They might be on the Internet, or gaming or texting… but they could also be be watching live TV, listening to the radio or reading a newspaper. At the annual What Teens Want conference in New York, The Nielsen Company presented How Teens Use Media, which argues once you look past the hype – American teens are not as alien in their media usage as you might expect. Sure, it might sound hip and trendy to suggest they’re too busy texting, Twittering or LOL-ing to be engaged with traditional media, but ultimately, the research proves otherwise.

“The media experience is broadening for all consumers, not just teens,” said Nic Covey, director of insights for The Nielsen Company. “Looking at our research across markets and media, we see that, contrary to popular assumption, teens are actually pretty normal in their usage, and more attentive than most give them credit for.”

The comprehensive report combines insights from Nielsen’s global resources in Television, internet, mobile, gaming, moviegoing, radio, newspaper and advertising research to debunk myths and provide the hard facts around how teens use media.

Key Takeaways

• Teens are NOT abandoning TV for new media: In fact, they watch more TV than ever, up 6% over the past five years in the U.S.
• Teens love the Internet … but spend far less time browsing than adults: Teens spend 11 hours and 32 minutes per month online. Far below the average of 29 hours and 15 minutes.
• Teens watch less online video than most adults, but the ads are highly engaging to them: Teens spend 35% less time watching online video than adults 25-34, but recall ads better when watching TV shows online than they do on television.
• Teens read newspapers, listen to the radio and even like advertising more than most: Teens who recall TV ads are 44% more likely to say they liked the ad.
• Teens play video games, but their tastes aren’t all for the blood-and-guts style games: Just two of their top five most-anticipated games since 2005 have been rated “Mature.”
• Teens’ favorite TV shows, top websites and genre preferences across media are mostly the same as their parents: For U.S. teens, American Idol was the top show in 2008, Google the top website and general dramas are a preferred TV genre for teens around the world.

For additional insights, download a free copy of How Teens Use Media

With roughly one-third of the total U.S. population and at least three-quarters of the country’s land area, rural America is a diverse and important marketplace for marketers of consumer products, Doug Anderson, EVP, Research & Development, Nielsen, argues in the January issue of Nielsen’s “Consumer Insight” online newsletter.

Marketers intent on reaching rural Americans should pay attention to marked differences in media usage and consumer preferences that distinguish rural and metro America, Anderson advises.

“As rural America continues to transform and diversify, makers and sellers of consumer products need to adapt their strategies in concordance,” Anderson writes.  “Ethnic diversity, together with ongoing economic instability and technology-driven developments, will continue.  Understanding how these changes impact rural life allows marketers to stay ahead of the curve.”

Read the full article.

View the latest issue of “Consumer Insight.”

Nielsen’s findings show that TV users are watching more TV than ever before (127 hrs, 15 min per month), while spending 9% more time using the Internet (26 hrs, 26 min per month) than last year.

A small but growing number of Internet and mobile phone users are also watching video online (2 hrs, 19 min per month) and on their cell phones (3 hrs, 15 min per month).

“While the number of mobile video users is relatively small at about 4 million, the video usage these early adopters report is impressive, perhaps due to ‘always available’ mobile devices,” John Burbank, chief marketing officer for The Nielsen Company, noted. “It is an early indicator of how this technology is becoming more commonplace among mobile users.”

More broadly – as Brian Stelter, writing in The New York Times Tuesday, concluded – “somehow, despite more distractions than ever, we’re finding even more time to plant ourselves in front of screens.”

Read the complete report.