Editor's note: This article appeared in the August 26, 2009, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.
American teens are not as alien in their media usage as you may think. Sure, it might be of-the-moment to suggest they're too busy texting or tweeting to be engaged with traditional media - television, radio, newspapers - but ultimately, study results from New York researcher The Nielsen Company prove otherwise.
Teens are not abandoning TV for new media. In fact, they watch more TV than ever, up 6 percent over the past five years in the U.S. Teens also love the Internet but spend far less time browsing than adults; teens spend an average of 11 hours and 32 minutes per month online - far below the adult average of 29 hours and 15 minutes. Teens spend 35 percent less time watching online video than adults age 25-34 but recall ads better when watching TV shows online than they do on television. When teens do watch TV, those who recall TV ads are 44 percent more likely to say they liked the ad.
Teens' favorite TV shows, top Web sites and genre preferences across media are mostly the same as their parents. For U.S. teens, American Idol was the top show in 2008, Google the top Web site and general dramas are a preferred TV genre.
"The media experience is broadening for all consumers, not just teens," says Nic Covey, director of insights for The Nielsen Company. "Looking at our research across markets and media, we see that, contrary to popular assumption, teens are actually pretty normal in their usage, and more attentive than most give them credit for."