Maybe it's an artifact of the native-adopter digital divide. Maybe it's merely a blind spot to our own complex behavior. Whatever the reason, what most of us think about how teens use the internet is wrong.
Myth #1: Teenagers are much heavier users of the internet than "we" are.
Fact: Even when you take out our work lives, adults 25 - 44 are the heaviest users of the internet. It's not our kids who are online all the time, it's us. Just at home, we're browsing ~34 hours a month, compared to 10 for the teen set. Even when it comes to relatively new behaviors, like watching video online, adults consume significantly more.
Check out these numbers from recent Nielsen research:
Myth #2: Teenagers are much savvier users of the internet than "we" are - connected around the globe, loose in social networks, generally leading the charge into a brave new world.
Fact: Just because technology has changed doesn't mean being a teenager has.
This is a sketch I shared at work recently about the profoundly different ways that "grownups" (us) and teens use social networks and media. Teens are much more likely to have a closer-in world view, to be cautious when putting themselves out there, to be worried about how they'll be perceived. While we're out boldly networking with everyone from our high school sweethearts to someone we met at a conference the other day, they're typing with the same people they sit across the lunch table with.
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