Interactividade e personalização

«BRITAIN'S "wired generation" is increasingly shunning television, radio and newspapers in favour of online networking, websites and downloading media to phones and iPods. The 16-24-year age bracket now watches TV for an hour less per day than the average viewer and listens to 15 minutes a day less radio than average. They also say they read fewer newspapers because of their internet use. The findings emerge in Ofcom's communications market report for 2005. It says Britain's young people arrange their lives online and via mobile phones. But rather than just surfing the web, teenagers are increasingly fixated by networking websites such as Bebo and Myspace, which allow users to create virtual communities. More than 70 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24 said they used social networking websites, far higher than the UK average of 41 per cent. The urge to network is further illustrated by the fact that 37 per cent of under-24s say they have contributed to a blog or website message board, more than double the percentage among net users as a whole. The younger generation's reliance on mobile phones was also underlined by Ofcom's research. The under-24s make seven more mobile calls and send 42 more texts per week than the wider UK population. Claire Woffenden, deputy editor of Web User magazine, said young people were ditching traditional media for new technology because of the interactivity and personalisation it allowed. "What's appealing is being able to dictate their own agenda tailored to their own tastes," she said. "Why listen to the radio, when you can create your own personalised radio station? Instead of regimented TV listings, the likes of YouTube mean you can watch video clips on a variety of subjects whenever when you want to, or become an instant celebrity by creating your own." The increasing use of mobile phones is not just confined to teenagers, however. Ofcom says that one in ten households now rely exclusively on mobile phones and nearly a third of people regard their mobile as their main telephone, even if they have a landline at home. Mobile phones also appear to have doomed the public payphone. For the first time, none of those surveyed relied on payphones for their main means of making and receiving calls, compared to 2 per cent in 2004. »

fonte: Britain's 'wired generation' shuns traditional media for a life online, Scotsman, FERGUS SHEPPARD 11/08/06