Molotech

High figures for teenage online social networking in the USA

June 12th, 2007

The following statistics were revealed by a 2005 study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project titled Teen Content Creators and Consumers:

• 57% of online teens (ages 12-17) in the USA create content for the internet. That amounts to half of all teens, or about 12 million youth.
• 33% of online teens share their own creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories, or videos.
• In the ages 15-17 (older teens), 25% of online girls keep a blog, compared with 15% of online boys.

In 2007, Pew Internet & American Life Project published the results of a national survey titled Social Networking Websites and Teens, as follows:

• More than half (55%) of all of online American youths ages 12-17 use an online social networking sites.
• Older teens, particularly girls, are more likely to use these sites. For girls, social networking sites are places to reinforce pre-existing friendships, while for the boys who use the sites, the networks provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends.
• The most popular site is MySpace.com (85% of teens surveyed used it).
• In focus groups, teens explained that a social network profile is more engaging if it changes frequently. Thus, those who are most interested in maintaining an appealing profile must make frequent visits to social network sites, both to edit one’s profile and to view the profiles of others. Almost half of social network-using teens visit the sites either once a day (26%) or several times a day (22%).

The question for those in developing countries is simply: with limited access will the same high adoption rate of online social networking sites occur? If a South African teenager can only change her profile once a week, is the online dynamic between her and her friends still engaging?

Two facts begin to point to an answer: 1) in the second Pew study, the statistics for teen activities remained much the same across racial and economic lines, and 2) in South Africa the massive popularity of MXit shows that teens do connect with each other via technology. A solution that combines the pervasiveness and affordability of MXit, with the persistence of an online profile page, is surely something worth exploring.

Of course the overriding question is: what does this mean for education? Can these online activities be harnessed for educational value?

Entry Filed under: Technology