PEW, It doesn't smell that bad; actually it's interesting.

Given the the vast majority, 87%, of American youth are now online (Lenhart, Madden & Hitlin, 2005), educators can assume that access for in class, technological conversation should occur. Youth today are likely to be savvy with online work and this work should be addressed, especially in relation to traditional, text-based literacy practices often found in American schools. Since 2000, more adolescents are using the technological boon in their everyday practice, and most of these work from their homes, 74% (Lenhart, Madden & Hitlin, 2005). A smaller percentage, 13%, do not use the internet and this population tends to be African-American (Lenhart, Madden & Hitlin, 2005). With this noted, 77% of African American students DO go online, they note.

Today's teenagers "enveloped in a wired world" (Lenhart, Madden & Hitlin, 2005, p. 11), but they also live active offline lives, as well.

Working with writers, a writing teacher encourages the individuality of his/her students and would tap into the offline lives of their students through encouraging personal narratives from experience and personal essays. Blogs, an online tool, might be a place for teaching audience awareness and the importance of idea development because they are a genuine community where written words can be read by many. With this said, Blogs are a great place to study the offline/online world of teenagers.

Lenhart, A, Madden, M. & Hitlin, P. (2005). Teens and technology; Youth are leading the transition to a fully wired and mobile
nation. From PEW/INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT. Washington, D.C.