Perseus Developement Corporation's random survey of some 10,000 blogs identifies some rather startling demographic and user trend statistics: Teens tell all, or not much in blogs (free subscription):
"Blogging has revolutionized the news media, but youth dominate its use: Ninety percent of those blogging are between 13 and 29 years old, according to a survey by Perseus Development Corporation, a company that designs software for online surveys. Of those, more than half are teenagers."
Before we get too excited, it is important to note that the Perseus study examined publicly hosted solutions only...(i.e. Blogger, Xanga, LiveJournal etc.) So the rest of us who either have the software sitting on a personal or remotely hosted server or paid service are not included in the statistics.
The Perseus statistics raise some interesting issues within the education and blogging communities:
All in all, however, I believe the escalating growth in the use of blogs by teens and young adults means that there are learning opportunities available. Ignoring the potential of blogs as an accepted/adopted learning tool among teens is rapidly fading option. Blogging is neither the end of the highway nor the finish line in the chase for technology, it is merely a barometer of things to come.