This article from Wired News caught my attention. It takes a look at what attracts teenagers to websites. I think this article is relevant to the emerging culture discussion at Higher Grounds, so that aspect also sparked my interest. I’ll try to summarize the ideas the article suggests for creating a website that is appealing to teenagers.
Don’t make the text too small because teenagers tend to lean back in their chairs when they’re at their computers. I find that a bit amusing because right now, as I’m typing this, I’m sitting in a booth at Seattle Coffee House with my legs pressed against the opposite bench. I would lean back a bit more, but sadly these benches happen to be nailed to the floor.
Interactivity is where it starts. Teens want to be doing something rather than just “sitting and reading.” This seems to be a common trend among North American and Australian teenagers–both groups do enough of it at school. Doing stuff includes things like message boards, polls, quizzes, asking experts questions, and it looks like website creation tools are also popular.
The text-to-image ratio is important, and sites should lean towards more images. This point reminds me of the discussion on Thursday. Teens are less willing than adults to use sites with poor presentation, even though it may have useful content.
Sites that were popular included SparkNotes, apple.com for its clean appearance.
Lastly, the article mentions that teens are attracted to sites that make them feel respected. And, I’ll quote this paragraph directly:
“Also important, she said, is enabling teens to explore their identity by providing them with an environment in which they can experiment with ideas of style, the way they talk, the way they dress and the way they think about the sensitive issues in their lives — all anonymously.”
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