Teens Are Turning Screen Time Into Money

More than ever, teens are turning their screen time into money. Thanks to new online opportunities, many young people are earning their first bits of income through things like social media, gaming, streaming, and e-commerce. 

A recent survey by Whop (a social e-commerce platform) uncovered some really interesting data around how Americans aged 12 to 18  are making money online — including those who are still too young for legal employment in many states (aged 12 to 15).  

What The Survey Found

While some estimates find that children aged 8 to 18 spend 7.5 hours per day on screens, it's important to note that also includes educational materials and homework. More specifically when it comes to things like social media and gaming, Whop quotes Gallup as saying kids spend on average 4.8 hours per day on social media. 

The survey included 1,655 Americans aged 12 to 18 and focused on a few main questions: if the participants were earning money through online channels, the scale of their screen time and online activity, how much they were making, and through what means. 

Some key takeaways:

• A whopping 42 percent of kids are earning money through online channels
• Last year, the average teen earned $718 online
• Teens aged 12-15 (below the legal working limit) earned $561 on average online
• One out of every 625 teens is classified as "ultra-high earning," meaning they made more than $10,000 in a year online. 
• More teens are earning money online than through employment (which makes sense, seeing as those aged 12-15 can't legally be employed in many instances)
• The highest earning category was e-commerce, especially selling clothing and accessories online

Just Like With Adults, Location Matters

Interestingly, the top earning teens were mostly concentrated in urban areas, especially along the West Coast. San Jose was the area with the highest yearly average per teen at $1,704.60, while Seattle came in 24th on the list with an average of $335.57. 

The biggest outlier location on the list was Anchorage, Alaska, which came in at No. 2 with an average of $1,546.25 and is significantly smaller than the other urban areas. 

Other slightly surprising locations for higher earning teens on the list include Jacksonville, Florida at $1,256.72 and Indianapolis, Indiana at $867.76 (right above Los Angeles, no less). 

E-commerce Makes The Most On Average, But Social Media Has A Higher Ceiling

One in six teens are actively selling things like clothing and accessories online. The average haul for teens using e-commerce was a little over $100 annually. This compares to an average of $93 per year for those earning money from social media brand sponsorships.

Nearly one in four teens report being approached to work with a brand through social media or knowing someone who has. The kicker here, is that Whop reports, "Half a million (486,101) US teens are high earning in this category, earning five times higher than the average with $1,000 or more in brand-sponsored social media earnings." 

Fewer teens earn money streaming video games or playing in e-sports tournaments, but the ceiling was also much higher for these individuals than for e-commerce.

Here's a full breakdown of sources and averages, according to Whop.

What It Means For Young People (And Parents)

With more and more young people earning money online, it may slowly erode the assumptions that screen time is entirely negative for teens. After all, these kids are learning valuable entrepreneurial skills at a young age.

That doesn't, however, change the fact that social media can still be harmful to everyone, but especially to those who are still developing their sense of self. 

It's also important to note that, in most cases, people under the legal age of 18 need parental help with even some of the basic infrastructure involved, such as creating bank accounts to receive transactions online. When you factor in these hurdles along with things like potential social media bans for people under the age of 16, well, you see how the barrier to entry for earning online can be pretty steep. While technically anybody can make money from their online presence, teens in underdeveloped or underprivileged areas clearly face a greater burden.

These factors make it even more incredible that two in five teenagers make money online in the first place. If you're a young person looking to get started, or have kids who are interested in turning their screen time into income, it makes sense to approach the practice with a cautious but optimistic attitude. While all the rules of online safety certainly still apply, helping a teen turn their online presence into income could be one of the best things for their future careers and ambitions.