The use of social media amongst American and British teens

As a very active member of around 3 social media sites, I have noticed quite a few things.
My biggest observation was that teens, especially British and American teens, use sites like Twitter, Tumblr or sometimes Facebook to escape from reality. It helps them wind down after a stressful day of school or forget their family situations. A lot of these teens are from the LGBTQA+ community and sometimes are still in the closet or have families who don't approve of their sexuality, but online, they get to be around accepting people.

Another big factor is the possibility of making friends from around the world. I've noticed that a lot of the boys and girls who spend their free time on social media sites have problems finding friends in person, but are able to make new friends online easier. This probably occurs because the internet offers a certain sense of anonymity, which gives shy people that certain push they need to start talking to someone.

Unfortunately, adults often think that this escape from reality is wrong and that teens only waste their time, but they actually talk about many important topics as well. On Tumblr for example, a big topic is feminism and equality, but the users also talk about recent events, such as the terrorist attacks in Paris or the problems in Ferguson.

An important use of social media also is the creation and distribution of fan-created art, like fanfiction or drawings. These type of things exist for every imaginable film, band or book and improve the creativity while getting the fans involved.

These are some uses of social media sites amongst American and British teens.