There has been significant growth over the past four years in the number of teens who play games on the internet, chat, get news, shop online, and get information. Today’s teens live in a world enveloped by communications technologies; the internet and cell phones have become a central force that fuels the rhythm of daily life. Not only has the number of users increased, but also the variety of technologies that teens use to support their communication, research, and entertainment desires has grown. 

• 21 million teens use the internet and half of them say they go online every day.
• 51% of online teens live in homes with broadband connections.
• 81% of wired teens play games online, which is 52% higher than four years ago.
• 76% of online teens get news online, which is 38% higher than four years ago.
• 43% have made purchases online, which is 71% higher than four years ago.
• 31% use the internet to get health information, which is 47% higher than four years ago.

85% of online teens use instant messaging and the average amount of time spent instant messaging in a day has increased over the last four years. In the Teens’ mind, email is increasingly seen as a tool for communicating with “adults” such as teachers and as a way to convey lengthy information to large groups. Meanwhile, IM is used for everyday conversations with multiple friends that range from casual to more serious and private exchanges. Instant messaging is also used as a place of personal expression. Through buddy icons or other customization of the look and feel of IM communications, teens can express and differentiate themselves.



12 to 17 year-olds spend seven hours per week online versus 10 hours watching TV — an online-to-TV gap that is wider than that of adults. Teens also more regularly engage in instant messaging, Weblogs, gaming, music and movies than adults.