Características y percepciones sobre el uso de las plataformas de redes sociales y dispositivos tecnológicos por parte de los adolescentes

Abstract

The exponential growth of access to mobile devices is encouraging a ubiquitous and more intensive use of certain online services and applications.
This article addresses the characteristics of the uses that minors make of both social networking access devices and the platforms that contain them. Through a survey applied to a representative sample of teenagers in the Community of Madrid enrolled in ESO (N=524), the age of ownership of the first smartphone, the frequency of use of social networking platforms and WhatsApp, the activities they perform and their frequency, and finally their assessments regarding social networks are studied. Some of the findings are related to the confirmation of the trend of ages for the acquisition of the smartphone itself (11 years old on average).
Age is also shown as the reference for access to social networks. Along with multi-screen access, a higher daily consumption of Whatsapp is also observed in relation to the others social network platforms. On the other hand, socialization needs and the search for entertainment are the key factors in online use of adolescents.
Finally, teenagers mostly choose Instagram to carry out most of their activities on social networks; and then YouTube, in the case of audiovisual content.