According to a new study, adults are better web surfers than teens. That’s a pretty bold claim, but I see a big flaw in the study before I even got to reading it. The summary on the Guardian’s Onlineblog provides all the info I need:

Teens ages 13 to 17 were able to complete assigned tasks on the Web 55 percent of the time, compared with 66 percent for adults, according to Nielsen Norman in Fremont, a firm known for studying how consumers use technology.

Surely the relative success of the two groups depends on the tasks set for them? Especially since teens are likely to use the internet for a much narrower range of things than adults.

I could have download the report and read what the various tasks were, but being a teenager (let me enjoy it for the few weeks I have left) I didn’t have the attention span necessary.