WRITING with pen and paper is a dying art among Britain's young, with the vast majority of under-24s communicating via e-mail, text and internet message, according to new research.
The country's 15-24-year-olds have embraced electronic media, with just 5 per cent using paper to communicate. Instead, nearly half prefer to text, with e-mail and instant messaging online also popular methods.
The picture is not much brighter am
ong adults over 24, where e-mail is the preferred way to talk (49 per cent) and use of pen and paper drops to just 13 per cent.
Only among those over 65 does pen and paper still hold any allure, with 39 per cent backing writing by hand.
The findings emerge in a study of modern media habits released by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), the industry's trade association. It surveyed more than 5,000 people on how they used TV, computers and other media.
While the huge popularity of text among the young is no surprise, the IPA research contradicts a recent survey by the search engine Google, which claimed internet usage had now overtaken television-watching.
Yesterday's IPA report claims 15-24-year-olds spends two hours online a day, but more than three watching television.
TV also appears to be a unifying feature in homes, with most families describing it as their one shared activity.
While a typical family spends just 21 per cent of its time together during the week - the peak time for togetherness being 9 at night - that figure rises to 39 per cent of families being gathered together on Saturday evenings at about 7pm, a statistic that goes some way to explain the popularity of Saturday evening shows such as The X Factor.
For teenagers, watching TV and texting are not mutually exclusive. Just under a third of the 15-24 bracket send texts while watching programmes.
The Edinburgh children's author Nicola Morgan said she was "not downhearted, relaxed" at the suggestion that young people had abandoned writing by hand. Morgan, who is also an expert on child literacy, said: "I think teenagers are actually communicating more with each other.
She added: "The volume of their communication, and the speed with which they can communicate with each other, actually perhaps make them more communicative and more able to make new friends."
Lynne Robinson, the IPA's research director, said: "The findings of the survey confirm things we already suspected, that families still like to spend time relaxing together in front of the television."
