29% a
35% ab
41% b
35% 33% 36%
‹‹ 31-50 texts 15% 13% 18% 18% 12% 16% 13% 14% 18%
‹‹ 51+ texts 21% 17% a
24% b
22% 21% 18% 22% 23% 17%
a b ab b
Average number of texts sent, 55 39 69 52 80 50 55 64 41a
among those who text

Note: “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether
differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share
a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

60 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 GENDER AND MEDIA

Overall, there is not a statistically significant difference in the minutes more a day on average (:52 a day among all boys, com-
total amount of time boys and girls spend with entertainment pared with 1:32 among girls). More than half (52 percent) of teen
media, nor with screen media more specifically. But it is clear that girls say they use social media “every day,” compared with 38
boys and girls have very different preferences for media activities percent of boys. And 44 percent of teen girls say they enjoy using
and different patterns of use, and the results of this survey docu- social media “a lot,” compared with 29 percent of boys.
ment those differences quite concretely.
Tweens are much less likely than teenagers to use social media
The single biggest difference between boys’ and girls’ media at all, but even in the 8- to 12-year-old age group, girls spend an
preferences is in video games: Most boys like them a lot and play average of nearly a half hour (:26) a day with social media, com-
them frequently, and most girls don’t. Girls like reading more than pared with :06 among boys. On any given day, 22 percent of
boys do and read more often than boys. Boys and girls both enjoy tween girls and 9 percent of tween boys use social media. By the
listening to music and using social media a lot and spend a good time both are in their teens, that’s grown to 64 percent of teen
deal of time in those activities, but girls like them better and girls and 51 percent of teen boys. Among those who do use social
spend quite a bit more time doing them. media, teen boys spend an average of 1:42 on it a day, while teen
girls spend 2:22. That’s an average of 52 minutes a day among all
Video games. Playing video games is boys’ favorite media activity:
teen boys, and 1:32 among all teen girls.
Thirty-eight percent of tween boys say playing video games is
their favorite media activity, compared with only 6 percent of Music. Both boys and girls like listening to music a lot, and both
tween girls; among teens, 27 percent of boys say gaming is their listen frequently and for fairly substantial amounts of time. But
favorite, compared with only 2 percent of girls. girls are even more engaged with music than boys are. Among
tweens, two-thirds (64 percent) of girls say they like listening to
On any given day, 38 percent of tween and 41 percent of teen
music “a lot,” more than any other activity. For tween boys, 45
boys play console video games, compared with 16 percent of
percent say they like it “a lot,” and listening to music comes after
tween girls and only 7 percent of teen girls. Video gaming is the
playing video games (71 percent), watching TV (62 percent), and
only medium with anywhere near such a large difference in usage
playing mobile games (55 percent) in levels of enjoyment.
between the genders. For example, among tweens, 53 percent of
Among teenage girls, listening to music is even more popular,
boys and 55 percent of girls play some type of non-video game (a
with 80 percent saying they enjoy it “a lot”; watching TV is a
computer or mobile game) on a typical day; yet when it comes to
distant second, at 48 percent, and using social media is third at
console video games, there is a 22-percentage-point difference
44 percent. Listening to music tops teenage boys’ preferences as
between tween boys and girls.
well, with 66 percent saying they enjoy it “a lot,” but it barely
The gender difference in video gaming starts when kids are young edges out playing video games at 62 percent (watching online
and grows larger when they’re in the teen years. Among tweens, videos is third at 49 percent). Among teens, 37 percent of girls
boys average 43 minutes a day playing and girls average 12 pick listening to music as their favorite media activity, as do 22
minutes. As teens, boys average even more time playing video percent of boys. But for boys, listening to music is second to
games (:56), but girls average even less (:07). Among tweens, playing video games. For girls, it’s a runaway favorite; the next
girls who do play video games spend 39 minutes less doing so, closest activities are reading and using social media, tied at 14
on average, than boys. (Fewer than 50 teen girls in our sample, a percent.
number too small for reliable comparisons, reported playing any
Three-quarters (74 percent) of teen girls say they listen to music
video games the day before.)
“every day,” and it is the media activity they engage in most fre-
Social media. Among teenagers, both boys and girls spend a large quently (58 percent of teen boys listen to music “every day”).
chunk of time with social media, but girls spend about 40 Both boys and girls devote a substantial amount of time to music,

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 61
even as tweens but especially as teens: Eight- to 12-year-old boys
spend an average of 40 minutes a day listening to music, while TABLE 68. ENJOYMENT OF MEDIA, BY AGE AND GENDER
girls this age spend just over an hour (1:03). Teen boys listen to PERCENT WHO ENJOY EACH MEDIA ACTIVITY “A LOT”

music for over an hour and a half (1:37), while teen girls listen for
Among Tweens Boys Girls
more than two hours a day, on average (2:15).
Watching TV 62% 60%
Reading. Girls tend to enjoy reading more than boys, and they Listening to music 45% a
64%b
read for fun more often—but the gender differences are smaller Playing video games 71%a 34%b
than those seen in the use of video games, music, and social Playing mobile games 55%a 46%b
media. Among 8- to 12-year-olds, half (50 percent) of girls say
Watching online videos 48% 43%
they enjoy reading “a lot,” compared with 33 percent of boys. a
Reading 33% 50%b
Enjoyment of reading drops quite a bit among both boys and girls
Playing computer games 45%a 33%b
as they move into their teen years, but the gender disparity
a
remains: Forty-one percent of 13- to 18-year-old girls say they Taking/editing photos 13% 22%b

enjoy reading “a lot,” compared with 19 percent of boys that age. Using social media 7%a 18%b
Writing 7%a 19%b
More tween girls pick reading as their favorite media activity than
Making/editing videos 11% 12%
any other (21 percent), followed by watching TV (15 percent),
a
Making digital art/graphics 8% 13%b
listening to music (13 percent), and watching online videos (11
percent). Ten percent of tween boys pick reading as their favorite, Creating/modifying games 7%a 3%b

but it is far surpassed by playing video games at 38 percent. By Coding 5%a 3%b
the time both are in their teen years, reading is a favorite of only Making digital music 3% 4%
14 percent of girls and even fewer boys (5 percent).
Among Teens Boys Girls
Neither boys nor girls read for fun as frequently as they use most
Watching TV 43% 48%
other media, but girls read more often than boys. As tweens, 31
a
percent of girls are daily readers, compared with 23 percent of Listening to music 66% 80%b

boys; in the teenage years, 23 percent of girls and 14 percent of Playing video games 62%a 20%b
a
boys are daily readers. Both boys and girls spend about the same Playing mobile games 35% 18%b
amount of time reading when they are in the 8- to 12-year-old age Watching online videos 49%a 40%b
range (27 minutes for boys, and 31 for girls), but boys’ reading Reading 19%a 41%b
drops to 23 minutes a day on average among 13- to 18-year-olds,
Playing computer games 38%a 13%b
while teenage girls average 33 minutes a day. On a typical day, 37
Taking/editing photos 12%a 22%b
percent of tween boys and 50 percent of tween girls spend some
Using social media 29%a 44%b
time reading for something outside of their school work; among
Writing 6%a 13%b
teens, 24 percent of boys and 34 percent of girls read on a typical
day. But among those who do read on any given day, boys and Making/editing videos 10%a 5%b
girls spend the same amount of time doing so on average (a little Making digital art/graphics 8% 7%
over an hour among tweens and about an hour and a half among Creating/modifying games 6%a 1%b
teens). Coding 4%a 2%b
Making digital music 7%a 3%b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between

groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts
differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a
common superscript, do not differ significantly.

62 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 69. DAILY MEDIA ACTIVITIES, BY AGE AND GENDER
PERCENT WHO ENGAGE IN EACH ACTIVITY “EVERY DAY”

Among Tweens Boys Girls

a
Watching TV 58% 65%b
Listening to music 33%a 44%b
Playing mobile games 24%a 29%b
Reading 23%a 31%b
Watching online videos 24% 23%
Playing computer games 15% 13%
† a
Playing video games 19% 5%b
a
Using social media 7% 14%b

Among Teens Boys Girls

Watching TV 58% 59%
a
Listening to music 58% 74%b
“It is clear that boys and girls
Playing mobile games 29%a 24%b
Reading 14%a 23%b have very different preferences
a b
Watching online videos 37% 31%
a
for media activities and
Playing computer games 23% 10%b
Playing video games† 23%a 5%b different patterns of use,
a b
Using social media 38% 52%
and the results of this survey
† Console games.

document those differences

TABLE 70. FAVORITE MEDIA ACTIVITY, BY AGE/GENDER quite concretely.”

PERCENT WHO SAY EACH ACTIVITY IS THEIR “FAVORITE”

Among Tweens Among Teens

Activity Boys Girls Boys Girls
a b
Watching TV 10% 15% 9% 9%
a b b
Listening to music 7% 13% 22% 37%a
Playing mobile games 9% 8% 3%a 1%b
Reading 10%a 21%b 5%b 14%a
Watching online videos 10% 11% 6% 6%
b
Playing computer games 6% 4% 9% 1%a
Playing video games 38%a 6%b 27%b 2%a
Using social media 1%a 7%b 5%b 14%a

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups
are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ
significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common
superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 63
TABLE 71. KEY GENDER DIFFERENCES IN MEDIA USE

Among Tweens Among Teens

Activity Boys Girls Boys Girls

Video games‡
‹‹ Enjoy playing “a lot” 71%a 34%b 62%a 20%b
‹‹ On any given day, percent who play video games 38%a 16%b 41%a 7%b
‹‹ Average time among video game players 1:55a 1:16b 2:16 †
‹‹ Average time among all :43 a
:12 b
:56 a
:07b

Social media
‹‹ Enjoy using social media “a lot” 7%a 18%b 29%a 44%b
‹‹ On any given day, percent who use social media 9%a 22%b 51%a 64%b
‹‹ Average time among social media users 1:09 §
1:57 1:42 a
2:22b
‹‹ Average time among all :06a :26b :52a 1:32b

Music
‹‹ Enjoy listening to music “a lot” 45%a 64%b 66%a 80%b
‹‹ On any given day, percent who listen to music 50%a 65%b 77%a 86%b
‹‹ Average time among listeners 1:19 1:37 2:06a 2:34b
‹‹ Average time among all :40a 1:03b 1:37a 2:12b

Reading
‹‹ Enjoy reading “a lot” 33%a 50%b 19%a 41%b
‹‹ On any given day, percent who read 37%a 50%b 24%a 34%b
‹‹ Average time among readers 1:11 1:04 1:36 1:37
‹‹ Average time among all :27 :31 :23 a
:33b
Total screen media 4:31 4:41 6:41 6:39
Total media 5:37 6:13 8:35 9:19

† Cell size too small for reliable results. ‡ Console games. § Small cell size: n=50-74.
Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

64 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
RACE/ETHNICITY, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND MEDIA

There are important reasons for examining media use along socio-demographic variables. Once again, the largest difference
socioeconomic and demographic lines: to understand how best is by race (black tweens who watch average 1:37 more than white
to reach different groups with educational content or health mes- tweens who watch, with Hispanics falling in between). On
sages, to help inform research examining possible differential average among all tweens, this combination of a greater likeli-
effects of media use, and to inform public policies on issues such hood of watching and a tendency to watch for a longer period of
as the digital divide or media literacy education. time results in substantial differences in time spent watching
across race, income, and parent education, with the largest dif-
In the U.S. today, and reflected in our survey sample, there is
ference being by race. On average, black tweens devote 3:22 to
substantial overlap between parent education and family income,
watching TV and videos each day, compared with 2:05 among
and between both these variables and race/ethnicity. Families in
white tweens (Hispanics fall in between).
which parents have a lower level of education are also more likely
to have lower incomes; and historically disadvantaged groups Gaming. There are smaller and less consistent differences among
such as black and Hispanic families are more likely to have lower tweens by race, income, and parent education when it comes to
incomes and parent education levels. gaming than there are with regard to watching TV and videos. On
any given day, white tweens are more likely to play some type of
In this study, we have explored differences in media-use patterns
video, computer, or mobile game than Hispanic tweens (71
along all of these lines—race/ethnicity, income, and parent edu-
percent vs. 61 percent, with blacks falling in between). Among
cation—and we find numerous examples of relationships
those tweens who do play some type of digital game, there are
between young people’s socio-demographic groups and their
no differences by race or income, but there are by education, with
media use. But because of the substantial overlap in these
gamers whose parent has no more than a high school education
groups, it is not possible to discern which variable—race/ethnic-
averaging 36 minutes more in play than those whose parent has
ity, income, or parent education—is most strongly related to
a college education. Therefore on average among all tweens,
various outcomes. Comprehensive multivariate analyses that
looking at all types of gaming combined, the only difference in
examine the interplay between multiple variables could greatly
average amount of time spent playing is by parent education (a
enhance our understanding of the predictors associated with
24-minute difference between tweens with the least- and most-
young people’s media habits, but they are beyond the scope of
educated parents).
this report. Accordingly, we present data across all three vari-
ables and note when one or the other is more or less significant ‹‹ Video games. When it comes to the likelihood of a tween
a predictor than others. playing console video games on any given day, the only dif-
ference across the three socio-demographic variables is by
parent education (31 percent of tweens whose parent has no
Media use differences by race/ethnicity
more than a high school education will play, compared with
and socioeconomic status among tweens
23 percent of those whose parent has a college degree). In
TV/video viewing. Among tweens, there are differences across terms of how long kids who play video games spend doing so,
race/ethnicity and both measures of socioeconomic status— the biggest difference is by race: Hispanic tweens who play
income and parent education—in terms of TV/video viewing. The stay at it longer than white youth do (2:05 among Hispanic
largest differences are by race/ethnicity. Black tweens are some- tween gamers, compared with 1:29 among whites; there were
what more likely than whites to watch TV/videos on any given too few black tween console gamers for a reliable estimate of
day (92 percent vs. 84 percent, with Hispanics falling in this mean). On average among all tweens, black and Hispanic
between). Among tweens who do watch, there are significant tweens average 38 minutes and 30 minutes, respectively,
differences in how long they spend doing so across all three both of which are longer time periods than those that white

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 65
 tweens average, at 26 minutes. But the largest difference in Reading. There are no differences among tweens by race in terms
playing time among all tweens is by parent education: Those of the likelihood that they will read on any given day, but there are
whose parent has a college education spend the least time differences by income and especially by parent education; fifty-
with console games (:20), which is 12 to 14 minutes less than two percent of tweens whose parent has a college degree read
tweens whose parents are less educated. on any given day, compared with 36 percent of those whose
parent has no more than a high school education. But among
‹‹ Computer games. Fewer tweens play computer games, but
those tweens who do read each day, there are no socioeconomic
on any given day white tweens are more likely than others to
differences in the amount of time they devote to reading. On
do so (this was the largest socio-demographic difference; 16
average among all tweens, therefore, there are differences by
percent of white tweens will play compared with 8 percent of
income and education but not by race in the average time spent
blacks). In terms of average time among all tweens, the only
reading per day.
statistically significant difference is by race, with white
tweens averaging 15 minutes a day and Hispanics seven Computer use. Among this age group, white children, those from
minutes (blacks fall in between). higher-income families, and those with more highly educated
parents are more likely to use a computer on any given day, with
‹‹ Mobile games. Many tweens play mobile games, and there
the biggest difference being by parent education (23 percent of
are significant differences across all three socio-demographic
those whose parent has some college or more education vs. 17
measures in terms of how likely it is that they will play on any
percent of those whose parent has no more than a high school
given day, with whites and those from higher SES groups
education). Among all tweens, the average amount of time spent
more likely to do so. The largest difference is by income (on
per day using a computer does not vary by race/ethnicity,
any given day, 51 percent of higher-income tweens will play,
income, or parent education.
compared with 40 percent of lower-income ones). Among
those who do play, the largest difference in time devoted to Total media use. Overall, there are substantial differences by
mobile game playing is by parent education, with tweens at race/ethnicity and by socioeconomic status in terms of the
the lower end of the SES scale spending more time playing amount of time tweens spend using media. Among those who
than those at the higher end (1:30 among tween players use screen media on any given day, black and Hispanic children
whose parent has no more than a high school education, and those in the lower SES groups spend more time doing so, with
compared with 1:01 among those whose parent graduated that difference being most pronounced when examined by race
from college). Among all tweens, therefore, these two trends and ethnicity. Black tweens who use screen media spend an
cancel each other out, and there are no statistically significant average of 2:38 more and Hispanics spend 1:20 more than white
differences in average time playing by any of our socio- tweens who use screen media. Among all tweens, that’s an
demographic measures. average of 6:22 a day with screen media among blacks, 5:18
among Hispanics, and 4:00 among whites. When non-screen
Music. Music is popular across all race/ethnicity and SES groups
media are included, the totals are 8:02 among black tweens, 6:44
among tweens, with no differences in the likelihood of tweens
among Hispanics, and 5:14 among whites.
listening on any given day. But there are differences in how long
tweens spend listening. Among tweens who listen to music,
Media use differences by race/ethnicity
tweens from lower-income families average 54 minutes more per
and socioeconomic status among teens
day than higher-income tweens; tweens with a high school-
educated parent average 38 minutes more per day than tweens TV/videos. Among teens, watching TV and videos is so universal
with a college-educated parent; and Hispanic tweens average 22 that there are no differences in the percent who do so on any
minutes more per day than white tweens. On average among all given day based on race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status,
tweens, this means there are differences by all our socio-demo- except for a non-linear difference by parent education. (Teens
graphic variables, with the largest differences being by income whose parent has some college are 8 percentage points more
and race (the higher-income tweens and white tweens listen up likely to watch than other teens.) But among those who watch,
to 33 minutes less per day than lower-income tweens and tweens black teens and those in the lowest SES group spend considerably
of other ethnicities). more time watching than their peers, with the race difference
being slightly larger than the differences by income and parent

66 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
education. On any given day, black teens who watch TV or videos But there are small differences in average time spent playing
spend an average of four and a half hours (4:33) doing so, com- video games among all teens (a five- to nine-minute difference
pared with 2:56 for whites and 3:22 for Hispanics. Similarly, the between teens with college-educated parents and other teens)
lower-income teens watch an average of 4:14, compared with and a larger difference by race for computer gaming (:24 among
3:07 for middle-income viewers and 2:41 for higher-income white teens vs. :09 among blacks).
viewers. Thus there are also significant differences in the average
Computer use. White teens and those from higher SES groups are
time spent watching TV/videos among all teens, with the differ-
more likely to use a computer on any given day. For example, 43
ence by race again being slightly larger than by the socioeco-
percent of white teens vs. 28 percent of black teens and 29
nomic variables: 3:41 per day watching TV and videos among
percent of Hispanic teens use a computer on a typical day for
black teens, compared with 2:22 among whites and 2:47 among
something other than school-related work. Among computer
Hispanics.
users, there are no linear differences by race or SES in the amount
Music. Listening to music is another activity that is so common of time teens spend at the keyboard, nor any statistically signifi-
among teens that there are no significant differences in the pro- cant differences in the average time spent using a computer
portion who do so on any given day by race, income, or parent among teens.
education. As with watching television, however, black teens who
Total media use. Among teens who use screen media on any given
listen to music spend more time doing so than their white peers
day, those from low-SES families and blacks spend more time
who listen (2:58 vs. 2:10). There are no other significant differ-
doing so than their peers, with the largest difference being by
ences in time spent among teens who listen, but among all teens
family income. On any given day, the lower-income teens who
there are differences. For example, among all teens, blacks
use screen media spend an average of about three hours more
average 2:27 and Hispanics average 2:04 per day listening, com-
than their higher-income peers (8:56 vs. 5:55) doing so. The
pared with 1:44 among whites. There are no linear differences by
average time spent with screen media per day among all teens
income or parent education.
also differs across all three categories, with the largest difference
Reading. Among teens, reading is related to socioeconomic being by income (8:07 vs. 5:42). When non-screen media are
status, especially parent education. On any given day, 38 percent added to the mix, the total time spent with media is 11:10 among
of teens whose parent has a college degree will spend some time black teens, 8:51 among Hispanic teens, and 8:27 among white
reading for pleasure, compared with 22 percent of those whose teens.
parent has no more than a high school education and 27 percent
of those whose parent has some college. Parent education is
related to how long teens read, both among all teens and among
those who read on any given day (income and race/ethnicity are
not related to either measure). Overall, teens of high school-
educated parents average 26 minutes a day reading, while those
In this study, we have explored
of college-educated parents average 35 minutes. differences in media-use patterns
Gaming. Socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity are not related
along all of these lines—race/
to the likelihood of teens playing games on any given day, with the
exception that whites are more likely than their black or Hispanic ethnicity, income, and parent
peers to play computer games. In terms of the amount of time
gamers spend playing, the only difference is in mobile gaming, education—and we find numerous
where those in the lower SES groups spend more time playing.
The biggest difference is by parent education: Mobile gamers
examples of relationships between
with a high school-educated parent play for an average of 1:33, young people’s socio-demographic
compared with 52 minutes for those with a college-educated
parent. Among teens as a whole, there are no statistically signifi- groups and their media use.
cant differences in the average amount of time spent playing all
types of games combined by race, income, or parent education.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 67
TABLE 72. MEDIA USE, BY RACE/ETHNICITY, FAMILY INCOME, AND PARENT EDUCATION
ON ANY GIVEN DAY, PERCENT WHO DO EACH ACTIVITY/USE EACH DEVICE

Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education

High Some College
Among Tweens … All White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Percent who do each activity:

‹‹ Watch TV/DVDs/videos 85% 84%a 92%b 87%ab 87% 85% 84% 87%ab 88%a 82%b
‹‹ Play games (total) 66% 71%a 62%ab 61%b 60%a 69%b 67%ab 66% 66% 66%
‹‹ Console video 27% 30% 31% 24% 28% 27% 26% 31% a
28% ab
23%b
‹‹ Computer 13% 16%a 8%b 11%ab 11%ab 15%a 10%b 11%ab 10%a 16%b
‹‹ Mobile 45% 49%a 41%ab 38%b 40%a 44%ab 51%a 39%a 47%ab 48%b
‹‹ Listen to music 57% 57% 59% 61% 57% 59% 54% 57% 59% 57%
‹‹ Read 43% 44% 41% 41% 36% a
45% b
47% b
36% a
40% a
52%b
‹‹ Use social media 15% 13% 18% 19% 20% 13% 14% 19% 14% 13%
‹‹ Browse websites 19% 17% 27% 18% 22% 17% 19% 18% 20% 18%

Percent who use each device:

‹‹ Smartphone 22% 17%a 32%b 24%ab 26% 22% 19% 26% 22% 19%
‹‹ Computer 22% 24% a
17% ab
17% b
17% a
23% b
23% ab
17% a
22% ab
26%b
‹‹ Tablet 37% 38% 35% 33% 31%a 37%ab 42%b 30%a 40%b 40%b
Any media 98% 98% 98% 98% 97% 98% 98% 98% 97% 99%
Any screen media 94% 95% 93% 95% 94% 95% 94% 95% 95% 92%
Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education
High Some College
Among Teens … All White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Percent who do each activity:

‹‹ Watch TV/DVDs/videos 81% 81% 81% 83% 80% 81% 82% 79%a 87%b 79%a
‹‹ Play games (total) 56% 56% 60% 54% 54% 54% 60% 54% 56% 57%
‹‹ Console video 25% 24% 28% 25% 25% 25% 24% 25% ab
29% a
21%b
‹‹ Computer 14% 18% a
8% b
9% b
13% 13% 17% 13% 13% 16%
‹‹ Mobile 34% 33% 40% 35% 30% a
34% ab
39% b
31% 35% 37%
‹‹ Listen to music 81% 79% 83% 83% 82% 81% 81% 81% 81% 82%
‹‹ Read 29% 30% a
18% b
27% a
23% a
30% b
31% b
22% a
27% a
38%b
‹‹ Use social media 58% 58% 57% 55% 50%a 59%b 62%b 56% 58% 59%
‹‹ Browse websites 47% 46% 45% 46% 41% a
47% ab
52% b
41% a
48% ab
53%b

Percent who use each device:

‹‹ Smartphone 58% 57% 64% 58% 47%a 57%b 69%c 52%a 61%b 63%b
‹‹ Computer 38% 43%a 28%b 29%b 30%a 39%b 44%b 33%a 36%a 46%b
‹‹ Tablet 19% 17%a 26%b 20%ab 18% 19% 21% 16%a 19%ab 23%b
Any media 97% 96%a 100%b 98%ab 97% 97% 98% 95%a 98%a 100%b
Any screen media 94% 93% 95% 95% 91%a 94%ab 96%b 91%a 96%b 95%b

Note: This table does not list all subcategories of media activities and devices, but all activities and devices are included in totals. “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000;
“middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant
(p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

68 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 73. AMONG USERS, MEDIA TIME SPENT, BY RACE/ETHNICITY, FAMILY INCOME, AND PARENT EDUCATION
AVERAGE TIME PER DAY FOR EACH ACTIVITY/DEVICE

Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education

High Some College
Among Tweens … All White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Who did each activity, average time spent:

‹‹ Watching TV/DVDs/videos 2:51 2:29a 3:40b 3:14b 3:17a 3:00a 2:09b 3:20a 2:55a 2:22b
‹‹ Playing games (total) 2:00 1:52 2:18 2:16 2:17 1:54 1:55 2:17a 2:03ab 1:42b
‹‹ Console video 1:44 1:29 † 2:05 1:50 1:44 1:37§ 1:51 1:51 1:30
‹‹ Computer 1:29 1:37 † † † 1:21 † † † 1:20
‹‹ Mobile 1:13 1:05 1:12 §
1:38 1:23 1:10 1:10 1:30 a
1:13 ab
1:01b
‹‹ Listening to music 1:29 1:17a 2:11ab 1:39b 1:59a 1:25a 1:05b 1:47a 1:34 a 1:09b
‹‹ Reading 1:07 1:10 1:00§ 1:07 :58 1:11 1:05 1:09 1:04 1:08
‹‹ Using social media 1:43 :59 † 2:07 §
2:36 §
1:29 §
† 2:34 §
† :54§
‹‹ Browsing websites :12 :07 † :18 §
:18 §
:12 † :16 §
:15 §
:07

Who used each device, average time spent:

‹‹ Smartphone 3:35 2:11a † 4:14b 6:25 2:27 2:15§ 5:31a 2:41ab 2:02b
‹‹ Computer 2:26 2:21 † 2:45§ 3:29a 2:20b 1:51§ 2:34§ 2:38 2:14
‹‹ Tablet 2:34 2:03 a
† 4:04 b
3:03 2:31 2:17 3:33 a
2:41 a
1:50b
Total media time 6:03 5:22a 8:10b 6:53b 7:14a 6:00a 4:58b 7:09a 6:14a 4:58b
Total screen media time 4:53 4:14a 6:52b 5:34b 5:54a 4:47a 4:01b 5:51a 4:57a 3:58b
Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education
High Some College
Among Teens … All White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Who did each activity, average time spent:

‹‹ Watching TV/DVDs/videos 3:15 2:56a 4:33b 3:22a 4:14 a 3:07b 2:41b 4:04 a 3:16a 2:42b
‹‹ Playing games (total) 2:25 2:34 2:12 2:12 2:42 2:26 2:11 2:40a 2:34 a 2:04b
‹‹ Console video 2:09 2:18 † 2:09 2:09 2:09 2:09 2:07 2:22 1:58
‹‹ Computer 2:14 2:16 † † † 2:19 2:08§ † 1:58§ 1:11
‹‹ Mobile 1:12 1:13 1:25 §
1:08 1:33 a
1:13 ab
:59 b
1:33 a
1:14 a
:52b
‹‹ Listening to music 2:20 2:10a 2:58b 2:31ab 2:36 2:19 2:10 2:26 2:31 2:05
‹‹ Reading 1:37 1:38 † 1:26 1:46 1:37 1:31 1:58 a
1:23 b
1:32b
‹‹ Using social media 2:04 1:54 a 2:59b 2:00a 2:56a 2:06b 1:26c 1:32a 2:02ab 1:36b
‹‹ Browsing websites :36 :32 :43§ :40 :44 :33 :33 :40 :35 :32

Who used each device, average time spent:

‹‹ Smartphone 4:38 3:52a 6:32b 5:24 ab 6:58a 4:50a 3:03b 6:16a 4:19b 3:28c
‹‹ Computer 4:14 4:07 † 4:26 5:13 4:05 3:53 4:30ab 4:55a 3:33b
‹‹ Tablet 3:57 3:51 † 4:10§ 6:05§ 3:50 2:37 5:01a 4:12ab 2:58b
Total media time 9:12 8:48a 11:13b 9:03ab 10:56a 9:05b 7:59b 10:12a 9:34a 7:51b
Total screen media time 7:07 6:46a 8:53b 6:51a 8:56a 6:58b 5:55c 8:07a 7:21a 5:53b

† Sample size too small for reliable results (n=<50). § Small cell size (n=50-74).
Note: This table does not list all subcategories of media activities and devices, but all activities and devices are included in totals. “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000;
“middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant
(p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 69
TABLE 74. AMONG ALL, MEDIA TIME SPENT, BY RACE/ETHNICITY, FAMILY INCOME, AND PARENT EDUCATION
AVERAGE TIME PER DAY FOR EACH ACTIVITY/DEVICE

Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education

High Some College
Among All Tweens … All White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Average time spent in each activity:

‹‹ Watching TV/DVDs/videos 2:26 2:05a 3:22b 2:49b 2:51a 2:33a 1:49b 2:54 a 2:35a 1:57b
‹‹ Playing games (total) 1:19 1:20 1:26 1:23 1:22 1:19 1:17 1:31a 1:22a 1:07b
‹‹ Console video 0:28 :26 :38 :30 :30 :28 :26 :34a :32a :20b
‹‹ Computer 0:11 :15a :08ab :07b :10 :12 :10 :10 :11 :13
‹‹ Mobile 0:33 :32 :30 :38 :33 :31 :36 :35 :34 :29
‹‹ Listening to music 0:51 :44 a
1:17 b
1:00 b
1:08 a
:50 a
:35 b
1:01 a
:56 a
:39b
‹‹ Reading 0:29 :31 :25 :27 :21a :32b :31b :25a :26a :35b
‹‹ Using social media 0:16 :08a :36b :24b :32a :12b :07b :29a :11b :07b
‹‹ Browsing websites 0:12 :07 a
:24 b
:18 b
:18 a
:12 ab
:07 b
:16 a
:15 a
7:0b

Average time spent using each device:

‹‹ Smartphone 0:48 :22a 2:06ab 1:01b 1:41a :32ab :26b 1:25a :35ab :24b
‹‹ Computer 0:31 :34 :24 :27 :35 :33 :25 :26 :34 :35
‹‹ Tablet 0:56 :47 1:02 1:22 :56 :56 :58 1:05 ab
1:04 a
:44b
Total media 5:55 5:14a 8:02b 6:44b 7:00a 5:53a 4:52b 6:59a 6:02a 4:54b
Total screen media 4:36 4:00a 6:22b 5:18b 5:32a 4:32a 3:46b 5:35a 4:43a 3:41b
Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education
High Some College
Among All Teens … All White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Average time spent in each activity:

‹‹ Watching TV/DVDs/videos 2:38 2:22a 3:41b 2:47c 3:24 a 2:32b 2:12b 2:58a 2:51a 2:07b
‹‹ Playing games (total) 1:21 1:27 1:19 1:11 1:27 1:19 1:19 1:27 1:26 1:11
‹‹ Console video :32 :32 :30 :32 :33 :32 :31 :31 ab
:41 a
:25b
‹‹ Computer :19 :24 a
:09 b
:13 b
:17 :18 :21 :20 :16 :21
‹‹ Mobile :25 :24 ab
:34 a
:23 b
:28 :25 :23 :29 a
:25 ab
:20b
‹‹ Listening to music 1:54 1:44 a 2:27b 2:04b 2:08a 1:52ab 1:45b 1:58ab 2:02a 1:43b
‹‹ Reading :28 :30 :22 :24 :24 :29 :28 :26a :23a :35b
‹‹ Using social media 1:11 1:06a 1:43b 1:06a 1:28a 1:14 a :54b 1:25a 1:11ab :56b
‹‹ Browsing websites :36 :32 :43 :40 :44 :33 :33 :40 :35 :32

Average time spent using each device:

‹‹ Smartphone 2:42 2:12a 4:11b 3:07ab 3:18a 2:45a 2:07b 3:15a 2:38ab 2:10b
‹‹ Computer 1:37 1:46 1:12 1:18 1:34 1:35 1:44 1:30 1:45 1:38
‹‹ Tablet :45 :39 1:01 :49 1:05 a
:43 ab
:32 b
:48 :47 :40
a b a a b c a a
Total media 8:56 8:27 11:10 8:51 10:35 8:47 7:50 9:39 9:21 7:49b
Total screen media 6:40 6:18a 8:26b 6:29a 8:07a 6:31b 5:42c 7:21a 7:02a 5:36b

Note: This table does not list all subcategories of media activities and devices, but all activities and devices are included in totals. “Lower” income is defined as <$35,000;
“middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant
(p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

70 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 PARENTS AND MEDIA

The survey included two measures exploring how parents and What parents know about the media their children use. The major-
their children communicate about media. One item asked tweens ity of tweens say their parents know “a lot” about the various
and teens whether their parents have talked with them about media they use, ranging from 54 percent who say their parents
various issues concerning media, and the other asked young know “a lot” about what they do on social media (among those
people who engage in a particular media activity how much they who use it) to 78 percent who say their parents know “a lot”
think their parents know about it. about the TV shows they watch. Parental familiarity with the
games they play, what they see and do online, the songs they
Talking with children about media. The vast majority of youth
listen to, and the apps they use fall in between. On the other hand,
report that their parents have talked with them about their media
most teens say their parents don’t know a lot about the media they
use. Young people are far more likely to have heard from their
use, with the exception of the TV shows they watch (58 percent
parents about online safety and responsibility than about how
of teens who watch TV shows say their parents know “a lot”
much time they spend using media. For example, more than eight
about them). Indeed, only about a third of teens say their parents
in 10 teens say their parents have spoken with them about staying
know “a lot” about what they do online (32 percent), the apps
safe online (86 percent) or being responsible and respectful
they use (29 percent), or what they do on social media (32
online (85 percent), but just over half (53 percent) say their
percent). In fact, just about as many teens (30 percent) say their
parents have spoken with them about how much time they can
parents know “only a little” or “nothing” about the social media
spend using media.
they use, and 25 percent say the same about what they do and
see online.
TABLE 75. PARENT-CHILD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MEDIA Demographic differences in parental talk about and awareness of
children’s media. The biggest differences in parent communica-
Percent who say their parents Among Among
have talked with them about … Tweens Teens tion and awareness about media are by age, with tweens report-
Staying safe online 87% 86% ing that their parents know and talk more about media than the
parents of teens do. Within each age group, youth from different
Being responsible/respectful online 86% 85%
socio-demographic groups are relatively consistent in the degree
The types of media they can use 84%a 66%b
to which they report parents talking about and being familiar with
When they can use media 79%a 59%b
the media they’re using, although there are a few significant dif-
How long they can spend using media 72%a 53%b ferences, as described below.

TABLE 76. PARENTAL AWARENESS ABOUT THE MEDIA TWEENS AND TEENS USE

Know “a lot” about Know “only a little” or “nothing” about

Among those who “often”/”sometimes”
do each activity, percent whose parents: Among Tweens Among Teens Among Tweens Among Teens
a b a
The TV shows they watch 78% 58% 6% 12%b
The video/computer games they play 69%a 43%b 8%a 19%b
The songs they listen to 65%a 40%b 11%a 20%b
What they do/see online 61%a 32%b 10%a 25%b
a b a
The apps they use 63% 29% 11% 31%b
The social media they use 54%a 32%b 16%a 30%b

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 71
In both age groups, Hispanic youth are the most likely to report
that their parents talk about when they can use media (for
example, only after homework or chores are done), how much
time they can spend using media, and being responsible and
respectful online. For example, 81 percent of Hispanic tweens say
their parents have talked about how much time they can spend
with media, compared with 62 percent of black and 70 percent
of white tweens. Similarly, 71 percent of Hispanic teens say their
parents have talked about the types of media they can use (e.g.,
which shows they can watch or games they can play), compared
with 64 percent of white teens (black teens fall in between). The
differences in parent discussion of media are less consistently
associated with family income and parent education. For
example, among tweens, it is middle-income parents who are
most likely to talk about media, and there are almost no differ-
ences by parent education. Among teens, in contrast, it is higher- The biggest differences in
income and more educated parents who are the most likely to
have these conversations.
parent communication and
When it comes to parental awareness, young people who have awareness about media are by
more highly educated and higher-income parents are consistently
age, with tweens reporting that
less likely than other youth to report that their parents know “a
lot” about the media they use. For example, 73 percent of lower- their parents know and talk
income tweens report that their parents know “a lot” about the
video or computer games they play, compared with 62 percent of more about media than the
higher-income tweens; and 65 percent of tweens with a high
school-educated parent report their parents know “a lot” about
parents of teens do.
what they do or see online, compared with 57 percent of tweens
with a college-educated parent. Among teens, this trend is even
more pronounced. Teens from lower-income homes and those
who have less highly educated parents are more likely to say their
parents know “a lot” about what they do and see online, the songs
they listen to, the social media they use, and the apps they use;
and teens whose parents are less highly educated are also more
likely to say their parents know “a lot” about the video/computer
games they play. For example, among teens, 38 percent of those
with a high school-educated parent say that their parents know
“a lot” about what they do or see online, compared with 24
percent of teens with a college-educated parent. Similarly, 48
percent of lower-income teens say their parents know “a lot”
about the music they listen to, compared with 33 percent of
higher-income teens.

72 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 77. PARENTAL TALK ABOUT AND AWARENESS OF MEDIA CHILDREN USE, BY RACE/ETHNICITY, FAMILY INCOME, AND
PARENT EDUCATION

Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education

High Some College
Among Tweens … White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Percent whose parents have talked to them about:

‹‹ When they can use media 77%a 79%a 83%b 74%a 82%b 78%ab 76% 81% 80%
‹‹ How long they can spend using media 70% a
62% a
81% b
66% a
75% b
71% ab
71% 72% 73%
‹‹ The types of media they can use 83% 80% 87% 79% a
87% b
84% ab
84% 85% 83%
‹‹ Staying safe online 87% 92% 89% 82% a
91% b
84% a
86% a
91% b
86%a
‹‹ Being responsible and respectful online 83%a 92%b 92%b 87%ab 88%a 82%b 90% 85% 83%

Who do each activity, percent whose parents know “a lot” about:

‹‹ What they do/see online 60% 66% 60% 64%a 63%a 53%b 65%a 61%ab 57%b
‹‹ Video/computer games they play 71% 70% 66% 73%a 71%a 62%b 71% 73% 66%
‹‹ TV shows they watch 81% a
77% ab
73% b
75% 81% 76% 77% 81% 78%
‹‹ Songs they listen to 67% a
67% ab
58% b
66% 65% 63% 66% ab
69% a
61%b
‹‹ Social media they use 52% † 50% 56% 55% 51% 59%a 58%ab 47%b
‹‹ Apps they use 63% 69% 60% 65% 64% 60% 64% 67% 60%

Race/Ethnicity Family Income Parent Education

High Some College
Among Teens … White Black Hispanic Lower Middle Higher school college degree

Percent whose parents have talked to them about:

‹‹ When they can use media 58%ab 54%a 64%b 57%a 56%a 65%b 55%a 56%a 65%b
‹‹ How long they can spend using media 50%a 57%ab 59%b 53% 52% 55% 52%ab 49%a 58%b
‹‹ The types of media they can use 64%a 66%ab 71%b 65%ab 63%a 71%b 64% 65% 69%
‹‹ Staying safe online 88% a
82% b
82% b
81% a
87% b
90% b
82% a
87% b
90%b
‹‹ Being responsible and respectful online 86% 85% 86% 85% 83% 88% 83% 86% 85%

Who do each activity, percent whose parents know “a lot” about:

‹‹ What they do/see online 32%a 42%b 32%ab 43%a 32%b 26%c 38%a 35%a 24%b
‹‹ Video/computer games they play 43% 45% 42% 45% 44% 39% 44%a 47%a 37%b
‹‹ TV shows they watch 61% 52% 60% 60% 57% 60% 57% 59% 59%
‹‹ Songs they listen to 41% ab
35% a
47% b
48% a
41% b
33 c
46% a
39% b
36%b
‹‹ Social media they use 31% 34% 32% 38%a 31%b 28%b 34%a 34%a 26%b
‹‹ Apps they use 28% 31% 31% 35%a 27%b 27%b 31%a 32%a 23%b

† Sample size too small for reliable results (n=<50).

Note: Where there are statistically significant differences, the group that is most likely to talk about/know “a lot” about the media their children use is bolded. “Lower”
income is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999; and “higher” is $100,000 or more. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between
groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript,
do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 73
74 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MEDIA

The survey included two questions about physical activity. The

first asked how frequently young people are physically active, and TABLE 78. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
the second asked how much time they spent being physically TIME SPENT IN INCREMENTS
active the previous day. Physical activity was defined as doing
Among Among
something such as playing sports, going for a run, taking a gym On any given day … Tweens Teens
class, dancing, or working out for at least 20 minutes “at a level
Percent who are physically active for:
that makes you breathe hard.”
‹‹ No time 19%a 32%b
Levels of physical activity. About a third of tweens (36 percent) ‹‹ 30 minutes or less 24%a 17%b
and teens (32 percent) say they are physically active every day. ‹‹ 31-60 minutes 25%a 21%b
Another 49 percent of tweens and 41 percent of teens report
‹‹ 1-2 hours 18% 18%
being physically active several times a week. The main difference
‹‹ 2-4 hours 11% 10%
in physical activity by age is that on any given day, a smaller pro-
‹‹ More than 4 hours 3% 2%
portion of teens (68 percent) than tweens (81 percent) report
being physically active. Those who are physically active spend an Note: 1-2 hours includes from 61 minutes up to and including two hours; 2-4
hours includes from 121 minutes up to four hours. Superscripts (a,b) are used
average of just under an hour and a half at their activities (1:23 to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant
among tweens, and 1:29 among teens). Among all tweens and (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do
not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ
teens, this is an average of about an hour of physical activity a day significantly.
(1:07 for tweens, and 1:01 for teens).

Screen time and physical activity. This study also explores whether
there is a relationship between the time respondents spend with TABLE 79. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
screen media and their physical activity on any given day. We did FREQUENCY AND AVERAGE TIME
this in two ways: by comparing the means of time spent in physi-
Among Among
cal activity among High, Medium, and Low screen media users5; On any given day … Tweens Teens
and by examining correlations between physical activity and total
Percent who say they are physically active…
media use excluding listening to music, which can be used during
physical activity. ‹‹ Every day 36%a 32%b
‹‹ A few times a week 49%a 41%b
Taken together, these analyses indicate that the quantity of media
‹‹ Once a week 6%a 10%b
use is negatively associated with young people’s likelihood of
‹‹ A few times a month 4%a 6%b
engaging in any physical activity on any given day. There is a
‹‹ Once a month or less 4%a 10%b
small but statistically significant negative correlation between
total media use (excluding listening to music) and whether teens On any given day, percent who are 81%a 68%b
physically active
engage in physical activity on any given day. In both age groups,
Average time in physical activity 1:23 1:29
the High screen users are significantly less likely to engage in
among those who are active
physical activity. Tweens who are High screen users are less likely
Average time in physical activity 1:07a 1:01b
(by 10 to 11 percentage points) than tweens who are Medium and among all
Low screen users to be active on a given day. The negative asso-
Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between
ciation is stronger among teens: Compared with the Low screen groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts
users, Medium screen users and High screen users are less likely differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a
common superscript, do not differ significantly.
to be active (by 11 and 18 percentage points, respectively).

5. High users are those who spend an average of more than seven hours with screen media in a day; Medium users are those who spend between two and seven
hours; and Low users are those who spend less than two hours.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 75
In terms of time spent being physically active, associations with Among teens who engage in physical activity on a given day, in
media use were inconsistent between age groups and not always contrast, those who spend the least time with screens spend
in the direction expected (i.e., that youth who use more media more time being active (1:42) than the Medium screen users
would be less active). Among tweens who engage in physical (1:20), while the High screen users fall in between.
activity on a given day, those who spend the least time with
screens spend less time being active (1:15) than those who spend
the most time with screens (1:35), with the Medium screen users
falling in between.

TABLE 80. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, BY AGE AND SCREEN MEDIA USE

Among Tweens Among Teens

Low Medium High Low Medium High
screen users screen users screen users screen users screen users screen users
On any given day, percent who are 83%a 82%a 72%b 78%a 69%b 60%c
physically active
Average time in physical activity 1:15a 1:25ab 1:35b 1:42a 1:20b 1:33ab
among those who are active
Average time in physical activity 1:02 1:10 1:08 1:19a :55b :56b
among all

Note: High users are those who spend an average of more than seven hours with screen media in a day; Medium users are those who spend between two and seven
hours; and Low users are those who spend less than two hours. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant
(p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

76 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND MEDIA

The survey included a series of questions designed to get a We divided respondents into higher, middle, and lower groups
general sense of social-emotional well-being among tweens and with regard to their combined responses to all of the items on the
teens. The scale the survey used is short and does not offer an scale. Respondents received a score of one to four for each item,
in-depth or highly nuanced measure of mental health or well- with a four meaning the positive items were “very” true for them
being. It asked respondents “how true” a series of statements or the negative items were “not true at all.” Since there were six
about them are, including three positive statements (“I get along items in the scale, the top score was 24. The “higher” group
well with my parents”; “I have a lot of friends”; and “I have been includes anyone who scored 22 or above—that is, they got the
happy at school this year”) and three negative statements (“I am top score on almost all items. The “middle” group includes those
often bored”; “I often feel sad and unhappy”; and “I get into who scored between 18 and 21 points on the scale, meaning that
trouble a lot”). Scores on this scale have been referred to as a the positive items were, on average, at least “somewhat” true
young person’s “contentment level” or “social and emotional about them and the negative items “not very” true. The “lower”
well-being.” We compared media use among young people who group includes those who scored 17 or less. Among tweens, the
scored high, medium, or low on this scale to see whether they use higher group includes 27 percent of all respondents, the middle
media differently. group 50 percent, and the lower group 23 percent. Among teens,
the higher group includes 20 percent, the middle group 49
Most young people score very high on this scale. For example, 97
percent, and the lower group 31 percent of all respondents.
percent of tweens and 96 percent of teens say it is “very” or
“somewhat” true that they get along well with their parents; 90 There are significant differences between youth in the different
percent of tweens and 84 percent of teens say it is “very” or social and emotional well-being groups in terms of the amount of
“somewhat” true that they have been happy at school this past time they spend with media on a given day. Overall, tweens on
year; and 88 percent of tweens and 78 percent of teens say it is the lower end of the scale spend an average of over two hours
“very” or “somewhat” true that they have a lot of friends. (2:05) more with screen media per day than those at the high end
of the scale, while among teens the difference is an average of
two and a half hours of screen media a day (2:32).
TABLE 81. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
The relationships between non-screen media use (listening to
Percent who say each statement is Among Among music and reading) and this scale are neither consistent between
“very” or “somewhat” true of them … Tweens Teens age groups nor always linear. For listening to music, there are no
I get along well with my parents. 97% 96% differences among tweens, but among teens those on the lower
I have been happy at school this year. 90%a 84%b end of the scale average 37 minutes more with music per day
I have a lot of friends. 88% a
78% b than teens on the higher end. For reading, tweens in the lower

I am often bored. 53% a

58% b group average less time reading per day than those in the higher
group (by 16 minutes), while among teens the middle group
I am often sad or unhappy. 16%a 22%b
spends less time reading than those at the top or bottom of the
I get into trouble a lot. 16%a 10%b
scale (by nine to 10 minutes).
Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between
groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts We also explored whether tweens and teens from the higher and
differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a
common superscript, do not differ significantly. lower ends of the scale enjoyed certain types of media activities
more than others. The one activity in which there is a substantial
difference in preferences among both age groups is reading.
Between tweens who score low versus high on the socio-emo-
tional well-being scale, there is a 22-percentage-point difference

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 77
in the proportion who enjoy reading “a lot.” Among teens, there Among both age groups, controlling for parent income in this way
is a 13-percentage-point difference in reading enjoyment erases the positive correlation between well-being and reading.
between these two groups. In both cases, the happier kids enjoy The result was somewhat different for time spent using screen
reading more. media, however. Among tweens, controlling for parent income
erased the negative correlation between well-being and time
But for activities other than reading, there are no more than minor
spent with screen media. Among teens, controlling for parent
differences in enjoyment between young people at opposite ends
income weakened the correlation but did not erase it. (Specifically,
of the scale. For example, there are no statistically significant
among lower-income teens, well-being was unrelated to time
differences in the percent who enjoy using social media or playing
spent with screen media. Among middle- and higher-income
computer or mobile games “a lot,” according to their scores on
teens, the negative correlation remained, but the only statistically
the contentment scale. It does not appear that those in the lower-
significant difference was between the teens scoring the lowest
contentment groups simply enjoy media more than others and
and teens scoring highest on the well-being scale.) This suggests
thus spend more time with it; the enjoyment level seems to be
that something more complicated is going on in the correlation
relatively equal across the groups, but the higher-contentment
between screen-media time and well-being, which is beyond the
youth simply spend less time with media.
scope of this report. In any case, the data do provide an enticing
In summary, in a context in which most young people score highly sense of a divide among young people in which social-emotional
on this particular measure of social-emotional well-being, there well-being is related in some way to screen media consumption.
is a negative correlation between well-being and time spent with
screen media and a smaller but positive correlation between well-
being and reading time. There is also a positive correlation
between well-being and enjoyment of reading.

As with every correlation presented in this report, what the

results of this cross-sectional survey can’t tell us is whether these
correlations are causal relationships, and if so, which direction the
causality flows. Are some children happier or less bored, do they
have more friends and get along better with their parents, because
they spend less time with screen media? Or is the reverse true:
Do they spend less time with media because they have more
friends, get along better with their parents, and enjoy school
more? Similarly, with regard to the fact that youth at the lower
end of the social-emotional well-being scale enjoy reading less
than other youth do, it could be that young people who have
trouble reading—and thus enjoy it less—also end up with other
problems that make them enjoy school less, be sad or bored, or
have other related problems. Or there may be some other factor
at work that explains all of these phenomena, such as socioeco-
nomic status.

For example, a plausible hypothesis might be that parent income

is the other factor that explains both well-being and amount of
media use, because living in a home with greater economic
resources supports well-being, and such homes also tend to de-
emphasize TV viewing (which constitutes the bulk of screen
media time) while emphasizing reading. To test this simple
hypothesis, we compared means in the high, medium, and low
well-being groups separately among lower-income, medium-
income, and higher-income youth.

78 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE 82. TIME SPENT WITH MEDIA, BY SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING SCORE
AVERAGE TIME SPENT IN EACH ACTIVITY

Among Tweens Among Teens

Lower Middle Higher Lower Middle Higher
Activity score score score score score score
Total screen-media activities 5:32b 4:48b 3:27a 7:47c 6:35b 5:15a
‹‹ Watching TV/videos/DVDs 2:58c 2:27b 1:59a 2:48b 2:43b 2:15a
‹‹ Playing console video games :34 b
:30 b
:19 a
:35 b
:34 b
:23a
‹‹ Playing all games (video, computer, mobile) 1:35b 1:25b :55a 1:30b 1:23b 1:03a
‹‹ Using social media :18b :19b :08a 1:27b 1:08a :55a
Listening to music :51 :54 :45 2:16b 1:47a 1:39a
Reading :19b :31a :35a :32a :23b :33a

TABLE 83. ENJOYMENT OF MEDIA, BY AGE AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING SCORE

PERCENT WHO ENJOY EACH ACTIVITY “A LOT”

Among Tweens Among Teens

Lower Middle Higher Lower Middle Higher
Activity score score score score score score
Watching TV 59% 62% 61% 41%b 46%ab 51%a
Listening to music 47%b 56%a 57%a 71% 73% 77%
b b a b b
Reading 32% 39% 54% 28% 26% 41%a
Using social media 16% 12% 11% 37% 36% 39%
b a
Playing video games 51% 54% 52% 39% 45% 41%ab
Playing computer games 42% 39% 37% 25% 28% 24%
Playing mobile games 53% 52% 47% 27% 27% 27%
b b a
Watching online videos 53% 50% 33% 48% 45% 42%

Note: Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts differ significantly.
Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 79
80 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 MEDIA AND HOMEWORK

The bulk of this report concerns young people’s use of media for work (17 percent on any given day). Smaller numbers watch
purposes other than school or homework. However, the survey online videos (6 percent), use social media (6 percent), or
included a series of questions about tweens’ and teens’ use of play electronic games (4 percent) as part of their homework
various types of media for homework, as well as questions about on any given day. Among all teens, an average of almost a half
multitasking with media while doing homework.6 This section hour a day (:29) is spent using a computer for homework, 11
reports those data. minutes using a smartphone, and six minutes using a tablet.

Use of media for homework. The data indicate that use of comput- Income variation in use of computers for homework. The frequency
ers for homework is commonplace (at least among teens) but with which teens use computers for homework does not vary by
that use of mobile digital devices for homework (tablets, smart- gender or by race/ethnicity, but it does vary significantly by
phones) is far less common. Combining use of computers and income. For example, 22 percent of lower-income teens use
mobile devices, teens spend an average of 46 minutes a day using computers for homework “every day,” compared with 39 percent
these screen platforms for homework (versus 15 minutes a day of higher-income teens. And 39 percent of lower-income teens
among tweens). use computers for homework only monthly or less often, com-
pared with 17 percent of higher-income teens.
‹‹ Tweens. Among 8- to 12-year-olds, 43 percent use comput-
ers for homework at least once a week or more (11 percent
say they do so “every day,” and 32 percent say weekly). A
TABLE 84. FREQUENCY OF COMPUTER USE FOR
total of 37 percent of tweens say they “often” or “sometimes”
HOMEWORK AMONG TEENS, BY FAMILY INCOME
watch videos about how to do something for school. On any
given day, 15 percent of tweens use a computer for home- Lower Middle Higher
work, 6 percent use a tablet, and 7 percent use a smartphone income income income
for something to do with homework. The results of the survey Daily 22%a 27%a 39%b
also document some of the specific ways young people use Weekly 39% 47% 44%
these devices for homework. On any given day, 5 percent of Monthly 19% a
14% ab
9%b
tweens play digital games as part of their homework, while 3 Less than monthly/never 20%a 12%b 8%c
percent watch online videos, 3 percent send text messages,
Note: “Lower income” is defined as <$35,000; “middle” is $35,000-99,999;
and 1 percent use social media for a homework-related and “higher” is $100,000 or more. Superscripts (a,b,c) are used to denote
purpose. Among all tweens, an average of eight minutes a day whether differences between groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items
with different superscripts differ significantly. Items that do not have a
is spent using a computer for homework, four on a tablet, and superscript, or that share a common superscript, do not differ significantly.
three on a smartphone.

‹‹ Teens. Among 13- to 18-year-olds, nearly three-quarters (73

percent) use computers for homework once a week or more
(29 percent every day and 44 percent every week). A total of
48 percent of teens say they “often” or “sometimes” watch
videos about how to do something for school. On any given
day, 38 percent of teens use a computer for homework, 22
percent use a smartphone, and 7 percent use a tablet. Some
teens say they send text messages having to do with home-

6. We chose to ask about “homework” rather than “educational purposes” or “learning” because our pilot testing revealed that this is how youth think about
categories of use. It’s entirely possible (and likely) that some of young people’s so-called “entertainment” media use at home is educational even if it is not
associated with homework at all. This section documents young people’s own reports of use of media specifically for school-related work, i.e., homework.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 81
 Multitasking with media during homework. Many young people—
TABLE 85. USE OF MEDIA FOR HOMEWORK especially teens—use media while they are doing their home-
work. This multitasking includes listening to music, having a TV
Among Among
Tweens Teens on in the background, texting friends, or checking social media.
Percent who use a computer for homework: Listening to music while doing homework is extremely common
‹‹ Every day 11%a 29%b and is something young people believe is a benefit to the quality
‹‹ Every week 32% 44% of their work. Just under half (45 percent) of teens say they
‹‹ Every month 21% 14% “often” listen to music while doing their homework, and a total of
‹‹ Less than once a month/never 36% a
13% b 76 percent “often” or “sometimes” do so. In addition, 60 percent

On any given day, percent who use each device or do each

of teens “often” or “sometimes” text, and half “often” or “some-
activity as part of their homework: times” watch TV (51 percent) or use their social-networking sites
‹‹ Use a computer 15%a 38%b (50 percent) while doing homework. Among tweens, the

‹‹ Use a tablet 6% 7% numbers are much lower, although a third say they “often” or
“sometimes” listen to music (35 percent) or watch T V
‹‹ Use a smartphone 7%a 22%b
(34 percent) while doing homework.
‹‹ Watch online videos 3%a 6%b
‹‹ Play a computer/video/mobile game 5% 4%
‹‹ Use social media 1% 6% TABLE 86. FREQUENCY OF MEDIA MULTITASKING
‹‹ Send text messages 3% 17% DURING HOMEWORK
‹‹ Read 46% 44% PERCENT WHO DO EACH ACTIVITY DURING HOMEWORK
Average time spent on each device or activity for homework,
Among Among
among those who use:
Activity/frequency Tweens Teens
‹‹ Computer :55a 1:17b
Watch TV
‹‹ Tablet 1:14§ 1:20
‹‹ Often 12% 23%
‹‹ Smartphone :40 :50
‹‹ Sometimes 22% 27%
‹‹ Watching online videos † :40
‹‹ Often/sometimes 34% 51%
‹‹ Playing computer, video, or mobile :45§ 1:28§
games Use social networking
‹‹ Using social media † :54 ‹‹ Often 4% 21%
‹‹ Reading :45 a
1:00 b
‹‹ Sometimes 8% 29%
Average time spent on each homework-related activity, ‹‹ Often/sometimes 12% 50%
among all:
Listen to music
‹‹ Watching online videos :02 :02
‹‹ Often 12% 45%
‹‹ Playing computer, video, or mobile :02 :04
games ‹‹ Sometimes 23% 31%

‹‹ Using social media :01 :03 ‹‹ Often/sometimes 35% 76%

‹‹ Reading :21 :26 Send text messages

Average time spent doing homework with each device, ‹‹ Often 4% 27%
among all:
‹‹ Sometimes 8% 33%
‹‹ Computer :08a :29b
‹‹ Often/sometimes 12% 60%
‹‹ Tablet :04 :06
Note: All differences shown in this table between tweens and teens are
‹‹ Smartphone :03 :11 statistically significant.
Total time spent with screen media :15 :46
for homework

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between

groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts
differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a common
superscript, do not differ significantly. † Sample size too small for reliable
results. § Small cell size (n=50-74).

82 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Most young people who use media while doing their homework
think it doesn’t make a difference to the quality of their work.
Among teens who watch TV while doing their homework, 63
percent say it doesn’t make a difference one way or another to
the quality of their work (19 percent say it mainly hurts their work
and 17 percent say it mainly helps their work). Similarly, 64
percent of teens who text while doing homework say this practice
doesn’t affect their work one way or the other, while 24 percent
think it hurts and 12 percent think it helps.

But there is one exception to teens’ sense that using media while
doing homework doesn’t affect their work: Many young people
think listening to music helps the quality of their work. Half (50
percent) of teens who do this say they think it mainly helps their
work, and only 6 percent say they think it hurts (44 percent say
it doesn’t make a difference either way).

TABLE 87. ATTITUDES TOWARD MEDIA MULTITASKING

DURING HOMEWORK: AMONG THOSE WHO “OFTEN” OR
“SOMETIMES” DO EACH ACTIVITY DURING HOMEWORK

Percent who say each activity

helps/hurts the quality of Among Among
their work Tweens Teens

Watching TV
‹‹ Helps 10%a 17%b
‹‹ Hurts 30%a 19%b
‹‹ No difference 60% 63%

Social networking
‹‹ Helps 13% 14%
‹‹ Hurts 31% 31%
‹‹ No difference 56% 55%

Listening to music
‹‹ Helps 40%a 50%b
‹‹ Hurts 7% 6%
‹‹ No difference 53% a
44%b

Sending text messages

‹‹ Helps 19%a 12%b
‹‹ Hurts 21% 24%
‹‹ No difference 60% 64%

Note: Superscripts (a,b) are used to denote whether differences between

groups are statistically significant (p<.05). Items with different superscripts
differ significantly. Items that do not have a superscript, or that share a
common superscript, do not differ significantly.

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 83
84 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 CONCLUSION

After absorbing and analyzing the enormous amount of data col- hours a day playing mobile games but only four minutes playing
lected through this survey, we are left with five overarching video games. And to this diversity in the types of activities kids
conclusions. prefer we can add variety in the devices they use to engage in
those activities. The best examples of this are listening to music,
First is the vast diversity of ways young
watching TV and videos, and playing games, all of which are
people interact with media—the remarkable
consumed via a multitude of devices.
variety in their preferences and patterns of
use. Of course there are common threads, such as the popular- But our second overarching conclusion is that
ity of music and television across all ages, regardless of gender or underneath all this diversity, tweens and
race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. But the fragmentation in teens today place an enduring value on two
media preferences is notable. When young people are asked to media activities in particular: watching TV
name their “favorite” media activities, what is most noticeable is and listening to music. Whether downloaded, streamed,
that among neither age group is one particular activity the favor- or watched or listened to “live,” or whether it comes through a
ite of a majority of young people. Among tweens, for example, transistor radio, a television set, a tablet, or a smartphone, there
playing video games tops the list of favorite media activities but is something inherent in the nature of a TV show, a movie, or a
is the favorite of less than a quarter (22 percent) of tweens, fol- song that seems to have an abiding appeal for youth. Watching
lowed by reading (16 percent), watching TV (13 percent), listen- TV and listening to music are the activities they enjoy the most
ing to music (10 percent), watching online videos (10 percent), and dedicate the most time to, and the appeal crosses boundaries
and playing mobile games (8 percent). Among teens, listening to of age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. They
music tops the list but is the favorite of less than a third are also among the “oldest” and most accessible media activities,
(30 percent) of teens, followed by playing video games in the sense that virtually everyone has access to the means to
(15 percent), reading (10 percent), using social media (10 percent), view television content and listen to music, and devices for
and watching TV (9 percent). The diversity in tastes and prefer- engaging in these activities have been around for a relatively long
ences is clear. time compared with the newer digital media.

There is diversity in media use between boys and girls, and A third conclusion we reach from our explora-
among younger and older, richer and poorer, and black, white, tion of these data is that young people’s
and Hispanic youth. This diversity can perhaps be appreciated engagement with media still consists primar-
most clearly when considering the different media “profiles” ily of consumption rather than creation. For all
identified in this study. There are young people who are Video the promise about the potential of digital media to facilitate user-
Gamers and others who are Mobile Gamers; some who are generated content, the vast majority of media time (78 percent
Readers and spend very little time (comparatively) with screen among tweens and 64 percent among teens) is still devoted to
media; some who are Heavy Viewers; and others who are what we broadly call “passive consumption” and “interactive
devoted Social Networkers. Most of the media profiles have no consumption”: watching, listening, reading, and playing with
more than 20 percent of young people in them; no one pattern of media content created by someone else. While there are young
use clearly dominates. And the differences among these profiles people who use their computers and tablets and smartphones to
are quite strong. For example, tween Heavy Viewers average five code, write, or make art or music, the time devoted to such activi-
hours a day watching TV and videos but only three minutes ties pales in comparison to the time spent watching TV and
playing video games. In contrast, tween Video Gamers average videos, listening to music, or playing games. The specific content
two hours a day playing video games and three hours watching youth are interacting with may well be engaging, uplifting, and
TV and videos. And tween Mobile Gamers spend nearly two informative (or not); but this study documents that the digital

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 85
“tools” of computers, tablets, and smartphones are primarily
being used for some type of media consumption rather than its
creation.

Fourth, the socioeconomic and racial/ethnic

differences in children’s media use patterns
are inescapable and concerning. Children from
lower-income homes and black and Hispanic children spend far
more time with media—especially screen media—than white
children and children from higher- and middle-income homes.
Lower-income teens average more than eight hours a day (8:07)
with screen media compared with 5:42 among higher-income
teens, a difference of two hours and 25 minutes a day. Similarly,
black teens average 8:26 a day with screen media, compared with
6:29 among Hispanics and 6:18 among whites. While “screen
media” use can include many types of activities—Skyping,
reading, playing games, watching educational videos—we know
that they are primarily watching TV and videos, playing games,
and using social media. These are not necessarily negative activi-
ties, but the sheer amount of time devoted to them, and the dif-
ference among groups, is certainly noteworthy and deserves In sum, media are an enormous
much deeper examination and discussion.
presence in young people’s lives,
And finally, although it almost goes without
saying, we are struck anew by the ubiquity of a huge claim on their time and
entertainment media in young people’s lives. attention, and an element of
Of course “entertainment media” is a very broad category, includ-
ing everything from music, TV shows and videos, books, and their lives that is well worth
websites to computer, video, and mobile games. But the fact that
tweens and teens in the U.S. are using an average of six to nine our continued attention.
hours’ worth of media a day is still astounding. As discussed
elsewhere, this does not mean they are stopping all other activity
and attending only to media during this time; but it is still a large
amount of time spent absorbing a large amount of content. That
content is replete with messages that help shape young people’s
views of the world around them and their place in it. And although
“screen” media usage now encompass a range of disparate activi-
ties, it is still worth noting that tweens are spending an average
of four and a half hours a day and teens an average of more than
six and a half hours a day with screen media. These averages
obscure vast differences among youth, but on any given day fully
one in five 8- to 12-year-olds in this country is using more than six
hours of screen media, and nearly as many teens (18 percent) are
using more than 10 hours of screen media.

In sum, media are an enormous presence in young people’s lives,

a huge claim on their time and attention, and an element of their
lives that is well worth our continued attention.

86 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE

Q1. Which of the following items do you or someone else in your family have in your home?

a. Television set

b. Tablet (such as iPad, iPad Mini, Galaxy Tab, Nexus tablet, Kindle Fire, or similar product)

c. Smartphone (such as iPhone, Galaxy, Nexus or other phone that connects to the Internet)

d. Video game player (such as X-Box, Wii, Playstation)

e. DS, Game Boy, LeapPad, or similar portable game player

f. iPod or other MP3 player (besides your phone or tablet)

g. iPod Touch (can take pictures, play games, use apps)

h. e-reader (such as Kindle or Nook)

i. Desktop computer

j. Laptop computer
[IF ppnet=0: Other than the one provided to you by GfK/KN in exchange for your participation in these surveys]
k. DVR, such as TiVo or through your cable company, to record TV shows and watch them later

[IF Q1=b,c,e,f,g,h,j]
Q2. Which of the following items do YOU PERSONALLY have? (Not one that belongs to someone else in your house.)
a. [IF Q1=b] Tablet (such as iPad, iPad Mini, Galaxy Tab, Nexus tablet, Kindle Fire, or similar product)

b. [IF Q1=c] Smartphone (such as iPhone, Galaxy, Nexus or other phone that connects to the Internet)

c. [IF Q1=e] DS, Game Boy, LeapPad, or similar portable game player

d. [IF Q1=f] iPod or other MP3 player (besides your phone or tablet)

e. [IF Q1=g] iPod Touch (can take pictures, play games, use apps)

f. [IF Q1=h] e-reader (such as Kindle or Nook)

g. [IF Q1=j] Laptop

h. None of the above

[IF Q1=a,d,i]
Q3. Which of the following items do you have in your bedroom?

a. [IF Q1=a] A TV set

b. [IF Q1=i] A desktop computer

c. [IF Q1=d] A video game player (such as X-Box, Wii, Playstation)

d. None of the above

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 87
[IF Q1=a]
Q4. How often is a TV on in your home, even if no one is watching it?

a. All the time

b. Most of the time

c. Some of the time

d. Hardly ever
e. Never

f. No TV in home

[IF Q1=a and AGE=11-18]

Q5. Are any of the TVs in your home connected to the Internet so you can “stream” TV shows or videos on it?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Don’t know

[IF AGE=11-18]
Q6. At home, how do you connect to the internet ON YOUR COMPUTER OR LAPTOP?

a. DSL
b. Cable

c. Satellite

d. WiFi (wireless)

e. Dial-up telephone connection (connect computer or laptop to home phone line)

f. Fiber optic

g. Other

h. Don’t know

Q7. How often do you do each of the following activities? Every day, a few times a week, once a week, a few times a month,
once a month, less than once a month, or never:
a. Use a computer for homework

b. Use a computer for something other than school or homework

c. Play computer games

d. Use social media [ROLLOVER: such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram]

e. Use a tablet [ROLLOVER: such as iPad, iPad Mini, Galaxy Tab, Nexus tablet, Kindle Fire, or similar product]

f. Use a smartphone [ROLLOVER: such as iPhone, Galaxy, Nexus or other phone that connects to the Internet]

g. Play games on a DS, Game Boy, LeapPad or similar portable game player

h. Play video games (such as on an X-Box, Wii, or Playstation)

i. Play mobile games (such as on a phone or tablet)

j. Watch TV

88 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 k. Watch videos online (such as YouTube)

l. Listen to music

m. Read for your own enjoyment, not for school or homework (such as books, e-books, magazines, newspapers, online articles)

n. Use apps on a tablet, smartphone, or similar device

Q8. How often do you engage in physical activity that lasts at least 20 minutes and makes you breathe hard, such as playing
sports, going for a run, taking gym class, dancing, or working out?

a. Every day

b. A few times a week

c. Once a week

d. A few times a month

e. Once a month

f. Less than once a month

g. Never

Q9. This next question is about what you did YESTERDAY. We want to know whether you did any of the following activities
yesterday. Which of the following activities, if any, did you do YESTERDAY?

a. [IF Q7a=1-6] Use a computer for homework

b. [IF Q7b=1-6] Use a computer for something other than school or homework

c. [IF Q7e=1-6] Use a tablet [ROLLOVER: such as iPad, iPad Mini, Galaxy Tab, Nexus tablet, Kindle Fire, or similar product]

d. [IF Q7f=1-6] Use a smartphone [ROLLOVER: such as iPhone, Galaxy, Nexus or other phone that connects to the Internet]

e. Use an iPod Touch (can take pictures, play games, use apps)

f. [IF Q7g=1-6] Play games on a DS, Game Boy, LeapPad, or similar portable game player

g. [IF Q7h=1-6] Play video games on a console player (such as X-Box, Wii, Playstation)

h. Watch DVDs

i. [IF Q7j=1-6] Watch TV on a TV set

j. Go to the movies in a movie theater

k. Write something, such as a story, article, or blog (just for fun, not for school or homework)

l. [IF Q7f=1-6] Send text messages

[IF Q9=j]
Q10. About how long was the movie you saw in a movie theater yesterday?

a. 1 hour

b. 1 and a half hours

c. 2 hours

d. 2 and a half hours

e. 3 hours

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 89
[IF Q9=k]
Q11. When you wrote a story, article, blog, or similar item yesterday (not for school or homework), what did you use to
write it?

a. [IF Q9=b] Computer

b. [IF Q9=c] Tablet

c. [IF Q9=d] Smartphone

d. [IF Q9=e] iPod Touch

e. Wrote it by hand

f. Other

[IF Q7m=1-6]
Q12. Did you spend any time reading for your own enjoyment yesterday, not for school or homework?
(such as books, magazines, e-books, newspapers, online articles)

a. Yes

b. No

[IF Q12=a]
Q13. Which of the following did you read yesterday (do not include anything you read for school or homework)?

a. Print books

b. Books on an e-reader (such as a Nook or Kindle)

c. Magazines

d. Newspapers

e. Online articles, stories, news, or blogs (on a computer, tablet, or smartphone)

[IF Q7l=1-6]
Q14. Did you listen to music yesterday?

a. Yes
b. No

[IF Q14=a]
Q15. Which of the following ways did you listen to music yesterday:

a. [IF Q9=b] On a computer (such as through Pandora, Spotify, or iTunes)

b. [IF Q9=c] On a tablet (such as through Pandora, Spotify, or iTunes)

c. [IF Q9=d] On a smartphone (such as through Pandora, Spotify, or iTunes)

d. On an iPod or other MP3 player

e. On the radio (including while riding in a car)

f. On CDs

90 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
[IF MORE THAN ONE ITEM SELECTED AMONG THE FOLLOWING: Q9b,c,d,e]
Q16. Which of the following activities did you do for fun yesterday (not for school or homework)?
I did do this…
[IF Q9=b] [IF Q9=c] [IF Q9=d] [IF Q9=e]
On a On a On a On an
computer* tablet smartphone iPod Touch
a. Use social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, or
[IF Q7d=1-6]
Instagram)
b. [IF Q7c,h,i=1-6] Play games
c. Browse websites
d. Video chat (such as Skype or Face Time)
e. [IF Q7k=1-6] Watch videos online, such as YouTube
f. Watch TV shows or movies online (such as Hulu or Netflix)
g. Make your own art or music (such as painting, graphics, video
editing, making digital music)
h. [IF Q13=e] Read online (such as articles, stories, news, or blogs)
i. Anything else (don’t count texting, but do count anything else
such as email, IM, SnapChat, coding, apps, directions, weather)
*Don’t count if you only did it for school or homework.

Now we’d like to know how much TIME you spent doing each activity YESTERDAY.
For example, if you spent about a half-hour doing the activity, you would fill out the boxes like this: [0] Hours [30] Minutes
If you spent about two hours doing the activity, you would fill out the boxes like this: [2] Hours [0] Minutes
If you spent about an hour and 15 minutes doing the activity, you would fill out the boxes like this: [1] Hours [15] Minutes

[PROMPT ONCE “If you ​did not spend any time yesterday on the activities listed, please enter 0 in the number boxes.”]
[IF Q9=i,h,g,f or Q15=d,f,e or Q12=a or Q13=a,b,c,d]
Q17. Thinking JUST ABOUT YESTERDAY, how much time did you spend doing each of the following:

a. [IF Q9=I] Watching TV on a TV set

b. [IF Q9=h] Watching DVDs

c. [IF Q9=g] Playing video games on a console player (such as a Wii, X-Box, or Playstation)

d. [IF Q9=f] Playing games on a DS, Game Boy, LeapPad, or similar portable game player

e. [IF Q15=d] Listening to an iPod or other MP3 player (besides a phone or tablet)

f. [IF Q15=f] Listening to CDs

g. [IF Q15=e] Listening to the radio

h. Left intentionally blank

i. [IF Q13=a] Reading books in print (for something other than school or homework)

j. [IF Q13=b] Reading books on an e-reader (for something other than school or homework)

k. [IF Q13=c] Reading magazines (for something other than school or homework)

l. [IF Q13=d] Reading newspapers (for something other than school or homework)

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 91
[IF Q9=b and (any of Q16a to Q16i=1 or Q15=a or Q11=a)]
Q18. Still thinking just about what you did yesterday, how much time did you spend USING A COMPUTER for something other
than school or homework:

a. [IF Q16a=1] Using social media on a computer (such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram)

b. [IF Q16b=1] Playing computer games

c. [IF Q16c=1] Browsing websites on a computer

d. [IF Q16d=1] Video chatting on a computer (such as Skype or Face Time)

e. [IF Q16e=1] Watching videos on a computer, such as YouTube

f. [IF Q16f=1] Watching TV shows or movies on a computer (such as Hulu or Netflix)

g. [IF Q15=a] Listening to music on a computer (such as through Pandora, Spotify, or iTunes)

h. [IF Q16g=1] Make your own art or music (such as painting, graphics, video editing, making digital music)

i. [IF Q16h=1] Reading articles, stories, news, or blogs on a computer (not for school)

j. [IF Q11=a] Writing something on a computer like a story, diary, blog, or article (not for school)

k. [IF Q16i=1] Doing anything else on the computer (such as email, IM, shopping, coding)

[IF Q9=c and (Q16a-i=2 or Q15=b or Q11=b)]

Q19. Continuing to think just about what you did yesterday, how much time did you spend using A TABLET for something other
than school or homework:

a. [IF Q16a=2] Using social media on a tablet (such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram)

b. [IF Q16b=2] Playing games on a tablet

c. [IF Q16c=2] Browsing websites on a tablet

d. [IF Q16d=2] Video chatting on a tablet (such as Skype of Face Time)

e. [IF Q16e=2] Watching videos on a tablet, such as YouTube

f. [IF Q16f=2] Watching TV shows or movies on a tablet (such as Hulu or Netflix)

g. [IF Q15=b] Listening to music on a tablet (such as through Pandora, Spotify, or iTunes)

h. [IF Q16g=2] Making your own art or music on a tablet (such as painting, graphics, video editing, making digital music)

i. [IF Q16h=2] Reading articles, stories, news, blogs, or information on a tablet (not for school)
j. [IF Q11=b] Writing something on a tablet, like a story, diary, blog, or article (not for school)

k. [IF Q16i=2] Doing anything else on a tablet (such as using apps, email, etc.)

[IF Q9=e and (Q16a-i=4 or Q11=d)]

Q20. Still thinking about yesterday, how much time did you spend using AN IPOD TOUCH for:

a. [IF Q16a=4] Using social media on (such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram)

b. [IF Q16b=4] Playing games

c. [IF Q16c=4] Browsing websites

d. [IF Q16d=4] Video chatting on (such as Skype of Face Time)

e. [IF Q16e=4] Watching videos, such as YouTube

f. [IF Q16f=4] Watching TV shows or movies (such as Hulu or Netflix)

g. [IF Q16g=4] Making your own art or music (such as painting, graphics, video editing, making digital music)

92 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 h. [IF Q16h=4] Reading articles, stories, news, blogs, or information (not for school)

i. [IF Q11=d] Writing something, like a story, diary, blog, or article (not for school)

j. [IF Q16i=4] Doing anything else (such as using other apps, SnapChat, email, etc.)

[IF Q9=d and (Q16a-i=3 or Q15=c or Q11=d)]

Q21. Finally, how much time did you spend using A SMARTPHONE yesterday to:

a. [IF Q16a=3] Using social media on a smartphone (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

b. [IF Q16b=3] Playing games on a smartphone

c. [IF Q16c=3] Browsing websites on a phone

d. [IF Q16d=3] Video chatting on a phone (such as Skype of Face Time)

e. [IF Q16e=3] Watching videos on a smartphone, such as YouTube

f. [IF Q16f=3] Watching TV shows or movies on a smartphone (such as Hulu or Netflix)

g. [IF Q15=c] Listening to music on a smartphone (such as through Pandora, Spotify, or iTunes)

h. [IF Q16g=3] Making your own art or music on a smartphone (such as painting, video editing, making digital music)

i. [IF Q16h=3] Reading articles, stories, or news on a smartphone

j. [IF Q11=c] Writing something on a smartphone, such as a story, blog, or article (not for school)

k. [IF Q16i=3] Anything else on a smartphone (don’t count texting, but do count time spent on other activities such as SnapChat,
directions, weather, other apps)

[IF AGE=11-18 and NOT MISSING/REFUSED Q17a]

Q22. You said you spent about [INSERT TIME FROM Q17a] watching TV or movies on a television set yesterday.
About how much of that time, if any, did you spend watching:

a. [IF Q1=k] Programs you recorded earlier on a DVR

b. Programs through OnDemand, NetFlix, or similar service on your TV set (not on a laptop, computer, smartphone, or tablet)

Q23. Still thinking just about YESTERDAY, how much time did you spend being physically active, such as playing sports, taking
gym class, going for a run, dancing, working out, or other physical activity?

[IF Q9=l]
Q24. Still thinking just about yesterday, about how many text messages did you send? Your best guess is fine.

Q25. Thinking just about yesterday, did you do any of the following?

a. [IF Q9=c] Use a tablet for homework

b. Read for homework

c. [IF Q9=a,c,d,e] Watch online videos for homework

d. [IF Q9=a,c,d,e] Play a computer, video, or mobile game for homework

e. [IF Q16a=1-4] Use social media for something to do with homework

f. [IF Q9=l] Text about homework

g. Talk to people on the phone about homework

h. [IF Q9=d] Use a smartphone to do homework (for something other than texting or talking about homework)

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 93
[IF Q9=a or Q25=a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h]
Q26. Thinking just about yesterday, how much TIME did you spend doing each activity?

a. [IF Q9=a] Using a computer for homework

b. [IF Q25=a] Using a tablet for homework

c. [IF Q25=d,e,f,g,h] Using a smartphone for homework

d. [IF Q25=b] Reading for homework

e. [IF Q25=c] Watching online videos for homework

f. [IF Q25=d] Play a computer, video, or mobile game for homework

g. [IF Q25=e] Using social media for something to do with homework

Q27. How often, if ever, do you:

Often Sometimes Hardly ever Never

a. [IF Q7a,b=1-6] Write computer programs (code)
b. [IF Q7a,b,e,f=1-6] Do digital art or graphics on a computer, tablet, or
smartphone
c. Make digital music on a computer, tablet, or smart-
[IF Q7a,b,e,f=1-6]
phone (don’t count times you just listen to music)
d. Write things for your own pleasure, such as stories, articles, or blogs
e. [IF Q7k=1-6] Watch videos about how to do something you need to
know for school
f. [IF Q7k=1-6] Watch videos about how to make, build, or do something
you are interested in
g. [IF Q7c,h,i=1-6] Create or modify (“mod”) video or computer games

[IF Q7c,d,h,i,j,k,n=1-6]
Q28. We want to know what your favorite media are. Please put only one show or game name per box. If you only have one
favorite, that’s okay too — just leave the other boxes blank. If you don’t have any favorites, just skip to the next question.
What are your favorite:

a. [IF Q7j=1-6] TV shows

b. [IF Q7h=1-6] Video games
c. [IF Q7d=1-6] Social networking sites
d. [IF Q7n=1-6] Apps
e. [IF Q7k=1-6] YouTube stars, channels or shows
f. [IF Q7c=1-6] Computer games
g. [IF Q7i=1-6] Mobile games

Q29. When you do homework how often do you: Often, sometimes, hardly ever, or never.

a. Have TV on at the same time

b. Do social networking at the same time (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

c. Listen to music while doing homework

d. Text while doing homework

94 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
[IF Q29a,b,c,d=1-2]
Q30. Do you think doing these activities while you do your homework mainly helps, hurts, or doesn’t make a difference
to the quality of your work?

a. [IF Q29a=1 or 2] Having the TV on at the same time

b. [IF Q29b=1 or 2] Doing social networking at the same time (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

c. [IF Q29c=1 or 2] Listening to music while doing homework

d. [IF Q29d=1 or 2] Texting while doing homework

Q31. What grades do you usually get?

a. Mostly A’s

b. Mostly B’s

c. Mostly C’s
d. Mostly D’s

e. My school does not use letter grades

f. I’m not in school

g. I’m home schooled

Q32. Now we want to learn more about you and your personality. How true are each of the following statements?
Are they very true, somewhat true, not very true, or not true at all?

a. I get along well with my parents

b. I am often bored

c. I often feel sad and unhappy

d. I have a lot of friends

e. I have been happy at school this year

f. I get into trouble a lot

Q33. Have your parents ever talked to you about: Yes, No

a. When you can use media (such as only on weekends, only after homework or chores)

b. How long you can use media for (such as no more than an hour a day)

c. What types of media you can use (such as no watching certain types of shows or playing certain games)

d. Staying safe online (such as not giving out personal information)

e. Being responsible, respectful, and kind online (such as not bullying or copying other people’s work)

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 95
[IF Q7b,c,d,h,j,l,n=1-6]
Q34. How much do your parents know about:

Only a I’m not

A lot Some little Nothing sure
a. [IF Q7b=1-6] What you do and see online
b. [IF Q7c,h=1-6] The types of video or computer games
you play
c. [IF Q7j=1-6] Which TV shows you watch
d. [IF Q7l=1-6] The songs you listen to
e. What you do on social media
[IF Q7d=1-6]
(such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram)
f. [IF Q7n=1-6] Which apps you use

Q35. How much do you ENJOY doing each of the following activities? A lot, somewhat, only a little, not at all

a. [IF Q7m=1-6] Reading

b. [IF Q7j=1-6] Watching TV

c. [IF Q7k=1-6] Watching videos online (such as YouTube)

d. [IF Q7d=1-6] Using social media (such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram)

e. [IF Q7l=1-6] Listening to music

f. [IF Q7h=1-6] Playing video games

g. [IF Q7c=1-6] Playing computer games

h. [IF Q7i=1-6] Playing mobile games (on a tablet or smartphone)

i. [IF Q27a=1-3] Writing computer programs (Coding)

j. [IF Q27c=1-3] Making digital music on a computer, tablet, or smartphone

k. [IF Q27d=1-3] Writing things such as articles, stories, papers, or blogs

l. [IF Q27h=1-3] Making videos with a computer, tablet, or smartphone

m. Taking or editing photos on a computer, tablet, or smartphone

n. [IF Q27g=1-3] Creating or modifying (“modding”) games

o. [IF Q27b=1-3] Doing art or graphics on a computer, tablet or smartphone

96 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
[IF any of Q35=”a lot”]
Q36. If you had to pick ONE of these activities as your favorite, which would it be:

a. [IF Q35a=1] Reading

b. [IF Q35b=1] Watching TV

c. [IF Q35c=1] Watching videos online (such as YouTube)

d. [IF Q35d=1] Using social media (such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram)

e. [IF Q35e=1] Listening to music

f. [IF Q35f=1] Playing video games

g. [IF Q35g=1] Playing computer games

h. [IF Q35h=1] Playing mobile games (on a tablet or smartphone)

i. [IF Q35i=1] Coding

j. [IF Q35j=1] Making digital music on a computer, tablet, or smartphone

k. [IF Q35k=1] Writing things such as articles, stories, papers, or blogs

l. [IF Q35l=1] Making videos with a computer, tablet, or smartphone

m. [IF Q35m=1] Taking or editing photos on a computer, tablet, or smartphone

n. [IF Q35n=1] Creating or modifying (“modding”) games

o. [IF Q35o=1] Doing art or graphics on a computer, tablet or smartphone

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 97
98 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Harvey Anderson Chief Legal Officer, AVG Technologies USA Inc.

Lynne Benioff Board Member, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
Reveta Bowers Head of School, The Center for Early Education
Geoffrey Cowan Professor, University of Southern California; and
President, The Annenberg Foundation Trust
Amy Errett Co-Founder and CEO, Madison Reed
John H.N. Fisher Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Jonathan S. Henes Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, LLP
Andrew Hoine Managing Director & Director of Research, Paulson & Co. Inc.
Matthew Johnson Managing Partner, Ziffren Brittenham, LLP
Martha L. Karsh Trustee, Karsh Family Foundation; Founder, Clark & Karsh Inc.
Lucinda Lee Katz Head of School, Marin Country Day School
Gary E. Knell President and CEO, National Geographic Society
Manny Maceda Partner, Bain & Company
April McClain–Delaney President, Delaney Family Fund
Michael D. McCurry Partner, Public Strategies Washington Inc.
William E. McGlashan, Jr. Managing Partner, TPG Growth
Robert L. Miller President and CEO, Miller Publishing Group
William S. Price, III (Chair) Co-Founder and Partner Emeritus, TPG Capital, LP
Susan F. Sachs Former President and COO, Common Sense
James P. Steyer Founder and CEO, Common Sense Media
Gene Sykes Managing Director, Goldman Sachs & Co.
Deborah Taylor Tate Former Commissioner, U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Nicole Taylor Professor, Stanford University
Michael Tubbs Councilmember, City of Stockton District 6
Lawrence Wilkinson (Vice Chair) Co-Founder, Oxygen Media and Global Business Network

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100 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS ©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 BOARD OF ADVISORS

Aileen Adams Former Deputy Mayor, City of Los Angeles

Larry Baer President and CEO, The San Francisco Giants
Rich Barton Co-Founder and Executive Chair, Zillow.com
Richard Beattie Chairman, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP
Angela Glover Blackwell Founder and CEO, PolicyLink
Geoffrey Canada Founder and President, Harlem Children’s Zone
Marcy Carsey Founding Partner, Carsey-Werner Productions
Chelsea Clinton Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
Ramon Cortines Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District
James Coulter Founding Partner, TPG Capital, LP
Yogen Dalal Managing Director, The Mayfield Fund
Steve Denning Founding Partner, General Atlantic Partners
Susan Ford Dorsey President, Sand Hill Foundation
Millard Drexler Chairman and CEO, J. Crew
Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D. Chair, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania
Robert Fisher Director, GAP Inc.
Howard Gardner, Ph.D. Professor, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
James Herbert II President and CEO, First Republic Bank
David Hornik Partner, August Capital
Ron Johnson Trustee, Stanford University
Mitchell Kapor Partner, Kapor Capital
David Lawrence Jr. President, The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation
Eddie Lazarus General Counsel, Tribune Company
Susan McCaw U.S. Ambassador to Austria (Ret.)
Nion McEvoy Chairman and CEO, Chronicle Books
George Miller Education Advisor to Cengage Learning; Retired Member of Congress
Nell Minow Founder, The Corporate Library and Movie Mom
Newton Minow Counsel, Sidley, Austin and Brown; Former Chairman, FCC
James Montoya Senior Vice President, The College Board
Becky Morgan President, Morgan Family Foundation
Jonathan Nelson CEO, Omnicom Digital
Carrie Schwab Pomerantz President, Charles Schwab Foundation

©COMMON SENSE MEDIA INC. 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS 101
Michael Riordan Founder, Gilead Sciences
George Roberts Founding Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Jesse Rogers Founder, Altamont Capital
Jim Ryan Dean, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
Alan Schwartz Executive Chairman, Guggenheim Partners
Darrell Steinberg Chair, California Government Law & Policy Practice, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Thomas Steyer Founder and President, NextGen Climate
Deborah Stipek Dean, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University
Mike Tollin President, Mandalay Sports Media
Robert S. Townsend Partner, Morrison & Foerster, LLP
Laura Walker President, WNYC Radio
Eugene Washington, M.D. Chancellor, Medical School, Duke University
Alice Waters Founder, Chez Panisse and Chez Panisse Foundation
Robert Wehling Founder, Family Friendly Programming Forum
Tim Zagat Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Zagat Survey

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THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS:
MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS

Credits
Author: Vicky Rideout, M.A., VJR Consulting Inc.
Editor: Seeta Pai, Ph.D., Common Sense
Data analysis: Melissa Saphir, Ph.D., Saphir Research; Seeta Pai; and Vicky Rideout
Copy editor: Jenny Pritchett
Designer: Dana Herrick
 THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS: MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS
About Common Sense
Common Sense is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids, families,
and educators by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need
to thrive in a world of media and technology. Our independent research is designed to provide parents,
educators, health organizations, and policymakers with reliable, independent data on children’s use
of media and technology and the impact it has on their physical, emotional, social, and intellectual
development. For more information, visit www.commonsense.org/research.

For inquiries, contact research@commonsense.org.

THE COMMON SENSE CENSUS:

MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS
A Common Sense Media Research Brief
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