IM is for teens what email is for adults

Stan Beer
Sunday, 10 December 2006 17:23

Your IT - Home IT

A new poll from AP and AOL has revealed a stark difference in the way teenagers and adults communicate online. The poll indicates that teenagers prefer the immediacy and conversation style of instant messaging, while adults prefer the more considered memo style of email.

The AP-AOL Instant Messaging Trends Survey, polled a national sample of 1,513 instant messaging users, including 1,013 adults aged 19 and older and 500 teens aged 13-18.

According to the survey, nearly three in four teens (72%) who use instant messaging say they send more IMs than emails. However, in the case of adults, the results are reversed, with 74% of adults saying they send more emails than IMs.

Unlike adults, who tend to use IM for chatting with friends or sending messages at work, teens are far more likely to use IM to share music, videos and photos.

About 30% of teens, sampled in the survey, say they can't imagine lving without IM. The figure for adults is 17%.