Media Usage and Youth

In this day and age, relationships, and communication within those relationships, are changing at a rapidly increasing rate. Consider the following statistics from a 2009 study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project (Teens and Social Media, April 2009). It is reported that:

93% of teenagers, ages twelve to seventeen, are online
60% of teenagers have their own desktop or laptop computer
89% of teenagers get online from home
77% go online at school
71% go online from a friend’s or relative’s house
60% go online from a library
66% of households with teenagers go online via broadband, 22% via dial up, and 10% do not have access at home
63% of teenagers go online daily.

Teenage daily communication occurs in the following ways:

71% of teenagers own a cell phone
51% of teens use their cell phones regularly
42% of teens send messages through social networking sites
38% of teens send text messages to each other
32% of teens talk to friends on a landline phone
29% spend time with friends in person outside of school
26% send instant messages
16% send email regularly.

As evidenced above, the majority of young people today utilize new technologies and social networking sites with much greater regularity than traditional e-mail accounts. In fact, the use of such sites is so popular among teenagers that it is increasingly difficult to reach a significant demographic in that population without using this technology.

Therefore, out of pastoral and practical necessity, youth ministry and catechetical leaders, pastors, teachers, school staff, and catechists use this technology to communicate with young people and their parents.