2026
Teenagers Are Less Social than Decades Past
The social landscape among teenagers has changed drastically over the past four decades. American high schoolers are going out less and spending more time alone. In the 1980s, 88% of high school seniors reported visiting friends at least weekly. Just 69% of teens today report the same. Likewise, 74% of '80s teens reported going to parties at least monthly. Today, just 44% of high schooler report the same. What are modern American teens doing instead? Spending more time alone. Whereas 43% of high school seniors from the 1980s report spending an hour of leisure time alone daily or near daily, three-in-four today report this frequent time alone. All of this points to a broader retreat from social life among the rising generation.
