Older teen girls (ages 15-17), on the other hand, almost universally use the networks both as a way to maintain contact with current friends, and as a bridge to friends they seldom see. Overall, older teens are more likely than younger teens to report using the sites to communicate with those they rarely see in person (86% vs. 76%), but older teen girls are the ones who account for much of this gap. Nine in ten (90%) older girls who use social networking say they rely on the sites to stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person, compared with just three in four (74%) younger girls (ages 12-14). In comparison, 81% of older teen boys, and 78% of younger boys say they use social networks to maintain friendships with people they rarely see.