A new research published by Pew Research Center shows blogging has decreased with internet users under the age of 30. The study was of teens 12 to 17 and young adults 18 to 29 and their Social Media habits. In 2006 28 percent of the group was active bloggers, as of fall 2009 only 14 percent of teens and 15 percent of young adults were actively blogging.
One reason for this trend is the rise in popularity of Facebook as the number one social network in America. Users on Facebook are able to post status updates that are limited in the amount of characters one may use. Now known as microblogging, this allows members of the site use their status updates to let others know what they are doing or how they are feeling at the time. This quick form of communication seems to work better for younger people who are used to getting information fast.
Myspace, which was once the most popular social network, encouraged it's users to blog. The site has a blog interface that is available to everyone that joins. Facebook is now used by 73 percent of young adults, compared to 48 percent for MySpace.
Ironically, teen use of Twitter, a site developed around microblogging, is much lower than all adults. Only 8 percent of teens use Twitter on a regular basis. This increases heavily for young adults 18 to 29 at 33 percent. Only 19 percent of all adults use Twitter.
These trends mean that businesses that want to use the internet to market to young adults and teens must be aware of microblogging. While adults still are responding the to concept of blogging, potential customers who are younger are looking for information that is quick and to the point. To capture young adults and teens' attention it makes good business sense to have both a Twitter and a Facebook account. This will allow organizations to cross promote on both social networks by microblogging on constant basis to an up and coming customer base.