This year’s TED conference theme was “The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered.” And how appropriate a theme as Michael Powell highlights in his Huffington Post blog post this week when two of the most inspiring TED presenters at this years conference have barely finished high school. Powell describes how “kids, teenagers and young adults are using their Internet connection to do unbelievable, inspirational things.” Delving a bit deeper, Pew Research Center‘s recent “Teens and Technology” 2013 report suggests that teenagers using mobile devices and smartphones to access the Internet is increasing substantially.
Pew’s highlights some fascinating trends in teenage mobile Internet usage:
- 74% of teens access the internet on smartphones and tablets
- 25% of teens are “cell-mostly” Internet users, compared to 15% of adults
- 95% of 12 – 17 year-olds go online, compared to 52% of adults 65 and older
- 99% of rural teens use the internet, compared to 94% of urban teens
- 93% of teens have a computer or have access to one in their home
Teenagers are clearly leading the way in Internet usage and especially in mobile connectivity.
These digital natives represent the future of ideas and innovation and the trends of their technology use will determine tomorrow’s opportunities and potential.
Tags: Huffington Post, HuffPo, Michael Powell, TED, teenagers, teens