Teens flirt online, but find dates in person

    You are in good company. The Internet is increasingly playing a role in teens' relationships, according to the Pew Research Center report Teens, Technology and Romantic Relationships. Teens go online not just to talk to their friends, but to flirt, and, at times, to break up, the study found.
    Overall, roughly one-third, 35 percent, of those 13-17 said they had been in a romantic relationship. But while more than half -- 57 percent -- had met a friend online, relatively few teens had actually met a partner online, Pew found. Only 24 percent of daters (8 percent of all teens) had gone out or hooked up with someone they met online. Most of those found romance on Facebook.
     The center questioned 1,060 parents and 1,060 teens during the past year. Among the other findings:

     Flirting and friending: Half of all teens signaled that they were interested in someone romantically by friending them on Facebook or another social media site.

     Entry-level flirting: The report described how flirting online is different for teens with no romantic experience. Among teens who had not been in relationships, for example, 39 percent said they would flirt or talk to someone in person; 37 percent said they had friended someone they were interested in; 34 percent liked or commented on a post; and 31 percent shared something funny or interesting online with someone.

    Advanced flirting: Among teens with romantic experience, 63 percent had sent flirtatious messages, while only 14 percent of those without dating experience had done so.  Nearly a quarter of teens with dating experience -- 23 percent -- had sent a flirtatious picture or video, compared with 2 percent of those without dating experience.

     Judgment calls:  Students interviewed were alert and able to handle inappropriate behavior online. The report found one-quarter of teens -- 35 percent of girls and 16 percent of boys -- had unfriended someone whose flirting made them uncomfortable.

     The upside: Teens use social media to express support for their friends’ relationships. Indeed 63 percent of teen daters had liked something on social media to show support for a friend’s relationship.

     The downside: The majority of experienced teen daters are annoyed by the public nature of their relationships, the report said.

     The breakup: Most teens interviewed still say the acceptable way to break up with someone is through an in-person conversation. Those with romantic experience had broken up with their partners in different ways, but most did so traditionally: 62 percent said they had broken up through in-person conversation.
    Even so, 29 percent had broken up during a phone call; 27 percent had broken up via text message; 15 percent drifted away; 6 percent had sent a private message on social media, 4 percent had broken up by posting a status update.    

    Related:

    Most teens go online daily, survey finds

    5 takeaways about technology and love
    

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