How Teens Communicate
January 27, 2012
If you’ve been around teenagers for about five minutes, you know that some of the rules of engagement have changed in their social world, while others have stayed the same.
This quick review of a phone-poll study, “How Teenagers Communicate: 7 Things You Should Know” offers a great reminder: as much as teenagers love their technology, they still need—and actually want—face time with friends. When asked what method of communication they’d miss the most if taken away, here were their top rankings:
1. Meet “in person” (58 percent ranked it No. 1)
2. Texting (28 percent)
3. Talk on the mobile phone (5 percent)
4. Facebook (5 percent)
5. Talk on the home phone, email, video chat, chat, Twitter (tie at 1 percent)
Make no mistake, technology is king among teenagers who have access to it. And a phone call home-to-home doesn’t have near the allure it once held. But today’s adolescents still realize the importance of being together in person (even if it’s being together in person while using their tech devices).
©2012 Fuller Youth Institute