Children and young adults have embraced new information technologies in large numbers. More than any other age group, these younger age groups use computers and the Internet widely for many of their daily activities.
This chapter explores the increasingly large number of children and young adults who have computers and online access, where they get access outside the home, and how they use the Internet. We focus on children in lower elementary school (ages 5-9), later elementary and junior high school (ages 10-13), and high school (ages 14-17), as well as young adults (ages 18-24). This year’s survey also asked parents about concerns about exposing children to online content, and whether that has affected their decisions to go online or to maintain Internet access.
As noted in Chapter 2, children and young adults under 25 are significant users of new information technologies. By the age of 10, young people are more likely to use the Internet than adults at any age beyond 25. The high rate of use among children and young adults is reflected in higher rates of Internet connectivity within family households with children, as well as in high use rates among these age groups both at home and outside the home.
Family households with children under age 18 are far more likely to have computers than families without children: 70.1 percent, compared to 58.8 percent. They are also more likely to have Internet subscriptions: 62.2 percent versus 53.2 percent. The presence of children is also associated with modestly higher rates of broadband connectivity through DSL or cable modem: 18.4 percent for families with children, compared to 16.9 percent for those without children (Figure 5-1).
Figure 5-1: Access Among Families With and Without Children,
2001
as a Percentage of U.S. Households
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Individual computer and Internet use among all groups of children and young adults has also soared in the last few years. With regard to computer use, 89.5 percent of all school-aged children (between the ages of 5-17) use computers. Within the same age range, 58.5 percent use the Internet. Internet use is particularly high for teens and pre-teens.[1] More than three-quarters (75.6 percent) of 14-17 year olds and 65.4 percent of 10-13 year olds use the Internet at some location, up from 51.2 and 39.2 percent in 1998 (Figure 5-2).
Among 18-24 year olds, Internet use is heavily affected by whether or not they attend school or college. Among those in school or college, 85.0 percent use the Internet, compared to 51.5 percent of those who are not in school.
Figure 5-2: Internet Use at Any Location, 1998 and 2001
as a Percent of U.S. Population
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
In addition to much higher overall use, children and young
adults are also far more likely to use the Internet outside the home than they
were in previous years. In fact,
“outside home” use is nearly equivalent to “at home” use for almost every age
group (and exceeds “at home” use for 18-24 year olds in school or
college). For example, as Figure 5-3
demonstrates, nearly equal percentages of teenagers used the Internet outside
the home (60.7 percent) as at home (61.4 percent). This contrasts with 1998 levels for teenagers of 26.9 percent
“outside home” use, compared to 32.9 percent at home. Similarly, in 1998, 19.2 percent of 10-13 year olds used the
Internet outside the home, compared to 25.4 percent at home.
Figure 5-3: Internet Use Among Children At Home/Outside
Home/Any Location, 2001
as a Percent of U.S. Population
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
The high rate of Internet use outside the home among young people 10 years old and up is considerably different from the overall national figures for all ages, and is largely accounted for by use at schools, as discussed in the following section.
The Impact of Schools on Internet and Computer Use
Most “outside home” use is at schools, where children and young adults use computers and the Internet at high levels. As shown in Figure 5-4, young people are using computers at high levels, even in elementary school. For example, almost every young adult (95.9 percent) between ages 18 and 24, who attends school or college, uses a computer: 86.1 percent in school (20.8 percent only at school and 65.3 percent both at home and school), and 74.5 percent at home (9.2 percent only at home and 66.3 percent both at home and school). Even among 5 to 9 year olds, a large portion (84.3 percent) are using computers at home, at school, or both.
Figure 5-4: Computer Use by Age and Location, 2001[2]
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Figure 5-5 also indicates the widespread use of the Internet by young people both at home and at school, although Internet use is not yet at the same high levels as computer use. For example, more than three-quarters of 14-17 year olds use the Internet at home, at school, or both: 55.4 percent use the Internet at school (42.8 percent both at home and school, and 12.6 percent only at school), while 61.4 percent use it at home (42.8 percent both at home and school, and 18.6 percent only at home). Even three out of eight 5-9 year olds (or 37.6 percent) use the Internet at home and/or school.
Figure 5-5: Internet Use by Age and Location, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Figures 5-6, 5-7, and 5-8 show the significance of having computers at school in bringing technology to children of various backgrounds.[3] Figure 5-6 shows that 80.7 percent of children (ages 10-17) in the lowest income category use computers at school, little different from the 88.7 percent of children at the highest income level. School helps to equalize the disparity that would otherwise exist in computer and Internet use among the various household income categories. In the lowest income category, 33.1 percent of children use computers at home, in contrast to 91.7 percent of children in the highest income category. The gap in computer use narrows, however, from almost 60 points between the highest and lowest income children’s use at home to a 12 point gap in computer use when home and school are combined.
Figure 5-6: Computer Use Among 10 to 17 Year-Olds
By Income and Location, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Similarly, as shown in Figure 5-7, Hispanic and Black children – who have lower computer use rates at home – approach computer use rates of Whites and Asian American and Pacific Islanders largely due to their computer use in school. A far higher percentage of Hispanic (38.9 percent) and Black (44.7 percent) children rely solely on schools to use computers than do Asian and Pacific Islanders (11.1 percent) and White children (15.1 percent). Because of the availability of school computers, overall computer use rates among children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds is comparable: 84.2 percent for Hispanic children, 88.8 percent for Black children, 94 percent for Asian and Pacific Islander children, and 95.4 percent for White children.
Figure 5-7: Computer Use Among 10 to 17 Year-Olds
By Race/Hispanic Origin and Location, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Finally, Figure 5-8 shows that overall computer use rates for children of single parents – who have lower use rates at home – approach those of children from two-parent families due to computer use at school. More than twice as many children from single-parent families use computers only at schools as do children in two-parent families: 40.7 percent of children in female-headed households, 32.0 percent in male-headed households, and 16.6 percent in households with two parents.[4] Because of school use, children from different family types have comparable overall computer use rates: 88.8 percent for children in female-headed households, 90.7 percent for children in male-headed households, and 94.4 percent of children in dual-parent households.
Figure 5-8: Computer Use Among 10 to 17 Year-Olds
By Household Type and Location, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Schools also provide an important resource for Internet use for all children, regardless of their background. The levels of school-only Internet use, however, are not as high as the levels of school-only computer use. As a result, the availability of the Internet at schools does not compensate for disparities in home use to the same degree as computer use in schools.
As shown in Figures 5-9, 5-10, and 5-11, substantial differences in overall Internet use remain between children of different backgrounds. Figure 5-9 demonstrates that nearly four times as many children (ages 10-17) go online only at school when they live in a household in the lowest income category (20.8 percent) than at the highest income level (5.0 percent). However, overall school use still varies widely: 34.3 percent for children in the lowest income category, compared to 62.7 percent for children who live in the highest income households. Additionally, home Internet use is much higher for those who live in high income households: 82.5 percent for children in families earning $75,000 and higher, compared to 21.4 percent for children in families earning $15,000 and below. For these reasons, overall Internet use among children has a wider differential by income than computer use. Children in families at the lowest income level have an overall Internet use rate about half that of children at the highest income level: 45.7 percent, compared to 87.5 percent.
Figure 5-9: Internet Use Among 10 to 17 Year-Olds By Income and Location, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Figure 5-10 demonstrates that there are also significant differences in online use among children of different races and ethnicities. School-only and home use rates are relatively lower for Hispanic and Black children, resulting in overall use rates of 47.8 and 52.3 percent, respectively. Asian American and Pacific Islander and White children, by contrast, are far more likely to use the Internet either at home only, or at home and school, resulting in higher overall Internet use levels of 79.4 and 79.7 percent, respectively.
Figure 5-10: Internet Use Among 10 to 17 Year-Olds
By Race/Hispanic Origin and Location, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Finally, Figure 5-11 shows similar patterns for children from households of different family types. Children in single-parent families are less likely to use the Internet at home (36.5 percent in female-headed households and 45.1 percent in male-headed households) than are children in two-parent families (64.2 percent). Because Internet use at school does not compensate for this difference, overall Internet use rates remain higher for children in two-parent families.
Figure 5-11: Internet Use Among 10 to 17 Year-Olds By Household Type, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
While the vast majority of children and young adults uses the
Internet either at home or school, there are some who use the Internet at other
locations outside the home. This is
captured in the “other only” category in Figures 5-9, 5-10, and 5-11. Approximately 12 percent of 10 to 17 year olds use the Internet at
the library and a similar percentage use the Internet at a friend's house.
(one-third of this group overlaps—i.e., they use the Internet at both
the library and a friend's house).
However, as shown in the figures above, only a very small percentage of
Internet users in this age group rely solely on Internet access outside of home
and school—2.1 percent—although this does vary by family income, race/Hispanic
origin, and household type, as discussed in Chapter 2.
Using the
Internet from a location other than home or school also varies by whether the
student has Internet access at home.
For example, 16.6 percent of Internet users in the 10-17 age bracket use
the Internet at a public library. This
percentage, however, rises to 29.3 percent among kids who use the Internet at
school, but not at home. And although
there are large differences in public library use among the various segments of
this group (see Figure 5-12), overall public library use remains high for students
who use the Internet at school, but not at home.
Figure 5-12: Internet
Use at Public Libraries by Students
Who Use the Internet at School, But Not at Home, Ages 10 to 17, 2001
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
How Young People Are Using the Internet
Children and young adults have embraced the Internet in conducting their daily activities, and therefore, use the Internet in ways that differ from older adults. While older adults tend to use the Internet to check for news, sports, weather, or research products and services, children and young adults are more likely to use the Internet to complete school assignments or play games. And while very high percentages of all age groups – adults and children alike – use e-mail, older children and young adults are doing so at much higher levels.
As shown in Figure 5-13, children and young adults are most likely to use the Internet for schoolwork. More than half of all children over age 10, and three-quarters of all young adults (18 to 24 year olds) in school, use the Internet for this purpose. Nearly one-fifth of all elementary school students are also using the Internet for schoolwork.
Children and young adults also use the Internet for communication and entertainment. E-mail is a close second to schoolwork among teenagers and young adults. A very high percentage of all teenagers (62.1 percent) and young adults in school (75.0 percent) use e-mail, compared to 45.2 percent of the overall U.S. population. These two age groups also go online in higher percentages than other age groups to engage in chat rooms and to listen to the radio or watch TV or movies.
Generally, as children grow older, they use the Internet for more types of activities. The one exception is playing games, which peaks among 14-17 year olds. While Internet use is generally lower among 5-9 year olds, 25 percent of this age group uses the Internet to play games.
These patterns show that the Internet has become integrated into children’s daily routines, which involve school, entertainment, communication, and play. As children get older, they become far more likely to use the Internet to engage in such activities. As a result, teenagers and young adults in school are now among the highest Internet users.
Figure 5-13: Major Activities Among Children and Young Adults,
2001
As a Percentage of U.S. Population under 25 years old
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements
Concerns About Children’s Online Use
With the Internet becoming an increasingly common daily activity for children, there has been a heightened interest regarding the possible exposure of children to unsafe or inappropriate content online. Despite such concerns, it is clear that children are still using the Internet in increasingly high numbers. As discussed below, it is also apparent that these concerns are not a significant reason underlying a household’s decision to forego or to discontinue Internet access. Nevertheless, because these concerns have been raised, the September 2001 survey asked for the first time whether parents were more concerned about exposure of children to material on the Internet or to material on television.[5]
On a nationwide basis, a majority of respondents (68.3 percent) said that they were more concerned about their children’s exposure to material over the Internet. A lower percentage said they felt equally concerned about the propriety of Internet and television content (26.1 percent), and a small fraction (5.6 percent) said they felt less concerned about the Internet than television.
The concern about exposing children to inappropriate online content does not, however, result in lower levels of Internet use at home. More people who expressed concern about the Internet than television had Internet subscriptions at home (51.8 percent), than those who were more concerned about television (44.8 percent) or felt equally about the Internet and television (46.9 percent)
Additionally, even though more respondents stated concern about the Internet than television, this concern was seldom a factor when households opted to discontinue an Internet subscription or made the decision not to subscribe. When households that had discontinued Internet access were asked why, “concerns about how children use it” was one of the least cited factors (2.5 percent nationwide, compared to “too expensive” at 21.8 percent or “don’t want it” at 20.0 percent). Married couples with children under 18 were more likely, however, to list concerns about children as their reason for discontinuing access (6.6 percent), as were male-headed households (5.3 percent) and female-headed households (4.8 percent).
Similarly, only 1 percent of households nationwide that never had an Internet subscription cited “concerns about how children use it” as a reason (compared to 53.6 percent that cited “don’t want it” and 23.8 percent that cited “too expensive”). Again, married couples with children under 18 were slightly more likely to cite this reason (5.3 percent), as were single mothers (1.9 percent) and single fathers (1.4 percent), although still at very low levels.
In sum, while survey respondents generally expressed more concern about the effect of the Internet than television on children, this concern does not appear to have prompted families to discontinue or reject Internet access at home compared to other factors.
Table 5-1: Has Computer at Home and Uses Internet at Home, |
||||
|
|
Total 3-17
Years Old |
Home
computer |
Home
Internet Use |
Outside
Home Internet Use |
|
|
Number |
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
|
Total |
60,881 |
70.7 |
41.2 |
38.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AGE |
|
|
|
|
|
3-4 years |
7,868 |
61.7 |
11.5 |
5.4 |
|
5-9 years |
20,096 |
68.0 |
28.3 |
25.3 |
|
10-13 years |
16,895 |
88.5 |
51.1 |
49.8 |
|
14-17 years |
16,022 |
75.7 |
61.4 |
60.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GENDER |
|
|
|
|
|
Male |
31,183 |
70.3 |
41.1 |
38.7 |
|
Female |
29,699 |
71.1 |
41.2 |
39.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RACE/HISPANIC ORIGIN |
|
|
|
|
|
White non-Hispanic |
38,170 |
82.7 |
50.2 |
44.5 |
|
Black |
9,477 |
45.8 |
24.7 |
31.8 |
|
Asian Pacific Islander |
2,591 |
81.3 |
51.6 |
37.3 |
|
Hispanic (of any race) |
9,923 |
46.6 |
20.1 |
24.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOUSEHOLD TYPE |
|
|
|
|
|
Married-couple household |
42,835 |
79.1 |
46.6 |
40.0 |
|
Male householder |
3,093 |
57.2 |
33.0 |
37.8 |
|
Female householder |
14,166 |
49.0 |
26.8 |
35.9 |
|
Nonfamily household |
669 |
55.0 |
31.7 |
32.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAMILY INCOME |
|
|
|
|
|
Under $15,000 |
7,323 |
33.3 |
14.3 |
25.9 |
|
15,000-24,999 |
6,108 |
48.0 |
21.4 |
31.5 |
|
25,000-34,999 |
6,765 |
59.7 |
28.9 |
33.6 |
|
35,000-49,999 |
8,632 |
75.7 |
42.4 |
41.7 |
|
50,000-74,999 |
10,840 |
86.9 |
52.1 |
44.0 |
|
75,000+ |
13,604 |
94.9 |
63.4 |
48.3 |
|
Not reported |
7,596 |
62.6 |
37.1 |
34.4 |
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S.
Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey
Supplements
|
Table 5-2: Has Computer at Home and Uses Internet at Home by
Young Adults 18-24 Years Old, Attending School or College, 2001 |
||||
|
|
Total
18-24 Years Old |
Home
computer |
Home
Internet Use |
Outside
Home Internet Use |
|
|
Number |
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
|
In School or College |
11,034 |
80.7 |
68.0 |
71.9 |
|
Not in School or College |
16,103 |
52.4 |
24.0 |
13.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GENDER |
|
|
|
|
|
Male |
5,195 |
81.9 |
69.4 |
73.7 |
|
Female |
5,833 |
89.1 |
66.8 |
70.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RACE/HISPANIC ORIGIN |
|
|
|
|
|
White non-Hispanic |
7,499 |
86.5 |
74.3 |
76.2 |
|
Black |
1,450 |
58.9 |
47.0 |
59.7 |
|
Asian Pacific Islander |
730 |
89.6 |
77.5 |
72.5 |
|
Hispanic (of any race) |
1,288 |
66.8 |
49.7 |
61.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOUSEHOLD TYPE |
|
|
|
|
|
Married-couple household |
3,346 |
88.3 |
73.8 |
69.3 |
|
Male householder |
264 |
66.7 |
53.8 |
69.3 |
|
Female householder |
1,059 |
60.0 |
46.5 |
58.7 |
|
Non-family household |
1,854 |
78.6 |
68.6 |
81.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAMILY INCOME |
|
|
|
|
|
Under $15,000 |
1,550 |
69.2 |
56.1 |
73.9 |
|
15,000-24,999 |
902 |
68.7 |
53.8 |
65.2 |
|
25,000-34,999 |
1,004 |
68.4 |
56.1 |
73.0 |
|
35,000-49,999 |
1,173 |
81.8 |
37.5 |
67.8 |
|
50,000-74,999 |
1,766 |
87.7 |
34.5 |
74.0 |
|
75,000+ |
3,147 |
93.8 |
83.0 |
75.6 |
|
Not reported |
1,493 |
71.2 |
62.8 |
64.7 |
Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S.
Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey
Supplements
While school is the primary location where children use computers and the Internet outside the home, for adults that location is the workplace, which is discussed in the next chapter.