What Factors Influence Internet Use Among Teens English Language Essay

What Factors Influence profits Use Among Teens English Langu mature EssayThe lucre has incur part of todays teens culture and they are very familiar on how to put on and navigate in it. This paper reflects on the factors that influence net income wont among teens based on a survey compiled by Pew Internet American Life Project on a sample of over 1,000 adolescents in the midst of the come ons of 12 to 17 who were interviewed randomly by phone. It indicates that 9 out of 10 nark the internet regularly which is an increase of 75% in comparison to the course 2000. This high number is in contrast to the findings that only 66% of American adults use the internet. The study further hand overed that most teenagers first accessed the internet between the age of 10 and 12. 87% admitted using the internet regularly, with 52% of them accessing the internet everyday, an increase from 42% in 2000. About 50% of these teenagers, their families used a speedier broadband conjunction wi th the rest using other means such as dial-up connections. Teens were found to use the internet for rank messaging, online blogs, initiating online chats and sending e-mails. In the survey, 75% use instant messaging compared to 42% of adults as a means of communication with their fellow age mates. The survey as well indicates that 75% of todays teens use the internet to read newsworthiness which is a sharp increase from 38% in the year 2000. University of Diegos technology trackers such as Susannah Stern expect instant messaging to keep ripening exponentially due to chum influence. Though Teens interviewed felt that internet use was a source of indispensable fun and a means of communication and research. Amanda Lenhart, a Pew researcher who participated in conducting the study, found that Teens are very selective-theyre smart about their technology use. They use it for the kinds of things they need to do. The older teenage girls between ages 15 to 17 contrasted the myth of the tech-savvy boys since they were found to use the internet more than their male counterparts.Literature reviewTo determine factors influencing Internet recitation among the youths such as demographics and socio-economic and peer influence, a literature review of the available Pew research has been conducted, focusing on factors influencing teenagers access to the Internet or World Wide Web overlook for e-mailing purposes.According to the literature, students are the main users of the Internet. Jones and Madden (2002) conducted a study on high school and junior college students Internet usage. Browsing the Internet was a daily activity 73% of these students used the Internet more than the library for research. S withalty-nine percent of the students agreed that Internet use has had a positive impact on their academic experience (Jones and Madden, 2002). Princeton Research Associates on behalf of Pew Internet American Life Project conducted nationwide phone interviews, and did an an alysis on how respondents penetrated the Internet. The data results show that all 59% of the general population penetrated the Internet less than 86% of students (Jones and Madden, 2002).Study Framework and Hypothesis DevelopmentThere are various factors influencing internet use among teens. This review provides a basis for this study based on the Pew Internet American Life Project survey and shall primarily examen on the influencing factors such as demographic and social-economic factors. Testable hypothesis shall then be proposed.Demographic factorsThe particular factors of gender, race/ethnicity, location of residence and age were very significant in determining internet usage among the teenagers in relation to their education status. There was a general increase for both students and non-students access to the internet. There was also an increase in the proportion of teenagers who accessed the internet across common races in the United States such as Whites, Blacks, and Hispa nics. However, these increases lease not been uniform across these groups. most(prenominal) high school drop-outs were observed not to have been on the internet for the past one year with only less than 33% answering to having accessed it. This was in sharp contrast to the over 90% of junior college students who have had regular access to the internet in the age bracket of 18 to 19. Internet access tended to increase with increasing levels of education and was highly used by junior college students and post-secondary students. The widening gap between those in school and the drop-outs access to the internet is project to rise due to increasing encouragement and facilitation of internet access points in schools. If older students already in college are exposed and encouraged more than jr. students in high school, as is normally the case, age will become an important demographic factor since internet usage prevalence will be higher in older students. Internet usage was clearly gr ob literateer among whites than any other race especially among males. 71.8% of white males accessed the in comparison to 50.5% of Hispanic males and 40.7% of black males. The open-ended question on where a particular teen accessed the internet was phrased and the answers tabulated using the categories of home, school, library, friends/neighbors, and other. near teens were found to be more comfortable accessing the internet at a friends home whereby over 34.7% of males and 29.3% of the teens responded to this. Although access points such as the library were chosen by only one in eight, this was an improvement from 4.7% in 2000 to a current12.5%.Economic factorsTeenagers from low income and high poverty areas have been most disadvantaged in accessing the internet. A survey carried on teen Internet usage reveals social and economic disparities (Taylor et al., 2003). A relationship between incomes, race and education was also observed. Levels of education were higher in Whites than any o ther minorities whereby the proportion of whites who entire high school was more. This had a direct impact on the number of internet users. Teenagers from low-income households estimated at three million, most of them black, have no access to the internet. Therefore, these kids may not find adults who would otherwise teach them on how to responsibly use the internet. Daniel Bassil, president of Cabrini Connections, notes that, Even the kids that have access dont necessarily have people mentoring them to use the information to their greatest advantage. Teens from low-income backgrounds are less likely to access the internet for services such as instant messaging and emailing as a appearance of communication since most of their friends are not online more frequently. This finding may indicate a difference in choice of core creation versus content consumption in different socio economic groups (Bosah, 1998).c)Social factorsFree and unlimited Internet access When freshmen register today, they get a studentID card, a meal card, and most, important, a free personal e-mail account. Theyve got noonline service fees to pay, no limits to their time logged on, and computer labs open fortheir convenience round-the-clock. Its an Internet users dream.2. Huge blocks of unstructured time Most college students attend classes for twelve tosixteen hours per week. The rest of the time is their own to read, study, go to movies orparties, join clubs, or explore the new environment outside their campus walls. moreforget all those other activities and concentrate on one thing the Internet.3. Newly-experienced freedom from parental control Away from home and theirparents watchful eyes, college students long have exercised their new freedom byengaging in pranks, talking to friends to all hours of the night, sleeping with theirboyfriends and girlfriends, and eating and drinking things Mom and Dad would notapprove of. Today, they admit that freedom by hanging out in the MUDs a nd chat roomsof cyberspace, and no parent can complain about online service fees or their refusal to eatdinner with the family or help out with chores.4. No monitoring or censoring of what they say or do online When they move on to thejob world, college students may find suspicious bosses peeking over their shoulder oreven monitoring their online time and usage. Even e-mail to co-workers could beintercepted by the wrong party. In college, no ones watching. Computer lab monitorstend to be student volunteers whose only responsibility is to assist anyone who needs helpunderstanding how to use the Internet not sort them what they can or cannot do on it.5. Full encouragement from faculty and administrators Students understand that theirschools administration and faculty want them to get up full use of the Internets grandresources. Abstaining from all Net use is seldom an option in some large classes,professors place required course materials solely on the Net and engage in their o nly oneon-one contact with students through e-mail Administrators, of course, want to see theirmajor investments in computers and Internet access justified.6. Adolescent training in similar activities By the time most kids get to college, theywill have spent years staring at video game terminals, closing tally the world around themwith walkmans, and engaging in that rapid-fire clicking of the TV remote. Even if theydidnt get introduced to the Internet in high school, those other activities have madestudents well-suited to slide into vagrant Web surfing, skill-testing MUDs, and rat-a-tattatchat room dialogue.7. The desire to escape college stressors Students feel the pressures of making topgrades, fulfilling parental expectations, and, upon graduation, facing fierce competitionfor good jobs. The Internet, ideally, would help make it easier for them to do theirnecessary course work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Instead, they turn to theirNet friends to hide from their di fficult feelings of fear, anxiety, and depression.8. Social intimidation and dementia With as many as 30,000 students on somecampuses, students easily can get lost in the crowd. When they try to reach out, theyoften run into even tighter clicks than the in-crowds of high school. Maybe they dontdress right or look right. But when they join the faceless community of the Internet, theyfind that with little effort they can become popular with new friends throughout theU.S. and in England, Australia, Germany, France, Hungary, Japan, New Zealand, andChina. Why bother trying to socialize on campus?9. A higher legal drinking age With the drinking age at twenty-one in most states,undergraduate students cant openly drink alcohol and socialize in bars. So the Internetbecomes their substitute drug of choice no ID required and no closing hour