The internet is an increasingly important information source for many people, especially the young. According to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project published last week 87 percent of American teens, aged 12-17, are Internet users and 76% of those go online to get news or information about current events, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. At the same time, ever few teens read newspapers. But also young adults are shifting to the net. "It seems like we're on the Internet more because we don't have time to read the newspaper," says Janet Sherer, 32, manager at Tampa Digital Studios, a communications firm, in the St. Petersburg Times, found through Mediachannel. In a daily mix of various information channels, some call it "news grazing" (see article), the newspaper's role seem to decrease.

This "on-demand attitude" is changing the media. The St. Petersburg Times cites Jonathan Klein, CNN/U.S. president: "The audience ... is busier than it has ever been. They don't have time for stories that waste their time ... Technology has sped up the pace of life, but it hasn't created more free time." According to St. Petersburg Times the losers of this trend are "media that attract large numbers of consumers through a variety of material, forcing every customer to some things they don't like. That list includes newspapers ..."

Sources: St. Petersburg Times, Mediachannel, Chicago Sun-Times