Study: Teens blog and use Twitter less than young adults

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on February 3, 2010 at 5:01 PM

Teens and young adults blog less today than they did in 2006, while older adults are blogging more than ever, according to a Pew Internet Project survey, out today. Teens are also not using Twitter in large numbers, with just 8 percent of Internet users ages 12-17 using the micro-blogging service.

Currently, 14 percent of online teens say they have a blog, while 28 percent said so in 2006. Comments on blogs are down too, with 76 percent of teen social network users saying they commented on friends' blogs in 2006. Today, that number is 52 percent. For adults, 24 percent of those ages 18 to 29 said they blogged in December 2007, while just 7 percent of those age 30 and older did so. By 2009, less users age 18 to 29 blogged - just 15 percent of Internet users - while 11 percent of those age 30 and older have a personal blog.

When it comes to Twitter, older teens are more likely to use it than younger teens - 5 percent of online teens age 12 to 13 use Twitter, while 10 percent of teens ages 14 to 17 do so. Of teens, high school girls are most likely to use Twitter, with 13 percent of those ages 14 to 17 doing so; meanwhile, just 7 percent of boys the same age use Twitter.

Mobile phone ownership and Internet use is "near ubiquitous among teens and young adults," according to the study. Wireless Internet is used most by young adults, and laptops are now chosen more than desktops for those under age 30.

For more on this study, part of the Pew Research Center's series of reports the Millennial Generation, visit the Pew Web site.