Understanding Tweens & Teens
Recently I was asked if I knew any good places to go to read about children and their use of technology. As a part of my job, I read a great deal about the Millennial Generation (those born between 1982 and 2001) and those coming next in the yet-to-be-named youngest generation (hint: might be called something like the “9-11 Generation”). So, I thought I’d take this month to lay out some resources you might consider checking out.
There’s a great deal of research and studies on today’s teenagers and “tweenagers” regarding how unique this generation is from previous ones - particularly on their use of technology. Probably the best and most recent resource is from The Pew Internet and American Life Project called “Teens and Technology” (http://www.pewinternet.org/report_display.asp?r=162).
Another good resource is from Harris Interactive and their monthly newsletter called “Trends and Tudes” (http://harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_k12.asp).
If you’re interested in learning more about your own “Millennial”, two gentleman wrote a series of books about this generation - Neil Howe and William Strauss. Probably one of their best books is called Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (http://www.lifecourse.com/products/millennialsrising.html).
Did You Know?
7.8 - the number of hours each week children socialize with friends online (compared to 10.3 hours socializing in-person)