Every day, blogs are created by people of all ages and all walks of life, but when it comes to blogging, teen writers are truly on the cutting edge of traffic. Because the adolescents of today are the first generation of people grew up with Internet use at all stages of their development, many adolescents have a seemingly innate sense of how to use Internet technology to express their thoughts and ideas. Older writers often experience a kind of learning curve when they begin to blog, but many young find that using a word processor and blogging software feels more natural and direct a mode of communication than writing in a newspaper ever could.
One reason why blogs have undergone a kind of explosion in the community and young people are increasingly in leaps and bounds is the fact that they provide a unique blend of vision and of anonymity. A young person may invite friends and peers to read his blog with a simple e-mail, and winning attention or possibly even praise. Of course, with visibility generally possibility of embarrassment, but the fact that it is possible to blog anonymously with a handle or nickname invented denies much of the potential for humiliation. Many blogs adolescents living in fear that the parent or guardian will discover his blog, but by publishing under an alias a teenager can spill his secrets, without fear of being found.
Outside the world of blogging, the adolescent authors often given very little opportunity to be published. Magazines and journals are often hesitant to publish young writers who may not have as much credibility as older writers with great experience and extensive credits to their names.
This can discourage adolescents from writing or by seeking opportunities to publish their work. For blogs, young people can begin to have a series of readers without first having to win the attention and support of an editor or publisher who may not be very interested in the teenage authors.
Between the fact that blogs provide young people a chance to demonstrate their impressive technical aptitude, to gain visibility without compromising privacy, and build a readership for their writing without having to go through the circles of the traditional publishing industry, it is not surprising that many teenagers are blogging. For some teenagers, blogging is still very social effort that enables them to meet people with similar interests around the world.
Many youth bloggers discovered that having a blog on the Internet is a great way to explore self-expression and, often, to win positive feedback from new friends.