Chile Leads OECD Teen Social Media Use
- Chilean 15-year-olds spend more than 45 hours a week on social media, the highest figure among OECD member countries, according to a 2026 OECD report.
- The survey's general average stands at 35 hours per week, placing Chile more than ten hours above the international benchmark.
- The report, titled Growing Up in the Age of Social Media, notes that Chilean teenagers' weekly platform use exceeds the length of a standard working week.
Chile has ranked first among OECD member countries for teenage social media use, with 15-year-olds spending more than 45 hours a week on digital platforms — surpassing the length of a standard working week — according to an OECD report published in 2026.
Well above the international average
The report, titled Growing Up in the Age of Social Media, places Chilean adolescents significantly above the survey's general average of 35 hours per week — a gap of more than ten hours. The finding positions Chile at the top of a ranking spanning the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's full membership, which includes some of the world's most technologically developed nations.
A finding that sharpens a wider debate
The data adds statistical weight to a debate about the digital environments in which young people are growing up. Legal pressure over how platforms handle teenagers' data has intensified in other jurisdictions, while human rights organisations have raised concerns about social networks' effects on minors across Latin America. The OECD figures, drawn from a survey of 15-year-olds, place Chile at the centre of that conversation. Whether the volume of time Chilean teenagers spend online translates into measurable harm to their wellbeing is not addressed in the findings summarised here, and remains an open question.
