Call it ADD or simply the modern condition, but ask any parent and they will tell you: today's teenagers are multitaskers. They are not content to be doing something; they want to be doing lots of things all at once.
A new survey from BurstMedia calls them "uber-taskers," "simultaneously using various consumer technologies and media types; and using these technologies as complements to one another - producing an effect often greater than if consumed alone."
US teens are unquestionably busy, and much of their time is spent at least partly online.
Among teens who go online from home, friends' homes, libraries or other locations, 37.4% say they spend three or more hours per day online. Teen males are slightly more likely than females to spend over three hours a day surfing: 39.9% do so compared with 34.7%, according to BurstMedia.
Additionally, 17.9% say they spend between two and three hours online, 25.1% say one to two hours and 19.6% say less than an hour outside school. That means over 80% of all US teens are online at least an our every day.
The survey found that often while the teens are online, they are simultaneously doing homework or watching television or other things: 48.9% say they work on homework while online, 33.8% say they watch TV or a movie. And 40% say they text or talk with friends on the phone while online.
"Corralling these distractions to minimize their disruption is a significant challenge for marketers," Chuck Moran of Burst told Advertising Age, in something of an understatement.
What are teens doing online that takes up so much of their time?
Roughly three out of five (61.4 %) have visited a social networking website. Of those, 60.7% joined the site and created a profile. Teen females are more likely than males to have visited and joined a social networking site, 67.5% versus 53.7%.
In addition, half of US teens play online games and nearly half download music Downloading video clips is also a popular, with two out of five teens saying they do.
When survey respondents were asked what impact having no Internet access outside school would have on their day, 28.9% said it would "ruin" their day, 39.8% said their day would be "not as good, but not ruined," and 31.2% said they "would be just fine" without online access.
In another indication of how important computers and a wide range of electronic devices are becoming to the younger generation, the NPD Group found that 94% of households with children ages 4 to 14 had a computer. That edges out even the television, which is now in slightly less than 90% of households with that group represented.
"Today's kids are digital natives whose activities are fundamentally different than previous generations," said Anita Frazier of NPD in a recent Reuters article.