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10 Things to Know About How Teens Use Technology

Kristen Purcell presented key findings from the Pew Research Center about how teens use technology. She found that most teens now have smartphones, and spend much of their time online via mobile devices. While teens are highly engaged with social media, they also care about privacy and manage their online image. Teachers note that digital tools can both aid learning through research but may also encourage poor writing habits. However, a digital divide remains, as teachers of low-income students have fewer resources and support for technology integration.

Technology◦Health & Medicine◦
10 Things to Know About How Teens Use Technology Kristen Purcell, Ph.D. Associate Director, Research Pew Internet Project ACT Enrollment Planners Conference July 10, 2013
• Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, DC • PRC’s mission is to provide high quality, objective data to thought leaders and policymakers • Data for this talk is from nationally representative telephone surveys of U.S. adults and teens (on landlines and cell phones) unless otherwise noted • Presentation slides and all data are available at pewinternet.org
A story about Kristen and Holly… Kristen was born in 1970 She grew up in a house with a landline telephone (eventually two landlines!) She used a payphone to call her parents to pick her up at school Her family had a VCR and an answering machine, and Kristen had a walkman “Call waiting” was the rage in HS This is Kristen (she may look familiar)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Kristen took typing classes in high school and typed papers on an electric typewriter (with autocorrect!) She used library books to do research for school She typed her college applications on her electric typewriter and submitted them by mail Everything she knew about the colleges she applied to came from books, friends, and teachers This is Kristen (she may look familiar)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Kristen got her first computer, a Mac, freshman year in college (1988) She began using something called “email” junior year in college (1990) She would analyze datasets by dialing in to her college mainframe In graduate school, Kristen got a laptop and a Palm Pilot, did most of her research online, and submitted papers as email attachments This is Kristen (she may look familiar)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Kristen was the last one she knew to get a cell phone, in 2004 at age 34 She now has a smartphone, an iPad, two laptops, and a desktop She has broadband and a wireless network at home, and MiFi for traveling She can access work documents and email anywhere in the world Kristen now has a Facebook page, Twitter account, and Pinterest profile, and loves texting This is Kristen (she may look familiar)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Holly was born in 1995 She is entering her senior year in high school and is applying to colleges Holly has never known a world without the internet, email, PCs or cell phones When she was born, almost half of adults used the internet and had cell phones By the time she was 10, 73% of adults had cell phones and 30% had laptops This is Holly (this is not actually Holly, she would kill me if I used her real picture)
A story about Kristen and Holly… At age 10, Holly got her first cell phone At age 14, on a family trip, Holly was forced to teach her aunt how to text Today, Holly has an iPhone – she is one of 37% of teens who have a smartphone and one of 78% of teens who have a cell phone of any kind Like 87% of her peers, Holly has a phone that can take pictures Holly can also use her phone to record video, watch and share videos, and listen to music This is Holly (this is not actually Holly, she would kill me if I used her real picture)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Holly got her first computer when she started middle school – so she could do her homework online Today, she has her own laptop – she is part of the 93% of teens who use a laptop or desktop computer at home When Holly was born, the World Wide Web was 5 years old…. today Holly is one of 95% of teens who use the internet This is Holly (this is not actually Holly, she would kill me if I used her real picture)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Facebook emerged in 2004, when Holly was 9 Today, Holly has a Facebook page, where she (reluctantly) is friends with her aunts and uncles Holly is joined by 82% of her online peers on social networking sites She is one of 62% of online teens who post photos of themselves online Holly likes Facebook but she LOVES Tumblr – along with 5% of her peers This is Holly (this is not actually Holly, she would kill me if I used her real picture)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Twitter emerged in 2006 when Holly was 11 and in middle school Holly doesn’t use Twitter – but one in four of her online friends do (24%) YouTube emerged a year prior to Twitter, in 2005, when Holly was just starting middle school Today, 27% of Holly’s online peers record and upload videos 13% of her online peers stream live video to the internet and 37% use video chat This is Holly (this is not actually Holly, she would kill me if I used her real picture)
A story about Kristen and Holly… Holly researched colleges online and emailed programs before deciding which schools to visit A main source was YouTube, where she saw not only “official” school videos, but videos by students that revealed a LOT about college life She chose not to visit schools with slow or difficult to navigate websites because she felt it was a sign they were not keeping up with technology Holly submitted her first college application this week – online This is Holly (this is not actually Holly, she would kill me if I used her real picture)
• 78% of teens have a cell phone, almost half (47%) of whom own smartphones • That means 37% of all teens have smartphones, up from 23% in 2011 • 23% of teens have a tablet, comparable to the general adult population • 95% of teens use the internet • 93% of teens have a computer or access to one at home • 71% with home computer access say the laptop or desktop they use most often is one they share with other family members “Teens and Technology 2013”
• 74% of teens access the internet on mobile devices • 1 in 4 are “cell-mostly” internet users (15% of adults who are cell-mostly) • Among teen smartphone owners, half are cell-mostly internet users • Older girls are most likely to be cell-mostly internet users; 34% mostly go online using their cell phone, compared with 24% of boys ages 14-17 (boys and girls are equally likely to be smartphone owners) • Among older teen girls who are smartphone owners, 55% use the internet mostly from their phone • Overall, teens living in lower-income and lower-education households are still less likely to use the internet • However, those in low income or low education hhs are just as likely and in some cases more likely than those in higher income or more highly educated hhs to use their cell phone as a primary point of internet access “Teens and Technology 2013”
10 Things to Know… #1 – Among teens 12-17, social network site growth has slowed (particularly Facebook), but Twitter use is growing rapidly
FB remains dominant platform There was little room left for FB growth among teen social media users
10 Things to Know… #2 – Today’s teens are sharing more personal information online than teens have in the past
10 Things to Know… #3 – Today’s teens do care about online privacy
Most teens use the “private” setting on Facebook Only 1% don’t know what their privacy settings are Teen Facebook users are aware of their privacy settings
On Twitter, most teens’ tweets are public 12% don’t know what their privacy settings are Twitter is a more public platform for most teens
40% of teens are at least “somewhat concerned” about 3rd party access to their info…
10 Things to Know… #4 – Today’s teens take active steps to manage their online reputations
Teens manage their online reputations by deleting undesirable material One in five teen social media users regret some- thing they posted
Most teen social media users have deleted or blocked people in their network
10 Things to Know… #5 – Parents of teens are very aware that online content can impact their teens’ lives
Parents of online teens are as concerned about reputation management as they are about strangers online 72% express concern about strangers online 69% are concerned about online reputation mgmt
10 Things to Know… #6 – Most teens’ educational environments include the use of at least some digital technologies
Cell phones are used more than tablets or e-readers as educational tools All of these tools are more likely to be used by teachers of higher SES students
• 42% of AP and NWP teachers say their students use their phones to look up information in class • 38% say students take pictures or record video with their phones for class assignments • 18% say students use cell phones to upload school related content to the internet • 11% report students texting in class with a teacher/other students as a part of a class assignment • 2% have students use an online cell phone platform like CELLY Teens are using cell phones as learning tools
Research is the most common online activity teachers give students Teachers are less likely to use interactive tech tools such as wikis or GoogleDocs as part of the learning process
10 Things to Know… #7 – The internet has fundamentally altered how teens do research, but not necessarily for the worse
Teachers’ see the internet having both positive and negative impacts on students’ research habits and skills Source: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers, March 7 to April 23, 2012, n=2,462 middle and high school teachers. For today’s teens, research = “Googling” The internet and digital tools open up a vast array of information and resources Yet students must have the skills to dig through this information to find the most credible and salient content
Overall, teachers say the positives outweigh the negatives Overall, would you say the impact of the internet on students’ research habits has been mostly positive or mostly negative? Source: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers, March 7 to April 23, 2012, n=2,462 middle and high school teachers. “The internet makes doing research easier…. easier to do well and easier to do poorly” – AP teacher focus group
10 Things to Know… #8 – Digital tools can benefit teens’ writing skills and abilities, according to teachers
Teachers' Views of Potential Impacts of Today's Digital Ecology on Students Source: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers, March 7 to April 23, 2012. Based on a non-representative sample of 2,067 middle and high school teachers. Students write more and are more engaged in their writing A broader audience + more opportunities for expression and feedback have many students more engaged in the writing process 92% of AP and NWP teachers surveyed describe writing assignments as “essential” to the formal learning process “Writing effectively” tops teachers’ list of skills students need to be successful (91% say it is essential)
In focus groups, teachers expressed concerns about… • Informal language and grammar creeping into formal writing • Generally diminishing grammatical and vocabulary skills • Cultural emphasis on truncated forms of expression Digital technologies are perceived as contributing to both positive and negative writing skills and habits % who say computers and other digital tools for writing… Make students MORE LIKELY to… Make students LESS LIKELY to… Make NO DIFFERENCE Take shortcuts and not put effort into their writing 68 10 22 Write better because they can revise and edit easily 56 19 25 Be creative 50 12 37 Present ideas clearly 46 13 41 Write too fast or be careless 46 19 35 Use poor spelling and grammar 40 38 22 Source: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers, March 7 to April 23, 2012. Based on a non-representative sample of 2,067 middle and high school teachers.
10 Things to Know… #9 – Teachers are divided as to whether “digital natives” are all that unique
Are “digital natives” unique? Yes and No
10 Things to Know… #10 – A digital divide persists in the area of education and technology
Teachers of the highest and lowest income students are not on a level playing field, and they are concerned These AP and NWP teachers see disparities in tech access both at home and in schools Teachers of the lowest income students….. • Are less satisfied with the support and resources provided by schools – 50% say their school does a “good job” in this area, compared with 70% among teachers of high income students • Are less likely to say their school provides formal training in how to effectively use digital tools in the classroom – 73% of teachers of high income students receive formal training compared with 60% of teachers of low income students • Are more than twice as likely to describe their school as “behind the curve” when it comes to using the newest digital tools – 39% say this, compared with 15% of teachers of high income students • Are twice as likely as teachers of the highest income students to say their schools’ internet filters and rules about cell phone use have a major impact on their ability to bring these tools into their teaching
How many of your students have sufficient access [INSERT] to the internet and other digital technologies they need to effectively complete school assignments… Source: Teacher data from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers, March 7 to April 23, 2012, n=2,462 middle and high school teachers. 54% of these teachers say all or almost all of their students have sufficient access to digital tools while IN SCHOOL, but just 18% say the same is true AT HOME
Overall, 84% of AP and NWP teachers surveyed say digital tools are leading to greater disparities across schools % of teachers of high and low income students who “strongly agree” that today’s digital tools are leading to greater disparities between affluent and disadvantaged schools and school districts… Source: Teacher data from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers, March 7 to April 23, 2012, n=2,462 middle and high school teachers.
Kristen Purcell, Ph.D. Associate Director, Research Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project kpurcell@pewinternet.org Twitter: @pewinternet @kristenpurcell THANK YOU!! All data available at: pewinternet.org