Young adults listen to more radio according to a review of a recent study.

By many estimates and reports, young adults and teenagers have abandoned radio listening in droves over the last decade or so. Reports say that teenagers on average spent three fewer hours listing to the radio during 2007 than they did in 1998. This is according to the radio ratings company Arbitron. They also state that listening had declined more steeply among adults aged 18 to 24.

While Arbitron has not published comparable numbers for 2008 yet, a new study by another media research firm suggests that the trend in listening is changing. The firm, Paragon Media Strategies, indicates that 14- to 24-year-olds mostly say their radio listening, including newer HD Radio, has increased over the last year or two, while this same study said the opposite last year. Paragon recruited the respondents and conducted the study using online tools and surveys.

Many radio stations, including digital radio, are doing a better job at connecting with those teens and young people, said Larry Johnson, the study’s author. Reviews show the music being played may also simply be more interesting, and HD digital radio is helping. There tends to be a cycle."

A close review of the study suggests that portable radio players, including MP3, are not as dangerous to radio as they once were thought to be. Those people who were surveyed had roughly the same median number of songs on their portable radio devices as last year (about 400), and even fewer respondents have said the MP3 and other devices have reduced their radio listening time.

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