Surprises

Surprises

by Mike Masnick


Print



e-Commerce: It's Only Teenage Wasteland

from the so-it-goes dept

theodp writes "Here's an article saying teens make up the most computer-savvy generation in U.S. history, but ironically are also the least likely to buy online. While Americans aged 10 to 19 spent $155 billion last year, an average of $116 a week, the average teenager spent only $31 online in 2001. Why? No credit cards, and a demand for immediate gratification." I've been seeing articles like this for years - so I'm not sure why there's anything new about it now. During the dot com boom there were a few companies that tried to get around it, sometimes in fairly creative ways. One of my favorites would let parents set up a type of online "bank account" that kids could use to manage their money. The site was designed to help teach kids about good money management practices - but also (apparently) how to be good little consumers, since you could also buy stuff with the money in your account.

Leave a Comment..

 

Add Your Comment

Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Plain Text HTML Save me a cookie
  • Plain Text: A CRLF will be replaced by break <br> tag, all other allowable HTML is intact
  • HTML: No formatting of any kind is done without explicitly being written in
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <p> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
Search Techdirt
And now, a word from our Sponsors..
Subscribe to Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Related Stories
Close
E-mail It