US Teens compose constantly Online.
March 28, 2008
Just don’t call it writing.
US teens are nearly universal users of the Internet and e-mail, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project-National Commission on Writing report titled “Writing, Technology and Teens,” conducted from September to November 2007.
The study was conducted to determine the relationship between online and “real” writing. While educators hope to turn teens’ heavy use of electronic text into solid writing skills, the data should also interest marketers who want to reach teens.
More than nine out of 10 US teens surveyed said they used the Internet or e-mail.
Responding teens were heavy users of electronic communications overall: 71% had a mobile phone, 59% had a notebook or desktop PC, 58% had a social network profile and 27% had a blog.
Despite all the electronic text in their lives, teens usually do not think of themselves as writing.
“There is a big gap in the minds of teenagers between the ‘real’ writing they do for school and the texts they compose for their friends,” said Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at Pew.
Although responding teens did not think their use of computers or text-based communications with friends influenced their formal writing, many said the informal styles that characterize their electronic communications sometimes bled into schoolwork.
A plurality (35%) of US adults surveyed in a January 2008 463 Communications-Zogby International study said that 13 to 15 was the right age for children to start using e-mail.
Girls continue to be heavier users of electronic communications than boys. According to the Pew study, 44% of teen girls send text messages daily, compared with 28% of boys. And girls were twice as likely as boys to send messages daily through social networking sites (31% compared with 16%).
“The role of technology in teen girls’ lives cannot be underestimated,” said eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “Because they use an array of communications devices on a daily basis, marketers must think about extending their messaging to a variety of platforms to effectively reach them.”
To view report CLICK on link below (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
< http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Writing_Report_FINAL3.pdf>
