Those were the days when my generation was getting all the attention and hype (Reality Bites, Slacker and Singles anyone?). But as touched on in our "Minds the Gaps" post, Gen X's big new role might be playing interpreter between the massive generations that surround it on either sides. No small task considering the wide gulf largely caused by usage of technology that separate the Millennials and the Boomers.
This obviously has big impact on policy issues as Boomer-laden regulatory and legislative bodies try to fathom numbers largely driven by Millennials like 90 million MySpace accounts and 100 million daily YouTube video views while they move towards creating rules around these types of services -- like DOPA.
Figuring out the new, constantly changing technology is hard enough. But, then combine that with the often Quixotic mission of understanding what kids are doing with their time and why, and you begin to realize how much interpreting that needs to get done.
The LA Times is doing its part this week with a five-day series on how 12 to 24-year-olds view and consume entertainment. We'll wrap up the complete report when it's done, but wanted to tease it with this interesting list of unconventional wisdom about today's youth.
(list after the jump along with Kim Wilde's generational echo from the 1980s...)
So most young Americans get their news from Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show"? Don't be so sure. The first annual Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll managed to bust a number of myths. Among them:
Myth: More young adults cast ballots for "American Idol" than vote in political elections.
Truth: Only 21% of poll respondents ages 18 to 24 said they had voted for an "American Idol" contestant. But 53% said they had voted for a candidate for public office.
Myth: Kids run rampant on the Internet, evading the supervision of their parents, who are too old to figure out what their children are up to.
Truth: Nearly 7 in 10 of 12- to 17-year-olds said their parents knew how they spent their time online. Nearly 3 out of 5 12- to 14-year-olds said their parents restricted what they could download. About a third of boys and girls ages 12 to 14 are not allowed to go on social networking sites such as MySpace.com. Only 19% of boys and 13% of girls reported having no parental restrictions on computer use.
Myth: It's the rare teen who doesn't have a MySpace account these days.Truth: More than half of teens ages 12 to 17 don't use social networking sites.
[Ed note: Still, if *half* do, isn't that a pretty darn big, influential and presumably growing number? Most interersting would be seeing the socio-economic break out on this response. Note that the Times says that "the survey results were weighted to U.S. census figures for 12- to 24-year-olds in the United States in terms of age, race or ethnicity, gender and region, and for urban or rural residence and Internet access."].
Myth: The Internet and MTV play a key role in influencing the music young people buy.
Truth: Fifty-seven percent of teens and young adults said they first heard new music on the radio. At least 3 out of 10 in both groups learned about new music by watching a music video on TV.
Myth: Time on the computer has replaced all those hours spent watching TV.
Truth: Almost half of teens said they spent up to two hours on the Internet each day, 29% said they spent up to four hours and 15% said they spent more than four hours. Twenty-three percent said they spent more than four hours watching TV. Many do both simultaneously.
Myth: Box-office receipts have suffered in recent years because the movies are bad and young people don't like bad movies.
Truth: The main reason young people give for not liking the theater experience is that tickets and concessions cost too much. Bad movies were ranked below moviegoers who talk during the feature and too many advertisements.
Myth: Most young adults get their news about current events from satirical shows such as "The Daily Show" or the Internet.
Truth: Just 3% of teenagers and 6% of young adults cited such programs as "The Daily Show" as their main source of information about current events. Only 10% of teens and 11% of young adults said blogs or other websites were their best source. Teens and young adults said they most frequently kept up by talking with friends and family and watching local TV news.
Kids...while we try to get you, humor us by checking out how we rocked out in 1981...
Its no use in blaming the youth for getting confused, they are following waht mankind has been doing for ages adapt to new things if they prefer to vote for artists rather than politics because they are fed up of it. Its dirty and confusing but music is simple.
If we can tap the right wire here we can use the modern culture to benifit everyone
Posted by: Marc | September 09, 2006 at 10:19 AM
One more issue is that video games are generally serious naturally with the primary focus on learning rather than amusement. Although, it comes with an entertainment facet to keep your kids engaged, each game will likely be designed to improve a specific set of skills or program, such as math or research. Thanks for your post.
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