Here's my quick one-paragraph summary of today's L.A. Times article (reg. required) about the poll they did with Bloomberg on teens/media/entertainment:

Teens are underwhelmed and are not as "totally wired" as we all think because they still watch local news (but they also still love their gadgets, spend more time online and use WOM via text about movies they like). They still get info from TV ads and discover new music by listening to the radio vs. social networking sites. They don't like going to movies as much because it's too expensive and most of the movies targeting them just aren't that good (and people are rude!). They multi-task like crazy and struggle to concentrate. They are exposed to such a glut of entertainment, they've gotten pickier about what they like. They've had enough of scantily clad women being "disrespected" — this was a pleasant surprise and dovetails nicely with the other buzzed about and disturbing L.A. Times profile of "Girls Gone Wild" mogul Joe Francis. Their parents know more about their media habits and are actively doing more to control them than experts think they are doing.

The article is packed with data and sidebars including this fun photo gallery exposing media myths like the fact that more 18-20 year olds DID vote at the polls vs. for their favorite "American Idol" and that John Stewart is not the definitive news source for young people.

In other teens and media related news:

Sexually explicit song lyrics may lead to sex! When I worked at Teen Voices, I was always terrified by the teens who would come in, turn on the radio and sing along (knowing every lyric) to songs that made me blush. It's funny because just this weekend, I asked my husband, what would you say to a kid who asked what 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" lyrics meant — he said, "I would tell them it was about candy."

And watching pro-wrestling actually makes girls more violent. I remember hearing a rumor that one of the girls who bullied me in seventh grade actually became a pro-wrestler…hmmm

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