For many high school seniors across the country, fall marks the beginning of what is likely the most torturous few months of their lives, namely college application season.

Ask a teen why she volunteers, and she'll tell you things like "to make a difference in people's lives" or "to work on an issue I care about deeply." Ask that same teen about their volunteering habits (e.g., when, where, and with whom they volunteer), and a very different picture emerges. It turns out teens' primary motivation for volunteering isn't about creating social change. In fact, it's the same motivation that drives most of a teen's behavior: their friends are doing it.

There's a big presidential election just around the corner (in case you hadn't heard), but you might be surprised to learn that many teens are paying close attention to the race, as well as other elections going on in their cities and states. Even though most of them are too young to cast a vote, teens believe they can still have a say and make a difference in the outcomes of political races that will likely have a significant impact on their futures.

With over 100 million users in just under two years, it's clear that Instagram is a driving force in the current social media scene, and a large part of this success comes from the app's immense popularity amongst teen users. Much like a number of other sites in the past, teens have helped pave the way for Instagram to become one of the most downloaded apps on both iOS and Android.

Design? Style? Trendiness? Not even close. As the mom of a teenager and two 20-somethings, I spend plenty of time around young people, but the answer to this question still surprised me. Teens value quality above almost anything else.