Teens opt for texts as e-mail loses speed

Sacramento -- Many young Americans say e-mail is becoming an outdated mode of communication as the popularity of text messaging and Internet networking sites rises.

Studies last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project revealed teens are using e-mail less and less, The Sacramento Bee reported Monday.

Ninety-two percent of adults said they frequently sent e-mail, while 16 percent of teens said they used e-mail daily, the studies indicate.

"I'm just attached to my cell phone. I really only use e-mail for (sending) attachments or keeping up with (school) assignments," Terren Wing, 16, of Sacramento, told the Bee.

Some professional adults say e-mail is used frequently, just not as much for short conversations as in the past.

"I've noticed that, in my circle of friends, we use e-mail mostly for notifications rather than actual conversations. The real-time aspect of other platforms is more attractive -- e-mail just gets lost in the junk drawer," Layton Wedgeworth, 27, of El Dorado Hills, Calif., said to the newspaper.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.