A study released yesterday found more than half of US teens have met new friends through social networks or video game forums. The perception has changed significantly in the past years with many more teens willing to make friends on the Internet.

But while the teens said that social media helped them feel more connected to their friends, they also recognized the pitfalls.

72% of teens play video games, with 84% of boys doing so, compared to 59% of girls.

The majority of teenagers don’t consider meeting strangers online a taboo, with 6 in 10 saying they have met at least one new friend on the Web. For 49% texting was the most common way they were in touch with their best friend.

In fact, the study found that while only 25% said they interacted in person with their friends on a daily basis, 55% said they did so via texting, 27% said they IM’d friends daily, and 23% said they met up on social media sites.

Modern technology also has a major impact on teens’ daily lives. Teen girls (32%) are more likely than their male counterparts (20%) to say they have had this type of conflict, while whites are more likely than blacks to have fought with a friend because of something that happened online.

Girls usually rely more than boys on social networks in their communication as well as in a search for new friends by chatting online or posting something. The vast majority of teens – 95% – still spend time in person with their friends outside of school, and 85% say they talk with friends over the phone. “Adults have tended to see time online for teenagers as this frivolous, time-wasting thing that’s just entertainment”.

But teens being on social media isn’t all well and good. Most (88%) of teen social media users believe people share too much information about themselves. And, for some, social media can bring on sadness with 21% reporting, “feeling worse about their own life because of what they see from other friends on social media”.