It's not just your imagination: most American teenagers are online or on their smartphones every day, and many are almost continually connected.

A Pew Research Center survey released Thursday found that 92 percent of US teens go online daily.

That includes 56 percent who are online several times a day and 24 percent who say they are connected to the Internet and social networks "almost constantly."

A key factor is the growing prevalence of smartphones.

The survey of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 found that 73 percent had a smartphone and 30 percent had at least a basic cellphone.

Even though 87 percent of teens have access to a computer, 91 percent went online daily using a mobile device at least occasionally, Pew found.

The survey found that African-American and Hispanic youth are among the most active Internet users.

Among African-American teens, 34 percent reported going online "almost constantly" as did 32 percent of Hispanic youth and 19 percent of white teens.

"American teens, especially African-American youth, have embraced smartphones and the 24/7 access to people and information that they offer," said Amanda Lenhart, a Pew researcher and the lead author of the report.

Some 90 percent of teens with phones exchange text messages, with a typical teenager receiving 30 texts per day, Pew found. And one-third of those with smartphones use messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Kik.

- Facebook still rules -

The researchers found Facebook remains the dominant social media network for young Americans despite the rise of new platforms.

Among the teens surveyed, 71 percent said they used Facebook, with Instagram -- owned by Facebook -- the number two social media service used by 52 percent.

Asked about other social media, 41 percent of teens said they use Snapchat, 33 percent named Twitter and Google Plus, 24 percent were on Twitter-owned Vine and 14 percent used Yahoo-owned Tumblr.

The figures appear to allay concerns that Facebook is being abandoned by youth as more older Internet users join the world's biggest social network.

"Even as Facebook remains an important platform for a majority of teens, Instagram is commanding the attention of half of teens, and Snapchat nearly that number," said Lenhart.

"There are some interesting differentials in the most frequently used social platforms, with lower income teens using Facebook more often, while wealthier teens -- while still using Facebook -- are more likely than less wealthy teens to report that they use Snapchat or Twitter most often."

More than two-thirds of the teens surveyed said they use more than one social network. But of those who use only one, 66 percent said they opted for Facebook, with Google Plus and Instagram tied for second place with 13 percent each.

The report was based on an online survey of 1,060 teens from September 25 to October 9, 2014 and February 10 to March 16, 2015. The margin of error was estimated at 3.7 percentage points.

Startup Oyster signs big publishers for e-bookstore
New York (AFP) April 8, 2015 - Subscription e-book service Oyster announced Wednesday it has signed all five major publishers for its new US online bookstore, a move which could ramp up competition against Amazon.

Oyster, which has been described as the "Netflix for e-books" with its unlimited monthly subscription plan, said the agreements will mean "virtually any book" from the major publishers will be available for instant purchase.

The subscription service offers unlimited access to some one million books, but the most recent and popular titles have been excluded. The new e-bookstore will allow consumers to purchase those titles individually.

"We are expanding Oyster so you can access all your options -- subscription and for-purchase -- in one place," Oyster said on its blog.

"You'll never have to go anywhere else to get books, because everything you're looking for is on Oyster."

For the new online store, Oyster will include titles from Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and others, according to a statement.

This means anyone can "purchase and read virtually any book from these publishers on Oyster, including all new releases and pre-orders," the statement said.

With the new publishing deals, Oyster will vastly boost the amount of content available on its website.

Still, it faces competition from Amazon -- which also offers a similar subscription service -- and from other digital book providers including Apple, Google and Barnes & Noble.

Oyster launched in 2013 with a $9.95 monthly subscription plan, a deal similar to that of Netflix's streaming video service.

Gaming group Zynga brings founder back as CEO
San Francisco (AFP) April 8, 2015 - Zynga, the struggling social gaming group, announced Wednesday that co-founder Mark Pincus would return as top executive, less than two years after being replaced.

Pincus, who has been chairman of the San Francisco company, said he would seek to "accelerate innovation" at the group which rose to fame as a producer of games for Facebook.

His return comes after he handed over the CEO job to Don Mattrick from Microsoft's entertainment division in a bid to reverse the company's slide.

"Now that we are a mobile first company, it's time to renew our focus on our founding mission to connect the world through games and our vision to make play and social games a mass market activity," Pincus said in a statement.

"I am returning to the company that I love in order to accelerate innovation in the most popular categories like Action Strategy and strengthen our focus on our core areas like Invest and Express."

Zynga has been in retrenchment over the past two years, cutting employees and closing its operations in China as it strives for profitability.

It lost $45 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 even though it gained customers in mobile. That brought the loss for the full year to $225 million after a $36 million loss in 2013.

Zynga, which was founded in 2007, launched games such as CityVille, Words With Friends and Zynga Poker on Facebook and other platforms.

The games are free to play but the company generates revenue by selling virtual in-game goods to players and serving up advertising.

Pincus said he has high expectations for new games in the pipeline.

"I am inspired by our upcoming products - it is the most exciting slate of mobile games in Zynga's history with titles like Empires & Allies, Dawn of Titans and FarmVille: Harvest Swap," he said.

"These games are coming on the heels of one of the most successful mobile launches in our history with Wizard of Oz Slots, which was launched this past November by our Spooky Cool team in Chicago."

Zynga shares slumped 10 percent in after-hours trade on the news to $2.60 -- well below the 2012 public offering price of $10 and the all-time high of nearly $13.