Teenagers in lower-income households have fewer desktops, laptops and tablets at home than their higher-income peers, according to a new study. And those disparities may influence more than how teenagers socialise, entertain themselves and apply for college or jobs.
At a time when schools across the US are introducing digital learning tools for the classroom, the research suggests that the digital divide among teenagers may be taking a disproportionate toll on their homework as well.
Only one-fourth of teenagers in households with less than $35,000 annual income had their own laptops compared with 62% in households with annual incomes of $100,000 or more, according to the study carried out by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit children's advocacy and media ratings group. One-fifth of teenagers in lower-income households reported that they never used computers for their homework, or used them less than once a month. And one-tenth of lower-income teenagers said they had only dial-up web access, an often slow and erratic internet connection.
Vicky Rideout, who wrote the report, said the disparities in teenagers' technology access amounted to "digital inequality." "There's a big difference between trying to type an essay for school-or do research on the internet -on a smartphone or using a compu ter," Rideout said, adding, "We need to make sure that technology does not exacerbate the disparities between the haves and the have-nots, instead of ameliorating them."
The study comes as regulators at the Federal Communications Commission are exploring the idea of subsidising broadband access for low-income households.
The survey asked more than 2,600 8to 18-year-olds in the US to report how much time they spent watching TV and videos, playing games on different devices, reading, listening to music and using social media. Teenagers spent an average of about six and a half hours on any given day exposed to screen media. And tweens, which the study defined as children 8 to 12, typically spent about four and a half hours a day on screen media. The study found some overarching themes. Teens and tweens generally reported spending much more time watching television than they did on social media.
The study also analyzed the differences in children's media use based on entertainment prototypes -such as mobile gamers, social networkers and heavy consumers of TV and music -and by race, gender, household income and parents' level of education. The study also found that while black teens and those in lower-income households had fewer computers at home, those who did have access to smartphones spent more time using them daily than their white or higher-income peers.
At a time when schools across the US are introducing digital learning tools for the classroom, the research suggests that the digital divide among teenagers may be taking a disproportionate toll on their homework as well.
Only one-fourth of teenagers in households with less than $35,000 annual income had their own laptops compared with 62% in households with annual incomes of $100,000 or more, according to the study carried out by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit children's advocacy and media ratings group. One-fifth of teenagers in lower-income households reported that they never used computers for their homework, or used them less than once a month. And one-tenth of lower-income teenagers said they had only dial-up web access, an often slow and erratic internet connection.
Vicky Rideout, who wrote the report, said the disparities in teenagers' technology access amounted to "digital inequality." "There's a big difference between trying to type an essay for school-or do research on the internet -on a smartphone or using a compu ter," Rideout said, adding, "We need to make sure that technology does not exacerbate the disparities between the haves and the have-nots, instead of ameliorating them."
The study comes as regulators at the Federal Communications Commission are exploring the idea of subsidising broadband access for low-income households.
The survey asked more than 2,600 8to 18-year-olds in the US to report how much time they spent watching TV and videos, playing games on different devices, reading, listening to music and using social media. Teenagers spent an average of about six and a half hours on any given day exposed to screen media. And tweens, which the study defined as children 8 to 12, typically spent about four and a half hours a day on screen media. The study found some overarching themes. Teens and tweens generally reported spending much more time watching television than they did on social media.
The study also analyzed the differences in children's media use based on entertainment prototypes -such as mobile gamers, social networkers and heavy consumers of TV and music -and by race, gender, household income and parents' level of education. The study also found that while black teens and those in lower-income households had fewer computers at home, those who did have access to smartphones spent more time using them daily than their white or higher-income peers.
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