Hats off to Morgan Stanley and their 15-year-old intern Matthew Robson. His report on the media consumption habits of teenagers in the UK, released last week, is refreshing for someone like me who’s spent the past twenty years decoding the habits of young people. Most of what you read about teenagers in the media these days is negative, because most adults don’t understand this elusive demographic, and there are a few misconceptions worth clearing up.

The first mistake people make about teenagers is they assume they’re one monolithic block. Sure, stereotypes have some basis in fact, but what I’ve observed over the years is that it’s very difficult to get a majority of young people to agree on anything. In fact, it’s a mistake even to consider 13- to 19-year-olds one group. The very concept of the teenager, which emerged in the early years of the Baby Boom, is flawed. Youth encompasses several levels of schooling and several stages of growing up. There are huge differences in maturity and life experience between 14-year-olds and 17-year-olds. I would say key transitions – such as driving, legal drinking, getting a job, and voting – split teenagers into roughly two groups, instead of just the one.

To understand teenagers today you have to know what sets them apart. Aside from the fact they were born with remotes in their hands, one point of differentiation is that “free” is their rallying call. That doesn’t mean they won’t pay for anything. They will pay for access to their communication tools. Television, the internet, and mobile phones are rarely free, and even though someone else probably pays for them now, once financially independent, teens will be more willing to foot the bill for these taken-for-granted items. Even the free Wifi at McDonald’s costs a side of fries.

What teenagers won’t pay for is value-added services. According to recent research in Finland – where there’s the highest internet, mobile phone, and newspaper usage in the world – young people can be very savvy about what services they do and don’t need. Teens would test out mobile service features, but revert back to basic services when they realized they didn’t really need them.

People tend to exaggerate the differences between the media habits of teens and adults. TV has shown surprising resilience among teens. It’s easy to use, perceived to be more or less free, and provides common ground for conversation. Teens are less likely to listen to the radio, but that’s not a big surprise. Cars make a big difference, and most teens don’t drive. DJs are not becoming obsolete: in fact, they filter content for the masses, and alleviate the tyranny of choice that many young people face.

The thing that’s really changed is the broadsheet. Newspapers are going to have to adapt. Last year at a global conference of newspaper execs hosted by the World Association of Newspapers, I explained that young people feel TV is a more credible news source than newspapers. A collective gasp ensued.

A lot of teenagers consume newspaper content without knowing it. Newspapers need to create their own version of the BBC iPlayer (not necessarily a video player) or become better DJs to show young people what value they get from newspaper content. The iPlayer has been a wild success in the UK. Papers should provide free access for a while, change editorial content to focus on issues more interesting to young people, use parents as allies, and build relevant relationships with schools. And that’s just the beginning.

Another misconception is about advertising. The Morgan Stanley report says teenagers “resent intrusive advertising on billboards, TV, and the internet.” This may be true, but it certainly doesn’t mean advertising won’t work. It just has to be thoughtful, well-placed, and disruptive – which usually means funny for teens. Rarely do advertisers get all three of these right, so members of the thumb generation find it natural to look for a better option. Young people have always been skeptical, because they are the group most often manipulated.

Obviously the internet has become a central hub of consumption and socializing for teenagers, but people tend to assume they spend most of their time creating virtual relationships on Facebook and in Second Life. It would surprise most people to know how few online friends most young people have. On average, teenagers have 90 online friends. More than half have less than 20 online friends, which means a small minority have tons of them.

Teenagers may consume media in new ways, but they don’t pose a threat to any company with a smart tailored youth strategy. All you have to do is engage them. Just ask the PR department at Morgan Stanley if it works.

This is a summary of a report, written by 21-year-old Decode intern Ben Doherty, on teenage media-use. Mr. Doherty also wrote a letter in response to Morgan Stanley intern Matthew Robson's report.