Changing Audience Habits: Teens Today

A recently released Nielsen study of the media habits of teens (ages 12-17) indicated that:

• Text more frequently than any other age group (twice as much as nearest demo), and talk less on the phone.  77% of teens have their own mobile phones, and another 11% regularly borrow one.
• Almost 80% use social media or blogs
• Are the heaviest viewers of mobile video (over 7 hours/month), but watch traditional TV less than other age groups
• Even so, their TV viewing is up slightly, and Internet use down slightly - although their Internet use is more highly targeted.
• Only 1 in 4 read a newspaper

Raised in the Internet Age, with an ever-expanding range of choices in media and content, teens are developing an evolving set of media use practices that emphasize personalization and constant connectedness.  The high adoption of mobile and social media show an emphasis on being connected, and the shift in emphasis from traditional mass media to channels allowing more user control over content choice, means of delivery, and location of consumption, suggests that teens are embracing the idealf greater choice and control over their media experiences. 
None of this is really new - it's a continuation of trends over the last ten years or so.  But it's another call for traditional media to rethink it's conventional audience model - where the media users are passive, anonymous, receptors of whatever content the media outlet chooses to deliver.  A new audience choice model is emerging.

Source: "Teen Media Behavior; Texting, Talking, Socializing, TV Watching, Mobiling." Research Brief from the Center for Media Research