A look at today's teens

*Teen spending - of their own and family money - grew 16 percent from 1997 to 1998. Teens now spend an average of $84 per week each.

*One in 9 teens already has a credit card.

*The percentage of college freshmen who say it's OK for two people who like each other to have sex, even if they have only known each other a short while, dropped to 40 percent this year, down from 52 percent in 1987.

*Less than one-quarter of college freshmen said the death penalty should be abolished, down from 56 percent in 1970.

*Only half of this year's freshmen backed efforts to keep abortion legal - a record-low figure after six years on the decline.

*Almost two-thirds of teens say they have a close friend who's part of a racial or ethnic group different from theirs.

*13 million kids now access the Internet - a number that's expected to triple in the next few years.

Sources: Teenage Research Unlimited, University of California at Los Angeles