Teenagers and young adults are losing interest in blogging as they increasingly turn to social networking sites and mobile phones, according to a new study.
The study, from the Pew Internet and American Life project, also found that fewer than one in 10 teens were using Twitter, a surprising finding given overall popularity of the micro-blogging site.
Only 14% of teenagers who use the internet say they kept an online journal or blog, compared with a peak of 28% in 2006 – and only 8% were using Twitter.
Pew researcher Aaron Smith said he was surprised at the findings but understood that the technological landscape was changing.
Much of the communication between young people now takes place on mobile devices, which don't lend themselves to long-form writing.
However, teens may be shying away from Twitter because they see it as designed for celebrities and because of reluctance to put their thoughts on such a public forum when they can post them to their Facebook page instead.
Blogging among adults has held steady since 2005, Pew found, but it has dropped among internet users between the age of 18 and 29 – while rising in those over 30.
The findings add further weighting to the importance of social media for marketers in reaching young consumers both through dialogue and advertising.
Commercial Director at Facebook UK, Stephen Haines, has provided UTalkMarketing with his best advice on how brands can best attract and engage with fans, through a brand Facebook page.
A new tool to measure the impact of advertising, that has been developed by Nielsen in association Facebook, is also being rolled out in the UK after trials in the US.
 |
Your comments |
Be the first to comment on this article