For many teens, the ability easily to change, edit and revise their texts on the fly is one of the clearest advantages of writing on a computer. Nearly six in ten teens (57%) say they edit and revise more when they write using a computer compared with when they write by hand. Just over one-quarter (28%) feel that computers don’t make a difference for how much they edit and revise, and a minority (15%) actually edit and revise less when using a computer.

Whites, older teens and those whose parents have higher levels of education are among the most likely to say that computers help them edit and revise more. Fully 59% of white teens feel that they edit or revise more when writing with a computer, compared with just 40% of black teens. Black teenagers generally play down the impact of computers on the editing and revision process, with 39% saying that computers make no difference in this regard (compared with 26% of whites). Similarly, 64% of teens whose parents have some college experience say they edit and revise more when using a computer, compared with 49% of teens whose parents have a high school degree or less. Older teens are also more likely to say that they edit and revise more when writing on a computer—62% of 15-17 year olds edit and revise more when using a computer, compared with 52% of younger teens (ages 12-14).