The Twitter phenomenon is taking the online world by storm, creating an outlet for those who wish to express themselves in 140 characters or fewer. But for the younger set still exploring its college years, the trend is having trouble sticking.

According to 2010 Twitter statistics from The Huffington Post, 45 percent of users are between the ages of 18 and 34, more than any other age group. The four-year-old website has its sweet spot in the mid-20s, the generation right above college students.

Thirty-five to 49-year-olds make up 24 percent of the users, marked as the next highest group.

“There’s a perception that younger people are good at social media,” said Andy Neusner, web content manager for The Jewish Federations of North America. “But they’re really part of a larger package, not the whole thing.”

According to Neusner, college students don’t always have enough time to add an extra media outlet to their day. Some have never developed an interest in Twitter.

Jami Goodman, a junior double-majoring in history and philosophy, politics and law at Binghamton University, stared blankly when asked about Twitter.

“I barely know what it is,” she said. “Something about birds?”

Unlike Twitter, Facebook includes a lot of different media, making it more popular among college students. According to Neusner, Twitter can be considered old-fashioned because it’s just text.

“Sometimes they’ll say I’ve already been on Facebook and checked my e-mail today,” Neusner said. “Maybe they’re overserved.”

Elianna Mintz, a freshman majoring in English at Barnard College, attended the General Assembly’s Do The Write Thing Conference in early November and took part in a session called “Being Effective in the Digital Age.”

Esther Kustanowitz, a writer, editor and social media consultant, led the session with Florence Broder, a marketing professional from the Jewish Agency for Israel, and discussed the importance of Twitter.

“Journalism is usually a one-way street,” Kustanowitz said. “Now people have the opportunity to engage actively.”

But after learning more about the micro-blogging site, Mintz believes Twitter takes away from life outside the realm of a computer screen.

“I like having interactions with people face-to-face,” Mintz said. “I don’t completely understand communicating with people in this way.”

Neusner explained that these students might not realize Twitter’s real-life benefits.

“It’s a great medium, more so than Facebook, for other students to instantly see what’s going on,” he said.

Neusner called on Twitter for support when floods hit Nashville last year. It allowed him and his organization to fundraise nationally and quickly.

“While it wasn’t everything, and we also used other outlets to gain support,” Neusner said, “Twitter had a lot to do with our success.”

Tweets on the site can range anywhere from Hillshire Farm sausage to campaigns to stop world hunger.

Still a young website, Twitter has room for improvement. According to statistics on http://www.mashable.com, Twitter has a user retention rate of 40 percent, and many people drop the service after a month.

The mode of citizen journalism is in constant competition with Facebook and has added components such as twitpic and links to videos in order to match up.

At the same time, Facebook is trying to become more “twitterific” by adding the option to tag other people in status updates and posts using the “@” symbol.

Neusner hopes it will be easier to embed images and videos into tweet messages. If that happens, the competition will increase.

According to http://www.networkworld.com, the popularity of Twitter is on the rise.

“I can tweet at celebrities and get a response,” said Stephanie Pisciotta, a junior majoring in sociology. “That kind of thing could never have happened before.”

It’s true. Instead of tabloids sharing the news, celebrities do it themselves.

Lady Gaga, the No. 1 “Twitterholic,’ according to http://www.twitaholic.com, uses Twitter to talk about her yoga classes and thanks more than seven million followers for their support.

A second trend is tweeting live during events. Attendees can quote speakers and share with others so they feel like they are actually there.

Alyx Rimberg, a junior majoring in English, was initially turned off by Twitter, but after attending the same DTWT conference as Mintz, is now giving it a chance.

She attended lectures with thousands of others at the conference, listening to Vice President Joe Biden and prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speak about the conflict in the Middle East. Thousands more were able to follow along at home.

“I think people have learned to live their lives through technology, but seeing how Twitter worked at the [conference] when the tweets rolled in about different speakers made me more aware of its benefits,” she said.

Neusner credits this sudden interest with a first-hand look of seeing Twitter in action.

“When you see something work, you want it to work again,” he said.