Some interesting research by web guru Jakob Nielsen crushes several myths about teens and tech. Yes, they like cool design. But no, they don't like noisy design, small print, or mystery navigation. Their search strategies and reading skills tend to be lower than adults, and they have very low boredom and patience thresholds, so they abandon quickly when they can't find things.
When using websites, teenagers have a lower success rate than adults and they're also easily bored. To work for teens, websites must be simple -- but not childish -- and supply plenty of interactive features.
Read the whole story here: Usability of Websites for Teenagers (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox).
Thanks to Kyle Coolbroth over at the experience journal for bringing this to my attention.
