Study Shows Teens’ Technology Use Is Surging

Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2005

Not surprisingly, the number of teens online is growing by leaps and bounds. Over the past four years, the number of teens using the Internet has grown 24 percent and an overwhelming majority of teens—87 percent—of those between the ages of 12 and 17 are surfing the Internet.

Those are the findings of a study released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project July 25. Not only has the number of users increased, but the variety of technologies that teens use to support their communication, research, and entertainment desires has also grown. When asked about their individual ownership of networked devices, such as desktop and laptop computers, cellphones, and BlackBerries, 84 percent of teens reported owning at least one of these devices. Some 45 percent of teens have their own cellphones and many own several devices that can connect to the Internet.

Playing games is huge among American teens, the study found. But teens also use the Internet to get news, shop online, and obtain health information. For the average teen, the study found, the Internet, along with cellphones, have created a day-to-day world for teens suffused with communications. The report, “Teens and Technology,” is based on a November 2004 survey of 1,100 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 and their parents. Among the report’s specific findings are the following:

• About 21 million teens use the Internet and half of them say they go online every day;
• 51 percent of online teens live in homes with broadband connections;
• 81 percent of wired teens play games online, which is 52 percent higher than four years ago;
• 76 percent of online teens get news online, which is 38 percent higher than four years ago;
• 43 percent have made purchases online, which is 71 percent higher than four years ago;
• 31 percent use the Internet to get health information, which is 47 percent higher than four years ago.

E-mail, once the cutting-edge, “killer app,” is losing its privileged place among many teens as they express preferences for instant messaging (IM) and text messaging as ways to connect with their friends.

Fully 75 percent of online teens use instant messaging and the average amount of time spent instant messaging in a day has increased over the last four years. One third of all American teens have sent a text message. Nonetheless, teens still rely on the phone as their most-used form of communication.

In focus groups, teens described e-mail as a tool for communicating with “adults,” such as teachers, institutions like schools, and as a way to convey lengthy and detailed information to large groups. Meanwhile, IM is used for everyday conversations with multiple friends that range from casual to more serious and private exchanges.

The Pew Internet Project produces reports that explore the impact of the Internet on children, families, communities, the workplace, schools, health care, and civic/political life. The Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center.