Internet advertising? What sort of an idiot do they take me for?

Teenagers, eh! What a bunch of Facebook-visitin’, Twitter-twitterin’, computer games-playin’, free music and film-downloadin’, education-failin’ little so-and-sos they are. Aren’t they?

Not quite. In fact, a fascinating report on teenagers’ media habits is causing a stir in the City – and what makes it particularly interesting is that it was written by a 15-year-old.

The young author, Matthew Robson, was working as an intern at Morgan Stanley when he was asked to report on teenagers’ likes and dislikes.

But instead of coming back with a picture of a bunch of couch potatoes barely able to muster enough energy to switch Playstation games, he came back with something different. His findings were so clear and thought-provoking they ended up in the front of the Financial Times.

Twitter? A waste of time, said Matthew’s report.

Online advertising? No thanks, the kids just ignore it (and they hate pop ups and banner ads).

Charges to use Facebook? It’s a case of won’t pay, won’t pay, said Matthew.

And as for the traditional media, if Matthew’s findings are true, then we’re in trouble.

He doesn’t know any teenager who reads a newspaper regularly. They prefer to see stories summarised on the internet or TV, or even in free newspapers such as Metro, which don’t exactly rival The Daily Telegraph for their analysis. (It’s no wonder newspaper sales are falling if the younger generation aren’t growing up with the habit.)

Also, the kids are reluctant to pay for music, and most download it illegally. Some have never bought a CD in their lives.

However, there’s good news for film producers. Kids do like going to the cinema, and they’re not keen on illegal film downloads – although that’s a quality issue rather than a moral one.

So, there’s food for thought for the media. How do you sell products to a generation that doesn’t like adverts? How do you get them to pay for music if they’ve grown up thinking it’s all free? How do you get them to read the news?

If Matthew’s any example,  “the kids” are clearly a well-educated and self-aware bunch.

But, equally clearly, they’re a different species as far as the conventional media is concerned.

By Andrew Owen