A study conducted in the U.S. by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the results of which were published on Wednesday, showed that younger internet users are losing interest in blogging as a means of communication and are increasingly embracing shorter and more mobile forms of communication.
Since 2006, the number of teenage bloggers in the U.S. aged between 12 and 17 has halved, dropping to 14 percent. Instead, they prefer using social networks and connected mobile phones to communicate what they want to say through short texts and messages. Blogging seems to be turning into a communication oasis for older internet users, as the study records an increase in bloggers over the age of 30. From 2007 to 2009, the number of adult internet users who blogged increased from seven to 11 percent. With the change in tools and technologies embedded in increasingly widespread social networks, young people are turning to microblogging. Additionally, more and more young people, 55 percent of those aged 18 to 29 and 27 percent of those aged 12 to 17, access the internet via mobile phones, which only emphasizes the growing need for brevity in communication. One student, a participant in the study, simply explained this loss of interest in blogging and long forms: ‘You have to type quickly, and reading isn’t really fun for people.’ (Davorka Zmijarević)
