Teenagers Abandon Blogging for Social Networking

A study by the Pew Internet and American Life project found that the number of teenagers blogging has decreased by half over the past three years, with many turning to social networking sites like Facebook instead. The study also revealed that only 14 percent of teenagers who use the Internet keep an online journal or blog, down from 28 percent in 2006. Furthermore, fewer than one in 10 teens use Twitter, a surprising finding given its popularity. The decline in blogging is attributed to the explosion of social networking sites and the ubiquity of cell phones, which make long-form writing less appealing.

Key Takeaways:

Blogging among teenagers has decreased by 50% over the past three years, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life project.
Only 14% of teenagers who use the Internet keep an online journal or blog, down from 28% in 2006.
Fewer than one in 10 teens use Twitter, despite its overall popularity.
Social networking sites like Facebook are a major factor in the decline of blogging among teenagers.
The study found that 73% of teens who are online use social networking sites.
Teenagers are shying away from Twitter because they see it as designed for celebrities and because of reluctance to put their thoughts on a public forum.
Older people are becoming more comfortable with the online environment, while young people are moving on to social networking and text messaging.

Statistics:

50% decrease in blogging among teenagers over the past three years (Pew Internet and American Life project).
14% of teenagers who use the Internet keep an online journal or blog (Pew Internet and American Life project).
28% of teenagers kept an online journal or blog in 2006 (Pew Internet and American Life project).
73% of teens who are online use social networking sites (Pew Internet and American Life project).
Only 8% of teenagers use Twitter (Pew Internet and American Life project).
The study was based on a telephone survey of 800 people, aged 12 to 17, conducted from June to September 2009 (Pew Internet and American Life project).

Sources:

Pew Internet and American Life project
Reuters