As teens are evolving and adapting advanced technologies and platforms, the depiction of significant changes in their lifestyle and means of staying knitted have also transmogrified to a considerable extent. Although it’s easier for us to speculate on how teenagers rely and fork out for media, the tech trends such as mobile preferences and internet purchasing habits, somewhere emerge as responsible for thoroughly turning them tech savvy. There is no doubt that social networking usage or online media consumption cinch everyday’s activities but not many would dig into the darker side. However, the year of 2011 witnessed some really magnificent changes or tech trends that not only obsessed teens by large, but also made headlines and deep insights through the surveys. Take a look over some of the most popular teen tech trends that buzzed during this year.
1. Craze for virtual currency
If the teen at your home ever shifted their focal-point from magazines or informative tidbits to online gaming, then you probably would know the craze that ran through amongst teenagers for earning points. Although playing fun-filled titles and games are a sure way to shoot those drudging hours, but teenagers unreasonably became dependent on them. As the fervor for games has gone up over time, around 43 percent of teenagers are found spending real dollars on in-game virtual items or virtual currency. The rage for virtual currency, one of the most obvious and somewhere a hazardous tech trend that hit teens this year, further flocked teens to games such as Farmville or Cityville. Some of the top virtual currencies or points that beguiled teens to spend their pennies include ‘Facebook Credits’, ‘SwagBucks’, “Sorority Life’s ‘Brownie Points’, and others.
2. Watching content as a social experience
Watching content on television screens has also evolved into a social experience for teens as some researches shed light on the affiliation recently. It’s been observed that around 58 percent of teenagers indulge in posting comments on sites like Facebook while tuning in to their favorite television shows. Some even text their friends about show-related updates and around 39 percent of teens tend to visit the show’s Facebook page. Nearly 18 percent of teens Tweet directly for the show.
3. More customization on Facebook
Another tech trend that turned popular among teenagers this year is ‘craving for even more customization on Facebook’. Teens not only appeared as being solely interested in keeping things simple and unchanged, but also revealed negative responses towards Facebook’s ticker which still continues to be persistently high. Since, teens prefer keeping things simple and do not like giving out too much of their information, the stated feature by Facebook has been not appreciated by large. On the contrary, Facebook Mobile received tremendously positive response as it enables them to stay connected with closed ones or customize their pages while being on the wheels.
4. Use of Google+ to meet friends online
Teens are also relying heavily on Google+ for more intimate conversations among their friend circles. At the same time, the service allows them to categorize their friends under ‘weird people, cool kids, Moustache Mafia, hot girls or hot guys, and others’ to have fun. Besides these interesting circles, teenagers also form circles for their hobbies, high school classes or after school clubs to enhance their entire studying experience. Not only has Google+ been used extensively by teens to catch up with friends online, but has also strengthened their social skills in a significant way.
5. Spotify and TurnTable as a Music Source
There is no shadow to the fact that teens turned gung ho about several tech trends this year, but Spotify and TurnTable made their respective marks in getting enlisted under the most popular ones. The music services have tremendously enabled teens to follow their musical tastes while keeping an eye over what their friends are listening to on social networking sites like Facebook. Teens usually tend to give an ear to tracks that their amigos are listening to in the activity feed on Facebook, accounting to the significant rise of music service through such social integration. Probably due to this, services such as Pandora, YouTube, and Playlist.com have become more than popular in the recent time.
The above mentioned are certainly some of the most popular tech trends that gained their face during 2011. Hopefully, the coming year will allow such teens to make wiser and healthier choices while being dependent on technologies and social platforms available worldwide.
