Teens and Technology - Pew Internet & American Life Project

Part 6.
Information-Seeking and Leisure Activities
The nature of teens’ online activities changes with age and access.
In the same way that age matters when looking at patterns of internet use among different
generations of adults, teens continue to demonstrate different phases of internet use as
they grow older and new technologies become available to them. Some of these changes
in behavior are visible in age-specific trends in various internet activities that have been
consistent over time. For instance, though the gap has narrowed since 2000, younger
teens (aged 12-14) continue to be more interested in online gaming than older teens (aged
15-17). Similarly, it is as true now as it was four years ago that older teens lead the pack
for instant messaging, online news gathering and online shopping.
However, other changes in internet activity levels over time can be attributed, in part, to
the evolution of the technology that is accessible to the teen of today. At the most basic
level, we have found that the connection speed a teen has access to affects his or her
likelihood to engage in certain activities. Beyond that, there are a host of other factors that
can influence the landscape of
activities that teens engage in
Online Teens: Change Over Time
on a typical day.
Online teens are more likely to do some activities now than they were
in 2000:
2004 1 2000 2
Play online games 18 81% 66%
Get news or info about current events 76% 68%
Buy things, such as books, clothing,
or music
43% 31%
Look for health, dieting or fitness info 31% 26%
But for some activities, online teens are just as likely to do these
activities now as they were in 2000:
Send or read email 89% 92%
Go to websites about movies, TV
shows, music groups, or sports stars
84% 83%
Send or receive instant messages 19 75% 74%
1
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Teens and Parents Survey, Oct.-Nov.
2004. Margin of error is ± 4% for online teens.
2
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Teens and Parents Survey, Nov.-Dec.
2000. Margin of error is ± 4% for online teens.
As was discussed earlier in
the report, the type of
“technological environment”
that surrounds a teen shapes
his or her online life.
The discussion of online
activities in this section of the
report is generally limited to
the genres of informationseeking
and leisure activities.
For the purposes of this
report, we have excluded all
of the questions that relate to
creating, sharing and
18 In the November-December 2000 Survey, this item read, “Play games online or download games.”
19 In the November-December 2000 Survey, this item read, “Send instant messages to someone who is also
online.”
Teens and Technology - 35 - Pew Internet & American Life Project