I’m fairly obsessed with technology and the web in general. But I really don’t get the MySpace phenomenon. Sure, I get it conceptually. But I don’t get it personally. I’m probably just too old. Through blogging, I’ve established some new and rewarding professional connections and have had some old friends reconnect with me through Google searches. But, ultimately, most of my friends are non-geeks in the 25-35 age bracket. It wouldn’t even occur to them to use the web for social networking like the MySpace generation does.
A recent Pew study shows that the web really is becoming a way of life for American teens. The age gap I feel is real. Here are some key stats:
I think the divide in the way teenagers and adults use the Internet is even wider than the study shows. The adults I know who maintain and read blogs typically do so in a perso-professional way. They blog about politics, technology, their jobs, etc. Less so about their personal lives. I would argue that nearly all of the teenagers are blogging/creating content as an extension of their social lives.
As Danah Boyd wrote in her great essay about why MySpace has been so successful:
“…i think we’re seeing a huge shift in social life – negotiating super publics. I kinda suspect that MySpace teens are going to lead the way in figuring this out, just as teens in the 60s and 70s paved the way to figuring out globalized life with TV.”
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