The eyes have it when it comes to teens and online video: 27 percent of them say they've recorded and uploaded videos to the Internet, compared to 14 percent of adults, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.
In 2006, the last time Pew surveyed 12- to 17-year-olds about online video behavior, 14 percent of teens said they were putting video online on sites like YouTube and Vimeo.
In the "Teens and Online Video" report, issued Thursday, Pew said video chatting is also popular with 37 percent of teens, who say they use programs such as Skype, Google Talk or Apple's iChat.
Girls "are more likely than boys to have such chats," with 42 percent of girls saying they have used video chat compared to 33 percent of boys, Pew said.
Boys and girls are equally likely to record and upload video, another change since 2006, when "online boys were nearly twice as likely" to do so than girls.
Teens on Facebook and other social media sites are more likely to be among those shooting and posting video, Pew said. What those videos were was not part of the report. But that kind of activity on Facebook, whether it's well-meaning or otherwise, has led a growing number of parents to spy on their children's Facebook activities.
"Social network site users ... are more likely to record and upload video than teens who do not use social media," the organization said in the report.
The same is true for Twitter, with 16 percent of teens using the site, and 46 percent of those teens saying they record and upload video to the short-messaging blog.
While such social media sites aren't supposed to be used by those under age 13, the reality is they often are. Some safe-haven social websites are being created for the youngest of teens and even those under age 10. Among them are KidzVuz, which lets children share their own video reviews about movies, books and toys. With online video becoming a daily part of life for many children, such sites are a good place to start.
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- 60 percent of US parents spy on teens' Facebook accounts: survey
- Skype security hole shares Internet addresses
- Safe social networking sites for kids
- YouTube channel offers hope to gay teens
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