What You Don’t Know About Teens and Reading

In the same way that technology is changing how teens read, it’s also having a major impact on how they write. Many adults find writing to be a chore, but thanks to online formats like blogs, teens are developing their skills at expression.

“We’re at the point where there’s more content creation than just surfing a static Web,” says Meg Canada, web services librarian at the Hennepin County Library, who leads a group of teen Web advisers. “Young people feel encouraged to contribute.”

Blogging promotes language skills, she adds, as well as collaboration since teens post comments on each other's sites. Sixteen-year-old blogger Christine Luo of Plymouth enjoys writing online because she finds it easier to share her experiences and to address personal issues. “Half the people who read your blog don’t know you or any of the people you talk about,” she says.

Having strangers reading her posts gives Luo certain freedoms, but in terms of how it affects her writing, she notes that it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Writing comes easier to her now that she blogs, but she admits, “Sometimes you end up using terminology like “lol” [lots of love or laugh out loud], “jk” [just kidding], “ttyl” [talk to you later]—and end up writing about things only bloggers would be interested in reading.”

Despite these minor drawbacks, Luo is certainly hooked. “The Internet gives you so many choices to write out your ideas in different ways,” she says.

Some teens who don’t keep blogs end up posting to other sites, such as sixteen-year-old Adam Lueck of Eden Prairie, who submits book reviews to the review site Flamingnet.com. The posts help him convey his thoughts in a persuasive, cohesive way, he says.

“It’s good practice for classes, and it helps you organize your thoughts,” he adds. Another lure is the ability to write what he likes without being graded on it. “Blogs are great because you can write what you want,” he says.  “I think it’s good that people can put their opinion out there because you learn from other people’s opinions.”