The great extent of the personal publishing revolution has been proved by a poll showing that a third of young people online have started their own blogs or websites.
Millions of young people who have grown up with the internet and mobile phones are no longer content with the one-way traffic of traditional media and are publishing and collecting their own content ,according to a survey of those aged between 14 and 21.
A generation has grow up using the Internet as their main means of communication, thanks to an early grasp of online communities and messaging services as well as simple technology allowing Web users to start a personal blog, without any special technical knowledge . On average, people between 14 and 21 spend almost eight hours a week online, but it is far from a solitary activity. There are signs of a clear generation differences, and instead of using the Internet as their parents do---as an information source, or to shop and read newspapers online---most young people are using it to communicate with one another.
About half of that time is spent chatting to friends in online communities or using messaging services, while another half of that time is spent e-mailing. The Internet may be a window into their personal space, but it is not a window on the world for young people: only one in ten say they use it to keep up with news and current affairs.
But newspaper publishers and news broadcasters will take some comfort from the poll’s findings. Six in ten said they “like to keep up with the news” ,the rate rising to more than seven in ten among 20-and 21-year-olds. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom that young people are turning to the Internet for news, the poll found that television and newspapers remain by far the most popular means of getting information.