Search Engines, Teens, and the Southern Oracle

In a Southern Oracle. We've built up this archetype of The Online Teen: He was born with a silver mouse in his hand and can program a 17-in-1 remote control with his mind while hapless adults quake in fear. His reward? The keys to the SUV. A perfect storm of disposable income and existential crisis compels him to solidify his tribal membership by ubiquitous teen portal MySpace.com). Fifty-three percent say they go through as many search results as they need to find what they're looking for, with only 18 percent staying on the first page of results only. That low number of first-page devotees may have something to do with another interesting finding: 46 percent of the teens surveyed believe the first pages of search results (both paid and natural) are advertisements. In this, teens show a higher awareness and sensitivity to being marketed to than adults. The good news is that teens are also more comfortable making purchases online (58 percent of the teens surveyed had already done so). So respect your teen audience, and it will respect you. At least for the next 3-6 months.