Youth, Blogs & Publishing Revolution

Owen Gibson reports that the extent of the personal publishing revolution has been revealed by a Guardian/ICM poll showing that a third of all young people online have launched their own blog or website. A generation has grown up using the internet as its primary means of communication, thanks to an early grasp of online communities and messaging services as well as simple technology allowing web users to launch a personal weblog, or blog, without any specialist technical knowledge. On average, people between 14 and 21 spend almost eight hours a week online, but it is far from a solitary activity. There are signs of a significant generation gap, and rather than using the internet as their parents do - as an information source, to shop or to read newspapers online - most young people are using it to communicate with one another. In the US, as the Pew Internet study points out despite concerns about what teens may encounter online, the vast majority of parents believe that use of the internet is beneficial to their children. The report highlights that more than two-thirds of parents of online teens believe that overall the internet is a good thing for their child. Less than 5% of all parents think the internet is a bad thing for their son or daughter. This trend towards online communication has already manifested itself among music fans, with enthusiastic new communities forming around the latest bands often before they have even released a single or been heard on the radio. The explosion in cheaper high-speed internet access, which allows quicker access to music and video files and is typically charged at a flat monthly rate, has led to an upsurge in the time web users spend online. Some will have started personal sites with rudimentary personal information or centered around music or sport, while others have become mini publishing magnates before leaving school. Advertising is rapidly migrating online. Online advertising market will double in next four/five years.

Category : Youth