Teen-agers buy a lot of stuff and will buy even more stuff in the near future, so it's no wonder that marketers closely watch their online behavior to identify early trends in mainstream media and product consumption.
The first trend revealed is not surprising, though it can perhaps be interpreted as a sign of relief in these troubled Web times: American teens overall are more likely to be Net users than adults. More than 17 million teens, or three-fourths of all U.S. kids ages 12 to 17, go online each month, according to market research firm Cyber Dialogue. Conversely, only 42 percent of adults surf the Web at least once a month.
Another trend, however, comes as a bit of a surprise: Despite the perception that kids have ditched baseball and the mall in favor of the Web, kids actually spend less time online than adults do. According to Jupiter Media Metrix, U.S. adults spend an average of 837 minutes on the Web in April - three times the number of minutes teen-agers spend online. Teens also tend to access the Web less frequently than adults, going online an average of eight days per month, compared with the 15 days per month that adults access the Web.
What gives? Even if they spend less time on the Web, teen-agers are apt to try more online activities than adults. Three-quarters of them use instant messaging, compared with 44 percent of adults. More than half download music online, while only 29 percent of adults have done so. Even more surprising still, teen-agers are more likely to read news and check sports scores online than adults.
So teens tend to get what they need on the Web and then get off, whereas adults tend to wander around cyberspace, perhaps aimlessly. Yet for all their focus, few teenagers are putting money into the pockets of Net retailers. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project study, only 31 percent of teenagers have ever purchased a product online, compared with 53 percent of adults.
But then again, most of the teenagers online have yet to get their first credit card.
| ALMOST THREE FOURTHS OF U.S. TEENS ARE ONLINE | |||
| Distribution of Web Users vs. Total Population By Age Group | |||
| Total | Online | Percent Online | |
| Teens | 23.8 | 17.4 | 73% |
| Adults | 202.1 | 84.9 | 42% |
| In millions. Represents Internet users who go online at least once a month. Source: Cyber Dialogue, December 2000 | |||
| TEENS SPEND LESS TIME ONLINE THAN ADULTS | ||
| Avg. Monthly Net Use Minutes | ||
| DATE | TEENS | ADULTS |
| 06/00 | 321 | 728 |
| 11/00 | 272 | 858 |
| 04/01 | 264 |
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