Angels Den Blog

Apparently the old stereotype of an introverted, pasty-faced teen holed up in his darkened bedroom (probably painted black with a sheet up over the window and posters of the latest death metal group on the walls, floor thick with discarded clothing and plates covered in what was once food but now could quite happily be classified as either biohazard or an experiment in the creation of life from macaroni and cheese) for hours on the internet is a thing of the past. A report out today says that spending time on the internet, texting, socialising in online networking environments and playing web games are actually all positive for the rounded development of teenagers in the modern world.

Over 800 American teens (and if you’re looking for a “rounded” group, the American youth would of course be an obvious choice!!) and their families were surveyed over a three-year period as part of the Digital Youth Project sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the way children use social media to interact with one another, learn and relax.

The report believes that online networking and gaming has now become the accepted normal way for teenagers to “hang out”. However, this report points out that because of the sophistication and flexibility of the tools that are now available online, a whole host of different skills are being learnt that the old teen stereotype would not have had access to. Communication skills, technology utilisation, design, creativity, application exploitation and an appreciation of new and influential online environments make spending time online not only a good thing for the new generation but essential if they are to keep up with their social groups and new technologies that they may well find being used or exploited in their work life when they leave school.

Good news indeed for anyone with a technology-based business idea or invention, as spending too much time on the net has been vilified for quite some time now as a complete waste of time or, worse still, detrimental to teenage development and health. Much has been made of this over the years, and parents have spent much time and money on ways of preventing their children from spending too much time online. If this report catches on, there may even be a resurgence in new online or technology-based products aimed at children and the teenage market. After all, the more time they spend online, the more opportunity you have to advertise to them, discover their preferences and sell to them … it’s an online advertiser’s dream come true.

At Angels Den we have seen many such ideas come and go, and because our Angel investors have a finger on the pulse of the youth market they would be very interested to hear from you if you have a technology- or web-based idea or business. If you need an injection of funds to launch or boost your business or business idea, come visit our website at www.angelsden.co.uk to see how our Angel investors could help you to exploit this very lucrative marketplace.

Sources:
Online time ‘is good for teens’

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