I have two sisters much younger than myself (15 and 14) who spent a few days with me right before Christmas. In that time I saw more texting than I had seen or done in my entire life. I also saw more use of the internet for social purposes than I had ever seen before. These two activities, of which I have participated but have limited social knowledge, once considered innovative and novel, are now commonplace and an integral part of a very important demographic’s daily life. The teens of today, once tapped, can become longtime loyal consumers but even in the short term, teens spend nearly $190 million a year on trends.
Up until starting this class eight weeks ago, my knowledge was even more limited. I had a MySpace page that I infrequently update (my “Julie is…” section is still dated from June), I haven’t changed my wallpaper in months (“totally uncool” as my sisters say), and texting, up until we bought our new phones just a couple of weeks ago, was something my husband severely frowned upon (“20 cents a text!” he exclaims). So how did it affect my life? It drove me crazy. My sisters were so obsessed with their phones, they didn’t put them down to even change their clothes. I literally watched one of my sisters take a shirt off, put another one on, brush her hair and put mascara on, all while texting and taking intermittent phone calls. And just to make sure their hot little fingers aren’t getting tired, if they weren’t texting, they were typing away on their MySpace pages. I don’t know what they were typing or how they could possibly have anything to say that hadn’t been said on the phone but they did, at all hours, even when I should be doing my homework. The only thing I can think is that someone, somewhere could be making a fortune off of the expansive amount of time my sisters spend using interactive media. $190 million??? No wonder advertisers are looking for innovative ways to get on the phones and on the web. That’s where the teenagers are.
