Report: Teen content creation rises

New data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that more American teens are creating and sharing material on the 'Net. Among the findings:

-64% of teens who are online have created content (social networking profiles, blogs, photo publishing, video posting, etc.), up from 57% in 2004

-28% of online teens maintain a blog

-The growth in blogging is fueled mostly by girls

"Content is created for an audience," according to Amanda Lenhart, Senior
Research Specialist. "For teens, the beauty of the internet, particularly social networking websites, is that content can be created and easily shared among a network of friends. Even more compelling is that people in those social networks
can easily comment and give feedback on shared content."

The Pew report also identifies a kind of super-communicator - teens who use every kind of electronic communication tool available to them, old and new. These "multi-channel" users represent more than a quarter of online teens.

"There wasn't any exchange," Lenhart said. "It's not like they stopped using the land line and started using the cell phone more. They just layered the new types of communications tools on top of the old types."

I'll talk with Lenhart on tomorrow's Future Tense.