Screenagers are techno-savvy young people. They are the first generation to grow up with television and computers at home, music downloads, instant messaging and cellular phones. Douglas Rushkoff first coined the term in his 1997 book 'Playing the Future'.

Rushkoff argued that young people will have many advantages processing information and coping with change when they reach adulthood because they have used computers at home since early childhood. Their short attention span may be an advantage in coping with the huge mass of information that also bombards their elders.

See also Generation Y

The term has gained another, darker meaning, believed to have come from the song entitled Screenager by English rock band Muse. This definition refers to a teenager (usually but not exclusively female) who is said to be 'putting up a screen'. It describes a screenager as someone who is so phony and always surrounded, who has lost touch with their family and may or may not self-harm.