Percent of students following who spend more than one hour each day using the following communication methods 90
A number of possible conclusions could be drawn from these findings. Older students may be using formal communication methods more because they are looking beyond college and working on establishing a more professional online network and image. Younger students may be spending more time on newer technologies because they have, for all intents and purposes, grown up with them, and see these newer methods of communication as both quicker and easier ways of interacting. When Facebook launched in 2004, for example, current college seniors were just finishing up their high school years. Current college freshmen, however, had just begun high school; at this age, text-based gossip and IMing are a virtual institution. Consider, for example, Verizon’s recent series of commercials centering on young teens and their text messaging habits.
Percent of students following who spend more than one hour each  | day using the following communication methods  | 100  | 90  | 80 70 60 60 40 30 20  | photobucket  | host.  | share,  | 10  | 0  | Face-to: face  | Email  | Phone  | Social networking  | Text messaging  | sites  | Freshmen Sophomores DJJuniors D Seniors 