A new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that more than half of all teens online have created content for the Internet. (Check out the survey [PDF file])
Being a content creator is a relatively dry term that includes posting photos, music or video, making Web pages, and of course, writing blogs.
As with any new-fangled technology, the young types have latched on in a big way: 19% of teens (12-17) have created a blog, compared to just 7% of adults.
So what are these teens doing with their blogs?
According to some recent attention in the media (including a few overheated accounts) they're engaging in risky business (embedded video) -- detailing their sexual exploits ("My kid would never do that!"), talking trash, drinking, drugging, thugging and in general, revealing way too much personal information.
With much wailing and gnashing of teeth, adults are seen crying out: "But what do we do?"
Sure, some of it may be overprotective parenting, but there is a very real threat of sexual predators and pedophiles.
In one famous recent overreaction, a Catholic high school in Sparta, N.J. decided to ban blogging outright -- not just on-campus and during school hours, but totally, on threat of suspension.
As I said in my earlier writeup on the blogging ban: If you know any teens, I'm sure you'll guess how effective this ban is going to be.
Like it or not, blogs & social sites, including MySpace, Facebook and others, are integral part of their lives, and they're having a big influence on the rest of society.
Wired has a feature story right now about MySpace's influence on launching bands, even to the point where MySpace is starting its own record label.
This is not to say that people: parents, politicans, policymakers -- you know, The Man -- won't try to regulate teen blogging. And why wouldn't they?
They're trying to regulate political blogging, by declining to exempt blogs from Federal Election Commission oversight.
Companies are trying to defend against perceived attacks from "digital lynch mobs."
China has just reportedly shut down a pro-democracy blog.
However, all is not lost.
The Internet in general, and blogs as a specific part of it, is a disruptive technology. When you introduce a disruptive technology, things change -- a lot. People, companies, and governments experience pain as they try to adapt. Not everyone can make the adjustment (like in the classic buggy whips example).
As we're discovering, the Internet and blogs are just way too darn useful to ban, because they're just too good at bringing people together in a meaningful way.
