ADULTS’ WEB SAVVY BEATS TEENS’
According to a new study by the Nielsen Norman Group, teenagers
aren’t as adept at performing tasks on the Web as adults, with teens
completing the assigned tasks only 55% of the time, compared with 66% for
adults. Teens’ biggest handicap was their poor reading and research skills,
and their tendency to give up quickly when frustrated. “If things aren’t
immediately apparent, they go away,” says Jakob Nielsen. “Their distaste
for reading was a big surprise. It has to be very short, brief text and big
pictures.” The study, which involved a group of 38 teenagers between the
ages of 13 and 17, found that they were drawn to sites that provided
opportunities for interaction, whether it be filling in an online
questionnaire or adding their two cents to a public forum. The teens
steered clear of sites that attempted to include children in their focus—putting the word “kid” on the Web site was the kiss of death, the study
found. And while teens paid close attention to Web sites’ appearance, they
were put off by “glitzy sites with heavy, blinking graphics,” preferring
clean, “cool” designs such as Apple Computer’s site. (San Jose Mercury News
1 Feb 2005)
Voltaire Santos Miran EVP, Web Strategy I've developed and implemented communication strategies in education for more than 20 years now. I think my team at mStoner is the smartest, funniest, and coolest group of colleagues ever, and I can't imagine being anywhere else. Except Barcelona. Or Paris. Or Istanbul. To quote Isak Dinesen, "the cure for everything is salt ... tears, sweat, and the sea."