Os adolescentes americanos e os social networking sites

O fenómeno dos social networking sites dificilmente pode ser ignorado nos dias que correm. Segundo um estudo divulgado pelo Pew Internet Project, mais de metade dos adolescentes americanos (55%) frequenta regularmente este tipo de sites.

O artigo
Teens 'turn to social websites'

More than half of all net-using American teenagers use social networking sites, research suggests.
The study for the Pew Internet Project involved 935 teenagers and found 55% of American youths aged 12-17 had accounts at sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
It found that the sites were more popular with older teenage girls who tend to use them to keep in touch with their existing friends.
By contrast, boys were much more likely to use the sites to find new friends.

in BBC News - Technology

O estudo
55% of online teens use social networks and 55% have created online profiles; older girls predominate

More than half (55%) of all of online American youths ages 12-17 useonline social networking sites, according to a new national survey ofteenagers conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
The survey also finds that older teens, particularly girls, are morelikely to use these sites. For girls, social networking sites areprimarily places to reinforce pre-existing friendships; for boys, thenetworks also provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends.
A social networking site is an online place where a user can create aprofile and build a personal network that connects him or her to otherusers. In the past five years, such sites have rocketed from a nicheactivity into a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of internetusers. The explosive growth in the popularity of these sites hasgenerated concerns among some parents, school officials, and governmentleaders about the potential risks posed to young people when personalinformation is made available in such a public setting.

Versão completa em http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/198/report_display.asp