Nielsen Finds Teenagers Are Not as Out There as Thought

It may be time to rethink those assumptions about teenagers. A recent Nielsen report found that the idea that teens somehow “behave radically differently than other consumers and that their habits change so quickly they are an unknowable, unmeasurable market segment that evades understanding and engagement” is not entirely true. The survey found that while teens are unique, taken as a whole teens exhibit media habits that are more similar to the total population than not. “They are the digital natives, super-communicators and multitaskers we hear so much about, but they are also the TV viewers, newspaper readers and radio listeners that some assume they are not,” said the report. “What we have found, across a variety of studies, is that teens embrace new media not at the cost of traditional media but in supplement to it.” In addition, the overall media experience is rapidly evolving across all demographics. According to the report, the media universe is expanding for teens. Social networks play an increasingly important role, with about half of U.S. teens using Facebook and some 37% of U.S. teens accessing the Web over their phones. The media experience has evolved, but the findings indicated that cross-platform engagement will be critical to reaching all consumers, not just teens.