Twitter Finally Catching On With Youngsters

In a colossal role reversal, older generations are actually pushing young adults and teens toward a popular social networking Web site, says Associated Press writer Martha Irvine.

Twitter, which was strangely scorned by youngsters who are usually the pioneers of technology, is finally catching on, she reported.

They think it's pointless, narcissistic. Some don't even know what it
is.

Even so, more young adults and teens — normally at the cutting edge of
technology — are finally coming around to Twitter, using it for class or work,
monitoring the minutiae of celebrities' lives.

Irvine dropped in a crucial stat line, pointing out that a Facebook user’s median age is 33, while Twitter is 31, despite a reputation that trends toward younger audiences.

In class at the Washington Journalism Center we constantly discuss how technology is changing journalism. But it’s interesting to note several ways in which it has failed, such as newspapers that try to reach younger audiences through Twitter, and how that landscape is changing.

It’s a bitter-sweet story for me, because I appreciate the brilliant reporting, but I’m irritated at myself for not writing the story after I discovered the trend first-hand a year ago when a professor forced my grumbling class to sign up for Twitter.

Props to Irvine.

It’s probably a good thing she covered the story, because she was more in-depth than I would have been. She did an excellent job covering all the bases and asking every question any reader would ask:

• Why has it taken so long for young people to gravitate to Twitter?
• Will they stick with it?
• What is it about other social networking Web sites that they like
  better?

Apparently, Twitter is confusing, while sites like Facebook are more user-friendly, and texting is quicker, she reported.

It's not always love at first tweet, though. Many of them are doing it
grudgingly, perhaps because a friend pressures them or a teacher or boss makes
them try the 140-character microblogging site.

So when these youngsters finally Tweet, it’s not always pretty.

But while some students plan to use Twitter only for the short-term and then ditch it down the road, she tracked down experts who say the trend in social networking is that once people being to use it they get hooked.

She might think she won't tweet again, but social networking expert David
Silver predicts she'll change her mind.

"Every semester, Twitter is the one technology that students are most
resistant to," says Silver, a media studies professor at the University of San
Francisco, where he regularly teaches a class on how to use various Internet
applications. "But it's also the one they end up using the most.”

Irvine also explored practical ways that educators are using Twitter for class and work.

Certain professors use Twitter as an on-going line of communication geared toward students who are too shy to raise their hand in class. And some students use Twitter to notify professors they cannot make it to class, or ask questions about homework and tests.

College admissions offices that hope to promote the school’s image are also marketing Twitter to prospective students by offering to waive application fees.

And young people who are hoping to land their first job or a big promotion should follow the company they want to work for on Twitter, she reported.