Pew Internet and American Life Project: Releases Feed

Teens do not consider a lot of their electronic texts as writing

2008-04-24

WASHINGTON – The state of writing among teens today is marked by an interesting paradox: While teens are heavily embedded in a tech-rich world and craft a significant amount of electronic text, they see a fundamental distinction between their electronic social communications and the more formal writing they do for school or for personal reasons.

85% of youth ages 12-17 engage at least occasionally in some form of electronic personal communication, which includes text messaging, sending email or instant messages, or posting comments on social networking sites.

60% of teens do not think of these electronic texts as "writing."

Teens are utilitarian in their approach to technology and writing, using both computers and longhand depending on circumstances. Their use of computers for school and personal writing is often tied to the convenience of being able to edit easily. And while they do not think their use of computers or their text-based communications with friends influences their formal writing, many do admit that the informal styles that characterize their e-communications do occasionally bleed into their schoolwork.

57% of teens say they revise and edit more when they write using a computer.

63% of teens say using computers to write makes no difference in the quality of the writing they produce.

73% of teens say their personal electronic communications (email, IM, text messaging) have no impact on the writing they do for school, and 77% said they have no impact on the writing they do for themselves.

64% of teens admit that they incorporate, often accidentally, at least some informal writing styles used in personal electronic communication into their writing for school. (Some 25% have used emoticons in their school writing; 50% have used informal punctuation and grammar; 38% have used text shortcuts such as "LOL" meaning "laugh out loud.")

All of this matters more than ever because teenagers and their parents uniformly believe that good writing is a bedrock for future success. Eight in ten parents believe that good writing skills are more important now than they were 20 years ago, and 86% of teens believe that good writing ability is an important component of guaranteeing success later in life.

Recognizing this, 82% of teens say they think their writing would improve if teachers had them spend more class time doing writing. Blacks and those from lower-income households are the most ardent believers in the importance of writing and in the likely payoff of more class time devoted to it.

These are among the key findings in a national phone survey of 700 youth ages 12-17 and their parents conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the National Commission on Writing. The survey was completed in mid-November and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. The report also contains findings from eight focus groups in four U.S. cities conducted in the summer of 2007.

"There is a raging national debate about the state of writing and how high-tech communication by teens might be affecting their ability to think and write," noted Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at Pew who co-authored a report on the findings titled Writing, Technology and Teens. "Those on both sides of the issue will see supporting data here. There is clearly a big gap in the minds of teenagers between the 'real' writing they do for school and the texts they compose for their friends. Yet, it is also clear that writing holds a central place in the lives of teens and in their vision about the skills they need for the future."

Adds Richard Sterling, chair of the advisory board for the National Commission on Writing, executive director emeritus of the National Writing Project and senior fellow at the College Board: "We think these findings point to a critical strategy question for all educators: How can we connect the enthusiasm of young people for informal, technology-based writing with classroom experiences that illuminate the power of well-organized, well-reasoned writing?"

This survey finds that, apart from their text-based electronic communications, teens write with some frequency inside and outside of the school environment. All teens do at least some writing for school, and 93% write for themselves outside of school at least on occasion.

Writing is a common activity within the school environment, as 50% of teens say that they write something for school every day. However, most writing assignments are short: 82% of teens say their typical writing assignment is a paragraph to one page in length.

Beyond using technology to facilitate their writing, teens also use the internet to research their school writing projects; 94% of teens use the internet at least occasionally to do research for their school assignments. Nearly half (48%) of teens say they use the internet to research something for school once a week or more often.

In our focus groups, teens outlined what motivates and inspires them to write. They appreciated the opportunity to choose topics relevant to their own lives and experiences, and the chance to write for teachers and other adults who challenge them. Teens feel encouraged by opportunities to write creatively, and spoke of the motivation of having an audience for their work.

"Today's teens know that writing is important, and know that they need to learn the skills to write well to ensure a productive future for themselves," said Sousan Arafeh, of Research Images, and head of the focus group project. "Teens understand that learning to write well is a growth process, even if sometimes it feels like the educational equivalent of 'eating your vegetables.'"

About The Pew Internet Project: The Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Internet explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues. Support for the project is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Project's Web site: http://www.pewinternet.org

About the National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools and Colleges: In an effort to focus national attention on the teaching and learning of writing, the College Board established the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges in September 2002. The decision to create the Commission was animated in part by the Board's plans to offer a writing assessment in 2005 as part of the new SAT®, but the larger motivation lay in the growing concern within the education, business, and policy-making communities that the level of writing in the United States is not what it should be.

Mobile Access to Data and Information

2008-03-05

WASHINGTON – Some 62% of adult Americans have taken advantage of mobile access to digital data and tools. The Pew Internet Project’s new report, entitled Mobile Access to Data and Information, examines mobile access in two ways and finds that:

58% of adult Americans have used a cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA) to do at least one of ten mobile non-voice data activities, such as texting, emailing, taking a picture, looking for maps or directions, or recording video.

41% of adult Americans have logged onto the internet on the go, that is, away from home or work either with a wireless laptop connection or a handheld device.

Overall, 62% of adult Americans have either accessed the internet with a wireless connection away from home or work or used a non-voice data application using their cell phone or PDA, according to the Pew Internet Project’s December 2007 survey.

“People’s growing reliance on their cell phones, together with wireless internet access from laptops, suggests a shift in expectations about cyberspace,” said John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet Project and author of the report. “For many people, access to digital information and resources is an ‘always present’ utility for answering questions and documenting what is going on around them through photos or video recording.”

Overall, 75% of all American adults say they own cell phones. Here’s how the data breaks out when looking at non-voice data activities people access from their cell phones or personal digital assistants (PDA), with percentage represented as a share of those with cell phones or PDAs.

Send or receive text messages: 58% have done this at some point, with 31% saying they do this on a typical day.

Take a picture: 58% have taken a picture with their device; 15% say they do this on the typical day.

Play a game: 27% have played a game on their handheld device, with 8% saying they do this on a typical day.

Send of receive email: 19% have done this, with 8% saying they do this on a typical day.

Access the internet for news or other information: 19% have used their handheld device for such information access, with 7% saying they do this on the average day.

Record a video: 18% have done this with their handheld device, with 3% say they shoot a video on their cell phone on the typical day.

Play music: 17% do this with their cell or PDA, 7% on the typical day.

Send or receive instant messages: 17% have used their device for IM-ing, and 6% saying they do this on the average day.

Get maps or directions: 14% say they have gotten maps or directions with their device; 3% do this on the typical day.

10% have watched a video on their handheld device, with 3% saying they do this on the average day.

Young adults (those between the ages of 18 and 29) are most likely, on a typical day, to use their cell phone or PDA to access a non-voice data application; 73% with wireless handheld devices do so. This compares to the average of 42% of those with cell phones or PDAs who use a non-voice data application on their devices on the typical day.

More striking is use among African Americans and Latinos. Some 56% of English-speaking Hispanics with a wireless handheld device use a non-voice data or information application on the average day, and 50% of African Americans with wireless handhelds do so. These groups lagged in “desktop” online access in the late 1990s and early part of the decade, but the report shows a very different pattern for wireless access on the go. African Americans and English-speaking Hispanics are more likely than white Americans to use cell phones or PDAs for non-voice data applications.

The report also suggests that email is alive and well, even though sending text-messages is very popular, especially among young adults. On the average day, 60% of those between the ages of 18 and 29 with cell phones or PDAs send or receive text messages, while about the same share (62%) of internet users in this age group send or receive email on the typical day.

“Notwithstanding predictions of email’s demise, it remains an important part of people’s electronic communications, even among users of text-messaging,” Horrigan said. “The different tools may serve different functions – with texting a way to stay in touch with friends, and email more oriented to officialdom, such as communicating with co-workers or institutions.”

The report also documents how many Americans have connected to the internet with a laptop or other wireless-enabled device away from home or work. Some 52% of internet users have done this at some point. Usage patterns for this type of wireless access (e.g., logging on to WiFi networks) are similar to those for non-voice data access using cell phones or PDAs, with young Americans, blacks, and English-speaking Hispanics being the most likely users of wireless while away from home or work.

The data for this report was gathered through telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates between October 24, 2007 and December 5, 2007, among a sample of 2,058 adults, aged 18 and older, with 500 respondents contacted on their cell phones. The sample has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.

Pew Internet and American Life Project is a non-profit, non-partisan initiative of the Pew Research Center that produces reports exploring the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care, and civic/political life. Support for the Pew Internet Project is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Media Contact: John B. Horrigan, 202.419.4500

Online Shopping

2008-02-13

WASHINGTON, DC – Most online Americans view online shopping as a way to save time and a convenient way to buy products. At the same time, most internet users express discomfort over a key step in online shopping – sending personal or credit card information over the internet. According to the Pew Internet Project’s September 2007 survey:

78% of online Americans agree that shopping online is convenient.

68% of online Americans say they think online shopping saves them time.

Dampening people’s ardor for using the internet to shop is worry over the security of the internet as a place to purchase products. The September 2007 survey also shows that:

Three-quarters (75%) of internet users agree with the statement that they do not like sending personal or credit card information over the internet.

“These inconsistent notions about the online shopping environment show that, even as e-commerce matures, people’s confidence in the security of online shopping remains as an issue,” said John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet Project and author of the report. “If people’s worries about security of personal information were eased, the pool of online shoppers would be greater.”

The report, entitled Online Shopping: Internet users like the convenience but worry about the security of their financial information, finds that two-thirds (66%) of online Americans have at one time bought a product online. If online Americans did not have such high levels of concern about sending personal or credit card information over the internet, the report estimates that the share of internet users buying products online could be as much as 3 percentage points higher, or 69%.

The report also finds that low-income Americans are most likely to express concerns about providing credit card or personal information online and least likely to see possible time-savings or convenience in e-commerce.

Among internet users in homes with annual incomes below $25,000 annually, 44% strongly agree that they don’t like sending credit card information online, twice the share (22%) that strongly agrees that online shopping is convenient.

For upper-income Americans (those in households with annual incomes above $100,000), the numbers reverse, with one quarter (25%) saying they strongly agree that they don’t like sending credit card information over the internet for online transactions, while 36% strongly agree that online shopping is convenient.

“Low-income people are often strapped for cash and time, so might benefit greatly from surfing the internet to find bargains or cut down on time spent in stores,” Horrigan said. “But many of them see risk in the world of e-commerce, not convenience, so they avoid online shopping applications that might help them manage their lives.”

In broad terms, the report finds that the number of Americans who have ever bought anything online has more than doubled since 2000, from 22% in June 2000 to 49% in September 2007. That amounts to 66% of Americans with internet access who have bought products online. People are more likely to do background research on a product than execute the purchase online; some 60% of all Americans say they have used the internet for product-related research in September 2007, up from 35% who had done this in June 2000.

The Pew Internet Project’s September 2007 survey also found increases in the use of the internet for banking and online classified ads.

Some 39% of Americans now say that they have used the internet for banking, up from 27% in February 2005.

For online classifieds such as Craig’s List, 24% of Americans report having used them in the September 2007 survey, an increase from 14% who said this in February 2005.

The data for this report was gathered through telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates between August 3, 2007 and September 5, 2007, among a sample of 2,400 adults, aged 18 and older. The sample has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.

Pew Internet and American Life Project is a non-profit, non-partisan initiative of the Pew Research Center that produces reports exploring the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care, and civic/political life. Support for the Pew Internet Project is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Information Searches That Solve Problems

2007-12-30

People who have faced one of several common government-related problems in the past two years are more likely to consult the internet than other sources, including experts and family members.

In a national phone survey, respondents were asked whether they had encountered 10 possible problems in the previous two years, all of which had a potential connection to the government or government-provided information. Those who had dealt with the problems were asked where they went for help and the internet topped the list:

58% of those who had recently experienced one of those problems said they used the internet (at home, work, a public library or some other place) to get help.

53% said they turned to professionals such as doctors, lawyers or financial experts.

45% said they sought out friends and family members for advice and help.

36% said they consulted newspapers and magazines.

34% said they directly contacted a government office or agency.

16% said they consulted television and radio.

13% said they went to the public library.

The survey results challenge the assumption that libraries are losing relevance in the internet age. Libraries drew visits by more than half of Americans (53%) in the past year for all kinds of purposes, not just the problems mentioned in this survey. And it was the young adults in tech-loving Generation Y (age 18-30) who led the pack. Compared to their elders, Gen Y members were the most likely to use libraries for problem-solving information and in general patronage for any purpose.

Furthermore, it is young adults who are the most likely to say they will use libraries in the future when they encounter problems: 40% of Gen Y said they would do that, compared with 20% of those above age 30 who say they would go to a library.

“These findings turn our thinking about libraries upside down. Librarians have been asked whether the internet makes libraries less relevant. It has not. Internet use seems to create an information hunger and it is information-savvy young people who are the most likely to visit libraries,” noted Leigh Estabrook, Dean and Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois, co-author of a report on the results.

She added that internet users were much more likely to patronize libraries than non-users (61% vs. 28%).

This report is the fruit of a partnership of the University of Illinois –Urbana-Champaign and the Pew Internet and American Life Project. It was funded with a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, an agency that is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The survey was conducted between June 27 to September 4, 2007, among a sample of 2,796 adults, 18 and older. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

The focus of the survey was how Americans address common problems that might be linked to government. The problems covered in the survey: 1) dealing with a serious illness or health concern; 2) making a decision about school enrollment, financing school, or upgrading work skills; 3) dealing with a tax matter; 4) changing a job or starting a business; 5) getting information about Medicare, Medicaid, or food stamps; 6) getting information about Social Security or military benefits; 7) getting information about voter registration or a government policy; 8) seeking helping on a local government matter such as a traffic problem or schools; 9) becoming involved in a legal matter; and 10) becoming a citizen or helping another person with an immigration matter.

There was some variance in the results, depending on the type of problem that people confronted. For instance, those who dealt with a health problem turned to experts more than any other source, followed by family and friends, and then the internet. And those who had issues related to big government programs such as Social Security or Medicare were most likely to go directly to government agencies for help, then the internet.

Most people were successful in getting information to help them address a problem no matter what channel they chose and no matter what problem they faced.

65% of those who approached the government for help said they were very successful.

64% of those who went to the public library were very successful.

63% of those who used the internet were very successful.

61% of those who consulted professionals and experts were very successful.

Among the sources consulted, the internet was the source that was most often cited as the one that provided a lot of the information people were seeking.

“It is important to stress, though, that even as our data show the internet is ascending, we also find that large numbers of people do not use the internet and this low-access population prefers getting information and assistance from sources other than the internet,” noted Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, and one of the study’s authors. “Those without broadband connections at home or at work have very different needs and search strategies from those who have woven the internet into their lives.”

A major focus of this survey was on those with no access to the internet (23% of the population) and those with only dial-up access (13% of the population). This “low-access” population is poorer, older, and less well-educated than the cohort with broadband access at home or at work. They are less likely to visit government offices or libraries under any circumstances. And they are more likely to rely on television and radio for help than are high-access users.

Another important concern in this research was to see how the rise of the internet might affect the way government officials and librarians could work to meet citizens’ needs.

“The big message in this survey is that those who want to help citizens – whether they sit in government offices, libraries, non-profit organizations, or politically-active groups – live in a much more complicated environment now than they did a decade ago,” said Evans Witt, CEO of Princeton Survey Research Associates International, the firm that conducted the survey and one of the report’s authors. “They must serve citizen needs that run the spectrum from high-tech digerati who want everything served to them online to grandparents in rural areas who want the government to mail them key documents that are printed on real paper with real ink."

More teens are creating and sharing material on the internet

2007-12-19

WASHINGTON -- Content creation by teenagers continues to grow, with 64% of online teenagers ages 12 to 17 engaging in at least one type of content creation, up from 57% of online teens in 2004.

Fueled by new technologies, websites, and social network domains such as Facebook and MySpace, large numbers of teens share and create materials online:

39% of online teens share their own artistic creations online such as artwork, photos stories, or videos

33% of online teens create or work on webpages or blogs for others, including friends, groups they belong to or school assignments

28% of online teens have created their own blog, up from 19% in 2004, and almost completely driven by the popularity of blogging among girls

27% of online teens maintain their own webpage

26% of online teens remix content they find online into their own creations

Girls continue to dominate most elements of content creation. Some 35% of all teen girls blog, compared with 20% of online boys, and 54% of wired girls post photos online compared with 40% of online boys. Boys, however, do dominate one area – posting of video content online – online teen boys are nearly twice as likely as online girls (19% vs. 10%) to have posted a video online somewhere where someone else could see it.

These findings are highlighted in a new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, "Teens and Social Media." The report is based on a national phone survey of 935 youth ages 12-17 in November 2006. The margin of error for the survey is 4 percentage points.

The survey found that content creation is not just about sharing creative output; it is also about participating in conversations fueled by that content. Nearly half (47%) of online teens have posted photos where others can see them, and 89% of those teens who post photos say that people comment on the images at least "some of the time." Teens who post videos report a similarly large incidence of feedback, with nearly three quarters (72%) of video posters receiving comments on their videos.

"Content is created for an audience," notes Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist and one of the authors of the report. "For teens, the beauty of the internet, particularly social networking websites, is that content can be created and easily shared among a network of friends. Even more compelling is that people in those social networks can easily comment and give feedback on shared content."

However, many teen content creators do not simply plaster their creative endeavors on the Web for anyone to view; many teens limit access to content that they share. Some 66% of teens with social network profiles restrict access to their profiles in some way and 77% of teens who upload photos restrict access to them at least "some of the time." In contrast, 58% of adults who post photos restrict access to them in some way. A smaller percentage of teens who upload videos (54%) restrict access to them.

Social network sites affect teens' lives in other ways beyond providing space for content creation and feedback. For many teens they are now an integral part of the system of communication that they use to conduct the work of their lives. Fully 41% of the teens who use MySpace, Facebook or other social network sites say they send messages to friends via those sites every day.

The Pew Internet report also highlights a new segment of "multi-channel" teens. These teens are super-communicators who have a host of technology options for dealing with family and friends – traditional landline phones, cell phones, texting, social network sites, instant messaging, and email. They represent about 28% of the entire teen population and they are more likely to be older girls.

These super-communicator teens have all kinds of interactions with their friends at levels equal to or greater than other teens, including face-to-face visits and phone chats via traditional landlines. And as with all teens, email is selected only as a last resort to stay in touch with friends.

"Access to social networks and cell phones has opened up new channels for today's teens," said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist and an author of the report. "New technology increases the overall intensity and frequency of their communication with friends, with email being the one glaringly uncool exception in their eyes."

Asked about the communication they have every day with their friends, the multi-channel teens say:

70% talk daily with friends on a cell phone

60% send text messages daily

54% instant message

47% send messages daily over social network sites

46% talk to friends on a landline phone

35% spend time with friends in person daily

22% send email every day to friends

Apart from the super-communicators, cell phones have a significant impact on communication choices among teens. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of teens now have a cell phone and for teens who have them, they are the premier communication method for talking with friends. Among teens with cell phones, 55% say they use them to talk with friends every day.

About the Pew Internet and American Life Project: The Pew Internet Project produces reports that explore the social impact of the internet. Support for the non-profit Pew Internet Project is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center. The Project's website: http://www.pewinternet.org

47% of internet users have searched for their own name online, up from 22% five years ago

2007-12-16

WASHINGTON, DC, December 16, 2007 – Forty-seven percent of internet users have searched for their own name online, but few monitor their online presence with great regularity. Fifty-three percent of internet users have searched online for information about personal and business contacts.

These findings represent a significant change from when the Pew Internet Project first reported on this activity in 2002, at which time 22% of internet users had searched online for their own name.

More powerful search engines have made it easier to find a match for a personal name search and the "participatory Web" has made it more interesting. The explosion of blogs, YouTube, Flickr, and online profiles have increased the size of people's digital footprints, but few adult internet users have made digital identity management a routine part of their online lives. Indeed, just looking at those who use social networking sites, a higher percentage of teens than adults are restricting access to their profiles.

"The cumulative traces of our online activity are more visible in the age of Web 2.0," says Mary Madden, a co-author of the report. "The more content we voluntarily contribute to the public or semi-public corners of the Web, the more we become not only findable, but knowable."

These are among the findings of the Pew Internet and American Life Project’s latest report on the internet’s impact on society, "Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency." The report is based on a December 2006 national telephone survey of 2,373 adults, of whom 1,623 are internet users. The margin of error for the portion of the survey dealing with internet users is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Most internet users are unconcerned about the extent of the data available about them online:

*60% of internet users say they are not worried about how much information is available about them online.
*38% of internet users say they have taken steps to limit the amount of online information that is available about them.

But it could be that they are simply unaware:

*Roughly one third of internet users say the following pieces of information are available online: their email address, home address, home phone number or their employer.
*One quarter of internet users say a photo, names of groups they belong to, or things they have written that have their name on it appear online.
*Few internet users say their political affiliation, cell phone number, or video appear online.

In interviews with the Pew Internet Project, privacy advocates and professional researchers argued that many of these data points are indeed available about most people, either on the open Web or in select online databases.

When asked about eight different groups of people one might search for online—ranging from family and friends to romantic interests and business colleagues—53% of adult internet users said they had looked for information connected to at least one of these groups.

These searches for others are often focused on basic contact information, but can be wide-ranging:

*72% of people searchers have sought contact information online.
*37% of people searchers look to the Web for information about someone’s professional accomplishments or interests.
*33% of people searchers have sought out someone’s profile on a social and professional networking site.
*31% have searched for someone’s photo.
*31% have searched for someone else’s public records, such as real estate transactions, divorce proceedings, bankruptcies, or other legal actions.
* 28% have searched for someone’s personal background information.

"Nostalgia seems to motivate quite a few internet users. The most popular search target is someone from the past – an old friend, an old flame, or a former colleague," said Susannah Fox, a co-author of the report. "These findings provide powerful evidence of the internet's capacity to reunite and reignite social connections. One-third of internet users say they have searched for information about someone with whom they have lost touch. And one in five internet users say someone has reached out to reconnect with them after finding their contact information online."

About the Pew Internet and American Life Project: The Pew Internet Project produces reports that explore the social impact of the internet. Support for the non-profit Pew Internet Project is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center.

Parents view the internet less favorably than in 2004

2007-10-24

Washington, DC –Parents are engaged with their children's media consumption, but have less positive views of the internet today than they did in 2004. A new data memo issued by the Pew Internet and American Life Project based on a telephone survey in October-November 2006 found that 59% of parents think the internet has been a good thing for their children, down from 67% in 2004.

"The fact that the biggest increase has been in the number of parents who think the internet has no effect on their children suggests that parents are beginning to have a more nuanced view of the internet," says Alexandra Rankin Macgill, author of the report. "It is a grey technology that can be helpful or harmful depending on how you use it."

Most parents check up on their teens' internet use -- 65% say that they check to see what websites their teenagers visit. An even larger percentage of parents have rules about media consumption; 77% of parents have some sort of rule about their teenage children's media use.

The majority of parents also say that digital technology makes their lives easier, but their children are even more positive about the benefits of digital devices. 88% of teens report that information and communication devices make their lives easier, compared with 69% of their parents.

About the Pew Internet and American Life Project The Pew Internet Project is a nonprofit initiative of the Pew Research Center and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts to examine the social impact of the internet. The project is non-partisan and does not advocate policy outcomes: http://www.pewinternet.org

Teenagers who create social networking profiles and post pictures online are more likely to receive contact from online strangers

2007-10-14

Washington, DC – Girls, teens who post photos online and teens who create social networking profiles report higher rates of online contact by people unknown to them than boys or teens who do not post photos or maintain social networking profiles, according to recent analysis by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Although several factors are associated with high levels of stranger contact, the large majority of these interactions are benign—just 7% of online teens have ever had an interaction with a stranger that made them feel scared or uncomfortable. Among teens who have been contacted by someone they did not know, girls are much more likely than boys to find the communication scary or uncomfortable. While social networking teens are more likely to be contacted by strangers in the first place, they are no more likely to find these interactions scary than other online teens.

"The internet is like any other public space," said Aaron Smith, a research specialist at the Pew Internet Project and author of the data memo. "Just as in offline spaces like the park or the mall, interactions teens have anywhere are usually safe but can occasionally be scary or dangerous. Open communication and guidance are both key to helping teenagers identify potentially risky situations and respond appropriately."

These findings are based on a survey conducted by telephone from October 23 through November 19, 2006 among a national sample of 935 teens ages 12 to 17.

Just half of adults with chronic conditions use the internet

2007-10-08

WASHINGTON, DC, October 8 - About a fifth of American adults say that a disability, handicap, or chronic disease keeps them from participating fully in work, school, housework, or other activities. Half (51%) of those living with a disability or chronic disease go online, compared with 74% of those who report no chronic conditions. Fully 86% of internet users living with disability or chronic illness have looked online for information about at least one of 17 health topics, compared with 79% of internet users with no chronic conditions. E-patients with chronic conditions are more likely than other e-patients to report that their online searches affected treatment decisions, their interactions with their doctors, their ability to cope with their condition, and their dieting and fitness regimen.

These are among the findings of the Pew Internet and American Life Project’s latest report on the internet’s impact on health and health care, “E-patients With a Disability or Chronic Disease.” The report, written by Associate Director Susannah Fox, is based on an August 2006 telephone survey of 2,928 adults, of whom 17% identify as living with a disability or chronic disease (n=538). The report also draws from essays collected in a survey of members of an online support group, the Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR.org).

These findings build on what was reported in “Online Health Search 2006,” but there are important differences between the general population and those living with chronic conditions:

E-patients with chronic conditions are less likely than others to start their information queries at search engines.

E-patients with chronic conditions are more likely than other health seekers to go online for information about their own conditions.

E-patients with chronic conditions have mostly positive things to say about their online health searches, but they are more likely than others to report frustration as well.

The impact of the most recent search for health information was most deeply felt by internet users who had received a serious diagnosis or experienced a health crisis in the past year, either their own or that of someone close to them. One-quarter of adults (27%) say they or someone close to them has been diagnosed in the last 12 months with a chronic medical condition, such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure. One-third (34%) of American adults say they or someone close to them faced a serious medical emergency or crisis in the past 12 months. Fifty-nine percent of these e-patients say the information found in their most recent online search led them to ask a doctor new questions or to get a second opinion from another doctor, compared with 48% of e-patients who had not experienced a health challenge in the past year. Forty-six percent of recently challenged or diagnosed e-patients say the information changed the way they cope with a chronic condition or manage pain, compared with 31% of other e-patients.

“Internet health resources serve as an in-depth, just-in-time resource for millions of Americans,” said Fox. “Unfortunately, people facing a serious diagnosis are the most likely group to be offline in an online world.”

Online video proliferates as viewers share what they find online; 57% of online adults watch or download video

2007-07-25

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 25 - Fifty-seven percent of online adults have used the internet to watch or download video, and 19% do so on a typical day.

The growing adoption of broadband combined with a dramatic push by content providers to promote online video has helped to pave the way for mainstream audiences to embrace online video viewing. Three-quarters of broadband users (74%) who enjoy high-speed connections at both home and work watch or download video online.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project's first major report on online video also shows how many video viewers have contributed to the viral and social nature of online video. More than half of online video viewers (57%) share links to the video they find with others, and three in four (75%) say they receive links to watch video that others have sent to them.

Video viewers who actively exploit the participatory features of online video, such as rating content, posting feedback or uploading video, make up the motivated minority of the online video audience. Young adults are the most active participants in this realm.

"Young adults are among the most contagious carriers when it comes to understanding how viral videos propagate online," said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist at the Project and lead author of the report. "Younger users are the most eager and active contributors to the online video sphere; they are more likely than older users to watch, upload, rate, comment upon and share the video they find."

Overall, just 8% of adult internet users say they have uploaded video content online, while 15% of internet users ages 18-29 have contributed video.

Young adults also stand out for their unique video viewing preferences. News content is the most popular genre with every age group except for those ages 18-29. For young adults, comedy is a bigger draw, with 56% watching humorous videos, compared with 43% of internet users ages 18-29 who say they watch news videos.

In all, the survey asked respondents about ten different types of online video content:

* 37% of adult internet users say they watch or download news videos online

* 31% say they watch or download comedy or humorous videos online

* 22% say they watch or download music videos online

* 22% say they watch or download educational videos online

* 19% say they watch or download animation or cartoons online

* 16% say they watch or download movies or TV shows online

* 15% say they watch or download political videos online

* 14% say they watch or download sports videos online

* 13% say they watch or download commercials or advertisements online

* 6% say they watch or download adult videos online

In addition, 6% of respondents said they watch some other type of video that does not fall into any of these categories.

Professional videos are generally preferred to amateur productions online, but amateur content appeals to coveted segments of the young male audience.

Overall, 62% of online video viewers say that their favorite videos are those that are "professionally produced," while 19% of online video viewers express a preference for content "produced by amateurs." Another 11% say they enjoy both professionally-produced video and amateur online video equally.

For young adult men, one of the most sought-after audiences for advertisers, some 43% of online video users in this cohort express a clear preference for professional video, while 34% say they prefer amateur content. Another 19% of male video viewers ages 18-29 say they enjoy both amateur and professional content equally.

"Anyone with a digital camera and an internet connection can create and distribute video that has the potential to reach millions of viewers all over the world," said Madden. "Online video tools are providing ordinary people with extraordinary ways to communicate with one another."

These findings come from a Pew Internet and American Life Project survey of 2,200 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted February 15-March 7, 2007. Some 1,492 of those interviewed were internet users. The margin of error on the full sample is +/- 2%. For results based internet users, the margin of sampling error is +/- 3%.