A Timeline of Teens and Technology Amanda Lenhart

A Timeline of Teens and Technology Amanda Lenhart Policy & Advocacy in the Schools Meeting APA August 16, 2007 San Francisco, CA

Methodology • Random digit dial telephone surveys of 935 & 1100 teen/parent pairs • Interviewed teens ages 12 -17 • Focus groups with middle & high schoolers, summer of 2004, 2006 & 2007 • Builds on teen/parents survey work done in 2000 APA August 16, 2007

Internet Use Basics • 70% of American adults go online • 93% of American teens ages 12 to 17 use the internet • 87% of all parents online • 73% of all families have broadband @ home • 68% of online Americans have home broadband • 7% of teens do not use the internet APA August 16, 2007

Location: Where do teens go online? • • • 89% of online teens have access at home 75% have internet access at school 70% go online from a friend’s or relative’s house 50% have gone online from a library 9% go online from a community center or house of worship • 93% of online teens have multiple points of access—home AND school AND the library AND a friend’s house… APA August 16, 2007

Frequency of Use • 51% of online teens go online daily – 24% several times a day – 27% about once a day • 21% go online 3 to 5 days a week • 13% go online 1 to 2 days a week • 14% go online less often APA August 16, 2007

Broadband vs. Dialup Users • Teen broadband users go online more often and engage in a wider array of activities than dial up users • More dial up teens are likely to be low users (online less than 3 times a week) APA August 16, 2007

Circumstances of Internet Use • 90% of online teens share the computer with other family members • 73% of teens with home internet access use a computer in a public space in the home • 53% of teens use computers with filters • 45% use a computer with monitoring software • More 60% of parents report monitoring their child’s internet use, including setting rules about how long a child can go online APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Born 1990 Tim Berners-Lee writes World Wide Web program APA Personal computers are 15 years old August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – First Grade 1996 Palm Pilot goes on the market APA August 16, 2007

APA J: romeo u there R: yo wassup J: nothin’, u? R: skool sucked 2 day J: heard wylander got mad at u R: what a jerk i used purpl ink on the sci test and he got pissed he lookjs like jimminy crickt J: lol R: going to nicks party J: cant i’m grounded R: y J: cardoza called home, sez im failig Spanish btw my rents hate u R: mine hate u 2 J: my dads coming gtg R: k bye J: xoxo bye see u tmw R: xoxoxoxo gtg J: k August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Fourth Grade 1999 Sean Fanning creates Napster APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Starts Middle School 2001 Wikipedia - 2001 APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Middle School 2001 APA August 16, 2007

Cellphones – Middle school years • In 2004 – 45% online teens have a cellphone • In 2006, 66% of online teens have a cellphone • 68% of cellphone owners txt (2006) APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Middle School 2003 Skype - 2003 APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Starts High School 2004 Podcasts – 2004 APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen: Frosh Year 2004 Photosharing sites: Flickr Photobucket etc APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Sophomore Year 2005 You. Tube – 2005 APA August 16, 2007

Today’s Teen – Junior Year 2005 -2006 The Year of My. Space: • More than 100 million accounts created • Third most popular site in the U. S. (after Yahoo and Google) • 55% of online teens use social networking sites • Of those who use social networking, 48% log on to the sites at least once a day or more APA August 16, 2007

Today - 2007 Avatar - based Persistent Social Worlds • Older Kids: Habbo Hotel, Gaia Online & Second Life • Younger Kids: Webkinz, Whyville, Club Penguin APA August 16, 2007

What’s not in our timeline? • Gaming – on-going. Oldest video gamers who grew up with it are entering their forties, so some of the younger kids have parents who game. • More than 2/3 rds of online teens play computer or video games. • Email – “It’s for old people” • Mobility – gaming (DS, PSP), and now continuous presence applications – take social networks mobile – Twitter – Pownce etc etc – Teens don’t use these – yet. APA August 16, 2007

Social Networking Websites • “Online Social Networks are web spaces where individuals can post information about themselves, usually by creating a profile or website, and where they can connect with others in the same network. ” • Two main elements to social networking that relate to its appeal to teens (and young adults) – Connecting and communicating with others – Content creation a. k. a. self-expression • 55% of online teens use social networking websites • 55% have a profile online APA August 16, 2007

SNS: Demographics • Girls, particularly older girls, more likely to use SNS than boys (70% of girls 15 -17 have profile online, compared to 57% of boys 15 -17) • Age is major factor – 12 & 13 year-olds; 37% have an online profile – 14 -17 year-olds; 63% have an online profile • Other demographic factors not significant – Income – Race/ethnicity APA August 16, 2007

Profiles: Switchboards for social life APA August 16, 2007

SNS: Gender and Behavior • Reinforcing pre-existing relationships (girls) – 91% stay in touch with friends they see a lot – 82% stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person • Meeting new people & flirting (boys) – 49% make new friends • more for boys, less for girls – 17% flirt • mostly older boys – 29% of them flirt vs. 13% of older girls APA August 16, 2007

All the world is not a stage. . . • 66% of all teens with profiles online have in some way restricted access to it – includes hiding it completely, taking it down, or making it private • 77% of profile-owning teens have a currently visible online profile – Of those with a visible profile, 59% say only their friends can see their profile. – 40% say anyone can see profile • 56% of teens with profiles say they have posted at least some fake information to their profile “I use a pseudonym, who is 24. Because I regard myself as an intellectual, it’s easier to be taken seriously if people don’t know they’re talking to a 16 year old. ” - Boy, Late High School APA August 16, 2007

Tensions in SNS Use • Embodies tension in social networking sites – Teens want to stay safe – Want to connect with friends and with those with similar interests – People need to be able to find you to make new connections – Social networks ask for lots of personal information when you create a profile – Facilitates good and bad “findability” APA August 16, 2007

Online Safety & Harassment • • • 32% of online teens have been contacted online by a complete stranger. Teens with SNS profiles are more likely to have been contacted. Of teens who have been contacted, 23% say they were made scared or uncomfortable by the stranger contact. Girls are more likely to report feeling scared or uncomfortable 32% of online teens have experience some form of online harassment, also called cyberbullying – Threatening messages – Private material forwarded without permission – Someone posting an embarrassing picture of you online – Spreading a rumor about you online APA August 16, 2007

Teen Reality #1 Teens are technology-rich and enveloped by a wired world: • 83% of all teens say that “most” of the people they know use the internet • 10% say that “some” of the people they know use the internet. • Just 6% say that very few of the people they know use the internet. APA August 16, 2007

Teen Reality #2 Mobile gadgets allow them to enjoy media and communicate anywhere • 84% report owning at least one personal media device: a desktop or laptop computer, a cell phone or a Personal Digital Assistant • 63% of all teens own a cell phone APA August 16, 2007

Teen Reality #3 Teens know that ordinary citizens can be publishers, movie makers, artists, song creators, and storytellers 57% of online teens have created some kind of content for the internet APA August 16, 2007

Content Creation • 57% of online teens have created some kind of content online • Includes – Photos – Video – Writing, stories – Artwork – Songs, music • 19% have a blog • 38% read the blogs of others • 76% of social network-using teens leave comments on the blogs of friends • Self-expression and feedback APA August 16, 2007

Sharing Creative Work • 33% of online teens share their own creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories, or videos APA August 16, 2007

Bluegrass fiddler Nick Dumas: Age 16 "I'd be surprised if our band doesn't get noticed by some record company, " Dumas says confidently. "People keep telling us, `You need to go to Nashville. ‘” APA August 16, 2007

Working for Others • 32% have created or worked on webpages or blogs for others, including those for groups they belong to, friends or school assignments APA August 16, 2007

Jasmine Ta: Teen Journalist APA August 16, 2007

Personal Webpages • 22% report keeping their own personal webpage APA August 16, 2007

Creating a Blog • 19% of online teens have a blog • Teen bloggers: Older girls, frequent users • Do not update blogs frequently— largest group (less than a third) update the blog 12 times a week APA August 16, 2007

Teen Blog Readers • 38% of online teens read blogs • Teen blog readers: Higher SES, BBD/ tech-savvy home, older teens, girls & frequent users • Reading blogs: 15% read daily or more often • But 1/3 rd read less often than every few weeks. • Two-thirds read only the blogs of people they already know. Another third read both the blogs of friends and strangers. APA August 16, 2007

Remixing • 19% of all online teens say they remix content they find online into their own artistic creations • 35% of teen bloggers remix content APA August 16, 2007

Teen Reality #4 Teens are multimedia multi-taskers: Multi-tasking is a way of life – and people live in a state of “continuous partial attention” --- Linda Stone APA August 16, 2007

Kaiser Family Foundation, Generation M, March 2005 APA August 16, 2007

Kaiser Family Foundation, Generation M, March 2005 APA August 16, 2007

Education • 94% of online youth use the Internet for school research; 78% say the Internet helps them with schoolwork. • 71% of online teens say that they used the Internet as the major source for their most recent major school project or report. • 41% of online teens say they use email and instant messaging to contact teachers or classmates about schoolwork. • 18% of online teens say they know of someone who has used the Internet to cheat on a paper or test. APA August 16, 2007

Libraries 2. 0 APA August 16, 2007

Impact and Implications • Those who have grown up with interactive media want to manipulate, remix, and share content. • They expect to be in conversation with others about content – access to an audience. • Increasingly savvy about what they share, particularly on SNS – protecting privacy • Social media is always-on, and persistent • But teens are still teens – the fundamentals of that time of life are still there APA August 16, 2007

What’s on the horizon? Convergence of major current trends • • More persistent social worlds (Second Life, WOW) More mobility (cellphones, laptops, DS/PSP) More persistent, constant presence – Twitter, etc. More avatar-based interactive spaces (Gaia, Habbo, SL) • All of these will come together as interactive and mobile and gaming spaces, all rolled into one. (Sony Home) APA August 16, 2007

Thank You • • Amanda Lenhart Pew Internet & American Life Project alenhart@pewinternet. org http: //www. pewinternet. org

Links • UNK & Fosse: http: //youtube. com/watch? v=NIGbh. PLZmj. Y • Diet Coke & Mentos: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=0 qw 7 Byx. X 0 X 8 Digital Native Wiki: http: //www. digitalnative. org/Main_Page • • Pumpkin: http: //profile. myspace. com/index. cfm? fuseaction=user. viewprofile &friend. ID=122568146 • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Jzqumbhfx. Ro APA August 16, 2007