Pew’s fascinating report on teens and technology, released July 27 and much publicized since, says teens have begun to express preferences for using instant messaging more often than e-mail.
“Teens … said that they view email as something you use to talk to ‘old people,’ institutions, or to send complex instructions to large groups. When it comes to casual written conversation, particularly when talking with friends, online instant messaging is the clearly the mode of choice for today’s online teens.”
Good to know. But before you rush to accommodate this preference with new information products, don’t miss the point:
Teens accustomed to using online services prefer IM for interpersonal, not institutional, communication.
That makes sense. IM’s a fine way to chat with one friend, or even a small circle of friends, without tying up the home phone or burning cell plan minutes. It may even feel more “private” to ever-clandestine teen cliques.
Media folks, unfortunately, have a habit of picking up the top line of a consumer habits study — especially one like this that suggests a particular tool or technology is hot, and especially with younger consumers — and trying to port what they already do into that hot environment.
None of these findings, however, suggest a no-brainer, mass-media-style product to reach teens via IM. In fact, teens’ motivations for IM run counter to the notion that they would respond well to IM “broadcasts,” or large-group communications in an IM window.
And not all teens say they’re ready to replace face-to-face or phone talk with IM. In the same study, many respondents still expressed preferences for talking with friends on phones. Chasers know text communications don’t always convey the emotional nuances of vocal or facial expressions; apparently, teens know this even better.
So, want to develop online products to address the findings of the Pew study? Don’t focus on the tools, whether IM, e-mail or telephony. Focus on the motivator threaded through what teens say about the tools.
Current and former teens alike know it. It’s the desire to gain and maintain friendships. The urge to be social. Not much in mainstream news products helps teens with this most basic emotional need. That’s too bad.
Media regulars view their role as providers of information and dialogue that help people understand the world around them. So we must be able to offer something — information, tools, interaction venues or even just empathy — to help teens succeed with friendships without sounding like a cheerful but clueless aunt.
Ideas? Let’s have ’em!
