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An AP-AOL study reveals some surprising, and not so surprising, data about instant messaging.

In my teen years, like most in my generation, I used AOL instant messager like it was intravenously hooked into my body. Bearing that in mind, when I read the AP-AOL poll that revealed that teenagers are more likely to use IM instead of email, I was not shocked.

Apparently nearly one-third (30 percent) of teens say they can't imagine living without instant messaging.

Nearly 3 of 4 teenage instant message users, or 72 percent, say they prefer it to communicating via email, says a new AP-AOL Instant Messaging Trends Survey.

Of course that should come as no surprise, seeing as how the younger generation was born into the Internet age, and is much more technologically savvy than previous generations.

Approximately 45 million (PDF) teenagers use the Internet each year, while most of their parents and generations before them lived in the Dark Ages; before it's existence.

That being said, the survey revealed that only 1 in 4 adults, or 26 percent, prefer to use IM to email. However, the results revealed that over half of the adults polled logged onto IM everyday.

Surprisingly, one in four (27 percent) adult IM users say they send instant messages at work, while 41 percent of adults who use IM at work claim it makes them more productive.

The survey examined instant messaging trends and usage habits among 1,513 IM users both adult and teen aged.

Proving that instant messaging is not used specifically as a gossip mill for teenagers, 53 percent of teens have used instant messaging to get help with their homework.

See Mom and Dad, tying up the computer for hours at a time while instant messaging might be for reasons other than socializing.

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Autmn Davis is a staff writer for WebProNews covering ebusiness and technology.