Study: Teens Use Technology To Make, Keep Friendships

As much as parents complain that their kids are always on their gadgets these days, there is a perfectly good reason teenagers can't seem to put their phones down or pry themselves away from the computer.

In a new study released by the Pew Research Center, the researchers note what many adults already know that teenagers rely on technology as a way to make and keep friends.

"It's really quite critical," said Amanda Lenhart, the study's lead author via Market Watch. "This is the space where a lot of social life happens for a lot of adolescents."

The experts conducted their research by doing a survey of 1,000 respondents between the ages of 13 and 19. The researchers found out that 57 percent of the respondents made new friends online, 20 percent of which actually met in person. About 55 percent of teens keep in touch with their friends by texting daily, and 49 percent prefer this as the best way to communicate with each other.

Meanwhile, some teenagers use a variety of other digital tools, such as instant messaging (27 percent), social media (23 percent) and apps (14 percent) to keep abreast with their friends. At least 13 percent of teenagers also get in touch with their peers by playing online videos together.

Teenagers troop to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, where at least 64 percent of the respondents said they have met their friends in these platforms. About 70 percent said that they "feel better connected to their friends' feelings through social media," according to Fortune. But between the boys and the girls, it's the latter who make friends faster on social sites. The boys, on the other hand, are more comfortable making friends in game site venues.

The study, however, reveals that even when kids have all these online friends, 95 percent still prefer spending time with each other in person and outside of school. However, only 25 percent of these respondents get to do this regularly, so most of the kids keep in touch online.

Actual phone calls still happen between friends, but only for very important matters. "Certainly texting is a more dominant way of communicating, but the phone call is important when they want support," Lenhart told Market Watch.

"Adults have to respect that these are deep relationships that play out online, and we can't dismiss them," said Rosalind Wiseman, an author of "Queen Bees and Wannabees" who also speaks about young issues, according to The Washington Post.