We’ve all heard people
complain about youth habits pointing to the inevitable decay of society:
American children are walled off from the outdoors as they obsessively play
video games, watch DVDs and devour mass-produced calorie-laden junk food, making
us into a nation of bulging zombies who can’t read. Some of this criticism is
fair, but it’s also missing the point of how media trends alter our engagement
with the world. 

A few days ago, Marita Scarfi sent around a study describing college students’ latest media habits.  According to Burst Media, many college students spend more time online than they do watching TV.  To me, this indicates an important
finding: the vast wasteland of television has been quickly supplanted by the
hyper-social interactivity of the Internet for younger folk. All that time
indoors may be paying off.

College students are
finding increasing value in reaching out to each other on marathon IM sessions
and social networking sites, even if they’re mostly used to gossip and, well,
uh, to compare notes in intimate environments, and in spending time wading
through the vast world of web information at the expense of TV. I’m sure these
kids aren’t using every waking moment to scrutinize Wikipedia articles on the
Holy Roman Empire in favor, of, say, following Red Sox Nation on ESPN or
watching smarmy videos on College Humor, but the fact they’re taking away time
from the passive medium of TV to interact with a global network can be a good
indicator for what these kids will think is important as they mature: being
connected, informed, involved.

Not to be a
media-chauvinist, but the internet creates a space where you can watch a dorky
video, contribute to a political campaign, chat with a friends, buy stuff,
research a product and check out a buddy’s profile all at the same time. TV
doesn’t compare, and it breeds inactivity. (Full disclosure: I wasn’t allowed to
watch TV as a kid.) I’m thrilled to read about college kids spending more media
time online.
It’s been rewarding to
design interactive solutions for clients and it’s come easily for many of us who
graduated in the mid ‘90s to find a raft of jobs in this space, but now, being a
part of this interactive world takes on a new meaning when developing projects
for college students who take the internet for granted, and thrive on
it.

Photo credit: Subtotal visual communication service.

Zachary Thacher