Teenage Communication in the Instant Messaging Era

Since the mid-1990s, teenagers have migrated from email and chat rooms to instant messaging (IM). We observed this change in data from 60 interviews with teens and their families conducted from 1996 to 2002 and a national survey of teenagers in 2002. We examined the content of conversations, communication partners, and conversation multitasking. While using IM, teens mainly talk to friends from daily life and rarely with those they met online. In terms of both partners and content, IM conversations are more like face-to-face visits than email exchanges. Teens engage in IM to be “with” friends. Conversations often consist of inconsequential small talk, but can offer opportunities for more substantial social support. Despite these similarities, teens report they enjoy IM conversations far less than they enjoy face-to-face visits and phone conversations. We offer some design recommendations focused on the integration of IM-like interactions with other online and real world communication.

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