A Portrait of the Digital Teen

A recent report published by Pew Internet creates a fascinating picture of the on-line media habits of the 12-17 year olds. Some findings at a glance:

• The use of social media – from blogging to on-line social networking to creation of all kinds of digital material – is central to many teenagers’ lives. 
• Girls continue to lead the charge as the teen blogosphere grows; 28% of on-line teens have created a blog, up from 19% in 2004. 
• The growth in blogs tracks with the growth in teens’ use of social networking sites, but they do not completely overlap.
• On-line boys are avid users of video-sharing websites such as You-Tube, and boys are more likely than girls to upload.
• Digital images – stills and videos – have a big role in teen life. Posting images and video often starts a virtual conversation. Most teens receive some feedback on the content they post on-line.
• Most teens restrict access to their posted photos and videos – at least some of the time. Adults restrict access to the same content less often.
• In the midst of the digital media mix, the land-line is still a lifeline for teen social life. Multi-channel teens layer each new communications opportunity on top of pre-existing channels.
• Email continues to lose its luster among teens as texting, instant messaging, and social networking sites facilitate more frequent contact with friends.

Some curious facts about teen blogging
Apparently, girls continue to dominate the teen blogosphere; 35% of all on-line teen girls blog, compared with just 20% of on-line teen boys. The gender gap for blogging has grown larger over time. Virtually all of the growth in teen blogging between 2004 and 2006 is due to the increased activity of girls. Older teen girls are still far more likely to blog when compared with older boys (38% vs. 18%), but younger girl bloggers have grown at such a fast clip that they are now outpacing even the older boys (32% of younger girls blog vs. 18% of older boys). 

Beyond gender and age, two new developments emerged in this survey in the demographics of teens who blog. While there was little or no variation in blogging activity among teens according to household income or family structure in 2004, both variables have become important indicators in the 2006 data. Teens living in households earning less than $50,000 per year are considerably more likely to blog than those living in higher-income households; fully 35% of on-line teens whose parents fall in the lower
income brackets have created an on-line journal or blog, while just 24% of those in the higher income brackets have done so.

An even more pronounced contrast is evident when looking at teens who live with single parents vs. those who live with married parents. On-line teens living in single-parent homes are far more likely to have shared their writing through a blog; 42% of these teens keep a blog compared with 25% of teens living with married parents.

Hmmm.. curiouser and curiouser as Alice would have said. I particularly wonder about the propensity of kids of divorced parents to be blogging, are they just venting their spleen or have they learnt to express their thinking more as a result of the complexity of their family life compared to those with both parents still at home?

For more information visit the Digital native research project.

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