• CNET News.com, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11 AM

For today's teenagers, email has been replaced by social networking. Teens and analysts agree that kids think email is more suited to keeping up professional relationships or communicating with adults.

Kids today are more likely to check MySpace or Facebook than email. For many adults, email is what we're used to--it keeps things simple and professional. But for kids, who grew up with instant messaging, voice-over-IP, text messaging and email, they want to see these services integrated. To a certain extent, each of these can be wrapped up in a social network, along with the ability to add photos, videos and of course, new friends and networks.

The demands of the so-called "Millenial" generation may be a sign of things to come. Social networks are the most potent new rival to e-mail, especially when you consider that tens of millions of members log onto MySpace and Facebook several times a day. It's even scarier to consider what happens to email if virtual worlds like Gaia Online knock social networks down a rung on the Web communication food chain.

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