Teen magazines
Kelly Czarnecki | Prof. Development | Sunday, August 27th, 2006
I ran across an article the other day about teen magazines being a dying breed (as we know them). Some of the reasons for this, the article explains are:
- they lost touch with what youth wanted
- magazines were unable to adapt to changes in society
- they are going digital because that’s where the teens are
- teens can get this information in so many other places
- ‘adult’ magazines are more popular with teens
What do others think?
A few questions I have:
- Is this article being alarmist or challenging us to continually find ways to stay relevant with teens?
- How is the article defining what is a teen magazine? What about gaming magazines?
- Is this following a similar trend in books as far as ‘adult content’ being more appealing to many teen readers and in that case, we should adjust to how we think about what a teen magazine is?
- If teens are getting similar information from other places, how can libraries help with that and what are we already doing to help with that?
- Many teens are finding and creating their own content online. They are defining what is important to them. Again, how can we help with that?
Posted by Kelly Czarnecki
Check this out – a My Space magazine is, perhaps, in the works. It’s an interesting concept but seems to go against the main selling point of My Space. (The ability to interact and create at any point.)
The questions about teens and magazines are really interesting. Maybe magazines for teens are mags that are published not specifically for teens but are mags that teens are interested in simply because of the content – gaming mags, tech mags, fashion mags, etc.
I guess the question I have is, when would someone want to look at a print-based mag as opposed to being online creating, participating, and reading?
I’m wondering why MySpace wouldn’t just do an online mag, like the Escapist (escapistmagazine dot com!). You can comment on every article and they have a blog, as well.
I’m guessing there are times that even a teen doesn’t want to stare at a screen. I even get sick of it, occasionally.
And not all teens want to create – the numbers were 50-60% according to Pew Internet & American Life’s Report on Teen Content Creators & Consumers.
My colleague Jesse, also alerted me to a teen magazine called Gumbo at: http://www.myspace.com/gumboteenmagazine.
I thought this was an interesting take on what magazines are trying to do via email to keep and get teen readers. http://techdirt.com/articles/20060907/161213.shtml