"COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Teens are concerned with purchasing MP3 players, cell phones and apparel with the latest labels, but they also realize economic realities, including the importance of achieving financial independence, according to a poll by Junior Achievement and The Allstate Foundation.Although teens are not as heavily impacted by the economy as their parents or guardians, survey results indicate that teens wield strong influence on household buying decisions (67.6%) and more than a third receive an allowance (35%). Today's teens are willing to work around the house for their wages; nearly three quarters of teens receiving an allowance indicate that it is tied to household chores or other family-oriented responsibilities.Today's wage-earning teens remain skeptical about the future of Social Security with nearly half (48.7%) responding that the program will not be around in its current form when they reach age 65, up from 44% in the 2002 poll. Changing market conditions also continue to impact teen stock ownership. Only 15.5 % say they own stock, down significantly from the 2001 poll when 25% said they own stock."The poll demonstrates how important it is to continue teaching our young people about the economics of life," says Jack Kosakowski, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Junior Achievement Inc. "With the right education, teens will make better financial decisions about their futures."The 2004 Junior Achievement Interprise Poll on Personal Finance was sponsored by The Allstate Foundation as a result of a $1.5 million grant to Junior Achievement to create educational programs to improve the financial literacy of today's youth, says Catherine S. Brune, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Allstate Insurance. The grant will provide funding for the development of a new curriculum on economic empowerment and success skills. The program will be implemented nationally in the spring of 2005, and is expected to reach nearly one million students over its lifetime.The JA Interprise Poll is conducted annually to gauge teens' knowledge about the importance of financial literacy.The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by The Allstate Corp., the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer.Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. JA offers in-school and after-school programs for more than four million students in grades K-12 from nearly 150 offices.Visit Junior Achievement Inc.: www.ja.org"