G A L L U P P O L L / E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y U.S. Teens and Technology
B. MAJOR FINDINGS C. TEENAGERS AND TECHNOLOGY USE: A CLUSTER ANALYSIS A. SURVEY OVERVIEW AND METHODS
In conjunction with CNN, USA Today, and the National Science
Foundation, the Gallup Organization conducted a national
survey of 744 children in grades 7 through 12 -- mostly
comprised of students in the "teenage" years of 13 to 17.
Telephone interviews were conducted from March 20-27, 1997
from Gallup interviewing centers throughout the country.
The focus of the survey was on students' familiarity with
and use of modern technology, with special attention given
to use of computers and the Internet.
Students were selected at random for inclusion in the survey using a stratified nation-wide probability sample. Telephone numbers were randomly drawn from among all eligible residential phone numbers in the continental U.S. using random-digit dialing (RDD) sampling methodology. A five-call design was employed in which the first step in the respondent selection design was contact with an adult within each household to determine the number of qualified students in grades seven through twelve living there. A student was then selected at random within each teen household to be interviewed and up to five calls were made to establish a teen interview within each selected household.
The margin of error for results based on the entire sample
of 744 teens is plus or minus 4 percentage points, at the
95% confidence interval.
B. MAJOR FINDINGS
U.S. Teens Are Oriented Toward Technology
The CNN/USA Today/National Science Foundation/Gallup survey suggests that American teenagers are very interested in and reliant on modern technology, both in the conduct of their daily lives and in terms of the subject matter that interests them at school. One might even say from the data that today's teens have an orientation toward technology. Teenagers in 1997 have been widely exposed to computers and seem to be facile with a variety of electronic equipment. Teens also express a great deal of interest in computers, in math and science curriculum and in cutting edge technologies. In fact they seem to prefer math and sciences to the liberal arts (such as English and social studies) at school. At the same time, students indicate a willingness, perhaps even a desire, to develop better computer skills than what they feel they are currently getting at school. Most teens think strong computer skills and an understanding of technology will be essential tools for their future success. However, only a third of those surveyed feel their computer education in is on track to teach them all they need to know by the time they graduate from high school; the rest feel that their schools should be teaching them more. Overall most teenagers feel quite comfortable with modern technology. A little more than two-thirds indicate they feel confident using computers; a little under two-thirds say they can usually conquer new electronic equipment or computer software on their own without asking for help. This suggests that roughly one-third of American teens might be viewed as computer deficient, at least in terms of their confidence in their own abilities. Exposure to the Internet is less widespread than exposure to computers generally. Barely half of the teens surveyed (55%) say they have ever used the Internet and less than one-third (29%) have access to the Internet at home. Taking into account the respondents' answers to a variety of questions about computers and technology, about one-quarter of all teens could be categorized as "Techno Whizzes," demonstrating heavy use of computers, heavy use of other types of electronics, high interest in science and technology, and strong computer skills. But another 46% of students express moderate to high computer smarts. Altogether about 70% of teens seem generally oriented toward computers.
Only 19% indicate minimal use and interest in computers;
another 10% report moderate levels of use but low
self-confidence with computers.
Important Critically Importance Use Daily Important to own Gap Computer 44% 77% +33 Telephone answering machine 46% 62% +16 VCR 39% 51% +12 Calculator 67% 71% + 4 Stereo/CDs/Audio equipment 85% 69% -16 Video games 46% 18% -28Teens Have Modest Expectations for the Future Would today's parents and grandparents have predicted the Internet in their youth or believed a sheep would be cloned in their lifetime? In spite of the abundance of high-tech advances that have come about in the last few years, today's teens have generally modest expectations for what science will accomplish in their lifetime. They have high tenets of belief in future advances in computer technologies and they are quite confident in the ability of medicine to cure some diseases. However, less than half of today's teens believe that certain major advances in space travel, military defense, human cloning, or human control of Mother Nature will be achieved. Teens were asked in the survey to say whether or not they expected each of ten events to occur "in their lifetime," with the following results.
No Major Gender Gap in Teens' Relation to Technology The survey finds relatively small differences between girls and boys in terms of their general orientation toward technology. Boys appear to have slightly more interest than girls in science and technology subjects in school, although the majority of girls as well as boys say they prefer math and science to English and social studies. Girls are just as likely as boys to believe a strong background in computers and technology will be important to their financial success in life. Teenage boys and girls report equal levels of computer usage, similar levels of use of various electronics, and express equal levels of confidence in their computer skills.
Boys are much more likely than girls to say they play video
games on a daily basis, but that difference is not carried
over to computer use in general where about the same number
of boys as girls say they use computers on a daily basis.
Boys report a slightly greater amount of time on computers
in the past week than do girls (4.7 vs. 4.1 hours), but the
difference is mostly due to a small number of boys who
report more than 20 hours weekly usage. The median computer
usage is the same for both boys and girls: 2.0 hours. Boys
however, appear to spend significantly more time than girls
online, using services such as America Online or a web
browser.
Those Areas in Which Teenage Boys and Girls are Most Dissimilar Include the Following:
Economic Status has Limited Impact on Teens Ability with Computers The survey suggests that teens from families earning more than $50,000 per year are much more likely than those in middle-income households or those earning less than $20,000 a year to have access to computers and the Internet at home. However, upper income teens report only modest advantages in terms of overall computer usage and ability, suggesting that the availability of computers at schools may partially compensate for the lack of home access. Comparisons by level of income are shown below for each of the three areas of access, use, and confidence: HOUSEHOLD INCOME LEVELS High Medium Low ($50,000+) ($20-49,999) (Under $20,000) Access to Computers Have computer at home 83% 66% 38% Have Internet access at home 51% 23% 9% Use of Technology Avg. hours used computer last week 4.8 4.6 3.7 Ever used the Internet 64% 51% 46% Used Internet for 1+ hours in last week 34% 25% 20% Use computer on daily basis 50% 44% 37% Use video games on daily basis 37% 41% 47% Use VCR on daily basis 37% 41% 41% Confidence in Using Computers Learn new technologies on own 66% 59% 55% Average confidence score (0-10 scale) 6.8 6.7 6.9 Back to top C. TEENAGERS AND TECHNOLOGY USE: A CLUSTER ANALYSIS
Teenagers' general orientation toward computers was analyzed
using a statistical technique known as cluster analysis,
which allows the respondents' answers to several questions
to be analyzed all at the same time. For this survey,
teenagers were grouped into categories along a spectrum of
computer usage and literacy, using the following variables
as input: frequency of use of internet, frequency of use of
various technologies, ratings of various technologies as
important or not, rating of own capability, confidence in
using computers, home access to a computer and the internet,
and favorite academic subjects. The following clusters
emerged:
Cluster #1 -- The Techno-Whizzes (25% of all teens)
This group -- comprised almost equally of boys and girls (46% vs.
54%) -- are more than technological whizzes, they are top
scholars, representing about the top quarter of their
schools in overall achievement. Not only do the students in
this group score higher than the other four groups on all
the technology items measured, they are most likely to be
involved in after school activities, have the highest
educational aspirations after high school, and are more
likely to rate themselves as a top student (25%) or an above
average student (41%) than any of the other groups. They
also have the highest access to computers at home (82%) and
the highest at-home access to the internet (46%). In the
past week, they spent an average of 7.0 hours on the
computer, about half of that on the internet (3.6 hours).
Students in this group are almost as active in their use of the
computer as the "Techno-Whizzes" (6.4 hours last week on the computer,
with 2.5 hours on the internet), but they are far less likely to use
the other technology items mentioned in this poll: they are below
average in the use of VCRs, the answering machine, stereo equipment,
and the calculator. They also less likely to have access at home to
the computer (62%) and to the internet (34%) than the more active
group, and less likely to rate themselves as a "top" student (15%).
However, they are almost as likely to participate in after-school
activities (63%), and they have the highest self-rated level of
confidence in their use of the computer (8.8) than any group (8.1 for
the Techno-Whizzes; average=6.7). Boys (57%) are slightly
over-represented in this group.
These teenagers, more than any other group, love to talk on
the telephone with their friends (well over an hour a day),
use the VCR, listen to music, and use a calculator. In most
other technology-related activities, however, they tend to be
about average or below average in usage. They are below
average in their use of the computer and the internet: they
spend only about 2.7 hours per week on the computer (the
average=4.4), a third of which is on the internet (.9 of an
hour, compared with 1.8 average). They are also below
average in at-home access to a computer and the internet.
They are about average in their participation in
after-school activities, in their rating of the importance
of technology, in their educational aspirations, and in
their self-rating on confidence in using the computer.
One of the major characteristics that define this group is their
low level of confidence in using computers. They use the computer
about the same as the Moderates, but are much less confident in
their ability to do so, giving themselves an average confidence
score of 2.9 (on a scale of 1-10), compared with 6.1 among the
Moderates. They are slightly below average in their use of VCRs,
answering machines, and video games; slightly above average
in their use of stereo equipment; and average in their use
of calculators. Their diffidence, however, is not due to
lack of opportunity: they have almost as much access to a
home computer (76%) as the Techno-Whizzes, although home
access to the internet is below average. In fact, their
experience with the internet is about the same as the Low
Techies described below. They tend disproportionately to
prefer English and social science subjects to math and
science, while their educational aspirations are about as
great as the Techno-Whizzes -- with 81% expecting to graduate
from college, and 45% expecting to go on to graduate school.
This group shows the lowest use of virtually all the items covered in
the poll. Their confidence score in using computers is only somewhat
below average (5.5, compared to the overall average of 6.7); however,
their access to computers and the internet is the lowest among all the
groups, as is their participation in after school activities. They
show a slightly higher rate of watching television than the rest, but
they are the lowest in talking with their friends on the telephone.
Their educational aspirations are also the lowest, but still quite
ambitious: 37% expect to go to grad school after getting a college
degree, and another 37% expect to graduate from a four-year college.
Less than half (48%), however, say they are "above average" students
or better, the lowest among the groups.
COMPARISON OF CHARACTERISTICS AMONG FIVE TYPES OF TEENAGERS -- GROUPED BY TECHNOLOGY USE*Low- Computer Techno- Tech Wary Moderates Specialist Whiz Overall (19%) (10%) (28%) (18%) (25%) (100%) |