New Study On American Teens

New Study: Only Two Percent of American Teens Willing to Go Without
Food for a Day

Few Things More Important to Teens Than Their Cell Phones

But Hundreds of Thousands of American Teens Will Fast in Response To
Haiti Quake and Global Food Crisis

*World Vision's 30 Hour Famine, February 25th, 26th*

SEATTLE, Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to a new *30 Hour Famine* study, conducted online in January by Harris Interactive among more than 500 youth ages 13 to 17 years old, only two percent of American teens say they'd be willing to go without food for 24 hours. The survey commissioned by World Vision, an international relief and development group also revealed that less than one in ten (9 percent)say they'd be willing to go 24 hours without their cell phone. The study found that four out of five teens (80 percent) use social media, almost half (44 percent) say they've become more aware of the needs of others as a result of their use of social media like Facebook and Twitter and about one in three (34 percent) "friend", "like" or "follow" charitable organizations or causes they believe in.

*Research Trends - American Teens*

*Only two percent would be willing to go without food. Only nine percent would sacrifice cell phone. *

(World Vision's 30 Hour Famine 2011 Survey

Jan-Feb 2011)

*The average child spends an hour and a half texting each day.*

(Kaiser Family Foundation//study/, /Generation M2: Media in the Lives of
8- to 18-Year-Olds
/,/
Jan. 2010)

*More than 4 in 5 teens with cell phones sleep with the phone on or near the bed.*

(Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project-Teens and
Mobile Phone Survey

June 26-Sept 24, 2009)

"While social media may be decried by some for the time teens today
spend on it, the truth is it can help today's youth learn more about
important things in life. More than two in five teens say they have
become more aware of the needs of others because of their use of
Facebook or twitter. One-third say they "friend," "like," or "follow"
charitable causes they believe in, which helps spread the word among
their circle. This is teens using social media for social good," says
Regina Corso, Senior Vice President, /Harris Poll/ Public Relations and
Youth Research with Harris Interactive.

Later this month, hundreds of thousands of American teens will go hungry
in an effort to help Haiti earthquake survivors and fight global hunger
through World Vision's *30 Hour Famine*. This year, more than 155 youth
groups have already contacted World Vision about designating *30 Hour
Famine *funds to long-term Haiti recovery. Last year $1.2 million went
to Haiti Relief.

Michele Tvedt, World Vision's *30 Hour Famine* Manager says, "I'm really excited and grateful that teens here can have a direct impact on teens and children in Haiti." Tvedt has personally done The Famine for 13 years, adding up to more than 390 hours over the years. Since *30 Hour Famine* started in 1992, groups participating in Famine events have raised more than $140 million to fight global hunger.

February 25th & 26th, (there's another national date: April 29-30)
hundreds of thousands of teens will participate in World Vision's 20th
annual *30 Hour Famine*, forsaking food for 30 hours to get a taste of
what the world's poorest children face. Prior to the event, teens raise
funds by explaining that $1 can help feed and care for a child a day. So
$1 for each hour they'll fast, $30, can feed and care for a child for a
whole month. As they fast, teens consume only water and juice as they
participate in local community service projects (food banks, soup
kitchens and homeless shelters). Part of the funds from this year's *30
Hour Famine* will go toward long-term relief in Haiti. Last year's *30
Hour Famine* raised $10.4 million with funds going to fight global
hunger. This year's fund-raising goal is $11 million.

Tonight, almost 1 billion people worldwide will go to bed hungry -
that's one out of every six people on earth. 22,000 children die each
day from hunger and preventable diseases. Chronic poverty, affecting
half the people on earth, is the cause. Nearly 3 billion people live on
less than $2 a day.

Where does *30 Hour Famine* money go? Haiti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia,
Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe and
other targeted spots where famine, conflict and other crises make
children vulnerable. Some 30 Hour Famine funds are also used to address
poverty here in the U.S.

World Vision works in 100 countries, helping approximately 100 million
people every year.

For info: www.30hourfamine.org

or call 800-7-FAMINE

Or visit our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/wv30HF
.

30-Hour Famine groups available for interviews weekend of Feb 25-26 in
these and other cities:

*North Carolina (Charlotte)*

St. John's Episcopal – one of the nation's top 30 Hour Famine
fundraisers raised almost $80,000 last year.

*Norwalk, Connecticut *

Saint Philip Roman Catholic Church – raised almost $22,000 last year.

*Oregon (Portland area)*

Beaverton Christian Church – at least 800 teens expected at 30 Hour
Famine rally.

*30 Hour Famine Survey 2011 Facts* The poll was conducted online by
Harris Interactive on behalf of World Vision, an international Christian
relief and development organization, between January 20 and 31, 2011
among 523 U.S. youth ages 13 to 17 years old. For complete methodology,
including weighing variables, please contact John Yeager.

ENDS

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