A recent study published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project is serving as a wake-up call for many American companies who seek relevance among America’s youngest generations.

The study, based on nearly a thousand interviews with teens over 2007, validated the increasing extent to which the web and its derivative technologies in cell phone technology have become a central part of American young peoples’ social lives.

Some 93% of teens are internet users – and the vast majority expresses a knack for giving and receiving feedback via the web. Perhaps more compelling was the extent to which young people themselves are content creators and consumers of web-based feedback. Nearly 2/3 of teens are online creators, and the majority gives and receive feedback on the web.

Think about this in the context of any enterprise seeking to engageAmerica’s younger generations. People tend to gravitate to those relationships and institutions that mirror their own preferences for communication. Without a web-based means of listening to these customers’ feedback, how can any organization expect to be perceived as genuine by them?

All the marketing and PR in the world won’t convince a younger customer that you’re genuine if your feedback mechanism doesn’t reflect their sensibilities.

Next week: The consequences for employers. Does your organization give feedback in a way your employees can absorb?