Public Report

Social media’s impact on friendships

Figure 5 shows that 57% of teens think social media have a good influence on how close they are with their friends. Only 7% experience a bad influence of social media on how close they are with friends. We found no significant differences between boys and girls and the two age groups (14/15 vs 16/17 year-olds). In recent years, social media has changed the way teens communicate with each other and maintain relationships. Social media make it easier to maintain contact, but at the same time, the contact may be a bit more distant or superficial. How do teens themselves experience the influence of social media on how close their friendships are?

Figure 5 - Perceived influence of social media on friendship closeness