Two new studies reveal the online habits of the current generation of post-internet teenagers. A survey by website-parental control software firm Cyber Sentinel has found that the average British teenager spends 31 hours a week on the internet, reports Netimperative. Although teens spend over 3 hours online each week working on their homework, they spend nearly three times as much time communicating with friends through forums and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace (on average 9 hours per week). In addition, the average teen in the UK also spends over 8 hours each week looking at soft porn, family planning, dieting and emotional support websites. Not surprisingly, one in three teenagers admits to hiding what they are looking at from their parents.
A further European-wide study from Microsoft has determined that 45% of teenagers spend the majority of their time online using social networks, while 23% mainly go online to use instant messaging services. While 29% of teens have been bullied online, on average 51% of teens use the internet without any parental supervision.
Netimperative: http://www.netimperative.com, 10/02/2009
Microsoft press release: http://www.microsoft.com, 10/02/2009