Teens use TikTok and Instagram more than any other social media apps

Since social media's rise in usage among certain age demographics, parents and researchers alike have wondered about the potential negative impacts of certain apps on children and teens. Now more than ever, professionals are dedicating time and resources to determining what social media is doing to teens' brains -- and what can be done to help them.

Recent research by Piper Sandler suggests that both Instagram and TikTok are hugely popular among teens, and are likely the social media apps most used by this age demographic. While Instagram is used more widely, TikTok is the most popular specifically for entertainment purposes.

So it makes a lot of sense, knowing what we know about the content of these apps and the social and mental health effects they may have on teenagers (and aults too, for that matter), that experts might be concerned about the rate at which teens are interacting with apps like these in particular.

Over time, social media has become less about being "social" and more about being "relevant." We're far less interested in interacting with friends and forming online relationships and far more focused instead on creating content, leaving a digital footprint, and potentially gaining something valuable from these things (money, opportunities, status, and the like).

Being a teenager is already hard enough without having to think about, essentially, crafting an online persona that can elevate your future prospects. Even when it was 2007 and YouTube was still very new, I felt the pressures of making "good" content even though you couldn't make money that way back then (yet). I can't imagine what today's teens are dealing with. Not only do your photos have to look perfect, but you have to make videos that won't get you ridiculed at school on Monday?

These social media companies are seemingly trying to put measures in place to protect kids and teens, but it's impossible to know whether or not it will be enough.