Usability of Websites for Teenagers

"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.

It's almost cliche to say that teenagers live a wired lifestyle, but they do. Teens in our study reported using the Internet for:

- School assignments
- Hobbies or other special interests
- Entertainment (including music and games)
- News
- Learning about health issues that they're too embarrassed to talk about
- E-commerce

And, even when they don't make actual purchases online, teens use websites to do product research and to build gift wish-lists for the credit-card carrying adults in their lives. "