The Pew Internet & American Life Project released the results of a study on the relationship of adolescents with the new Information and Communication Technologies and concluded that access to the Internet by young people aged between 12 and 17 years increased by 24 percent in the last four years, standing at 87 percentage points.
More specifically, about 21 million teenagers use the Internet and half of them are online every day. The figures show that the Internet is used more in this age group than among adults, where penetration does not exceed 66 percent (in the United States).
The Web is no longer seen as a fashion, but is seen as an important communication and research tool. More than three quarters of respondents said that they check the news on the computer, acquire the information they need on the web or make purchases online. Compared to the behavior of four years ago, access to this type of content grew by 38 percent.
Amanda Lenhart, an analyst at Pew Internet, even says that teenagers have become much more selective, «they use the Internet to do things they really need».
In the same report by the consultant, it is highlighted that the privileged form of communication for young Americans is Instant Messaging, a service that is used mainly to contact friends, but also to send music or video files (confirm one third of the respondents), replacing email that performs the same functions but increasingly to communicate with parents and teachers.
Three-quarters of the young people surveyed in the study say they use instant messaging services, compared to 42 percent among adults.
The document also states that about 45 percent of respondents have a mobile phone, but this is not the preferred mode of communication and that girls between the ages of 15 and 17 use the Internet and the cell phone most to send text messaging.
Pew Internet also says that more than half of American families with an Internet connection have opted for broadband access, which allows young people to use a wider number of applications.
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