About 21 million or 87% of those ages 12-17 use the Internet, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The results highlight that this is a generation comfortable with content-creating technology. Teens are eager to share their thoughts, experiences, and creations with the wider Internet population. Some key findings:
- 33% of online teens share their own creative content online, such as artwork, photos, stories or videos.
- 32% say that they have created or worked on webpages or blogs for others, including groups they belong to, friends or school assignments.
- 22% report keeping their own personal webpage.
- 19% of online teens keep a blog, and 38% of online teens read blogs.
- 19% of Internet-using teens say they remix content they find online into their own artistic creations.
"For American teens, blogs are about self-expression, building relationships, and carving out a presence online," said Amanda Lenhart, co-author of the report entitled, "Teen Content Creators and Consumers" and Senior Research Specialist at the Project. "Most young people aren't spending their time at the highly-trafficked A-list blogs. They're reading and creating the 'long-tail' of blogs -- personal sites read by networks of friends and family."
