Article in The Roanoake Times says that teens spend $170 billion annually on movies, music, and books.

Who says teens don't read?
Teens say they're attracted to the printed word because today's literature honestly reflects their lives.
By Erinn Hutkin | The Roanoke Times
Oct. 24, 2007

"With the emergence of cable TV, children are exposed to adult topics at an earlier age. "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" re-runs play on networks such as TBS, and today's PG-13 movies may have been rated R in the past.

Books, in a sense, mirror that shift.

"This genre has had a significant change. The themes and the characters are far more mature than Sweet Valley friends," Greco said, referring to a book series by author Francine Pascal. "Kids tend to grow up faster, and the publishers saw this and put the product out."

Teens are also part of a generation dubbed the "millennials," a term for those ages 10 to 22. Next to the baby boomers, Greco explained, millennials are the second-largest cohort in the United States.

They spend $170 billion annually, and not on mundane adult items like mortgages and medicine. Their money goes toward music and movies and books."

-- read the complete article at: http://www.roanoke.com/extra/wb/136866