“How do [they] even do that?”A Pew Internet guide to teens, mobile phones and social media

Amanda LenhartJune 2010Lawlor | Hardwick-Day Summer SeminarMinneapolis, MN

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Methods

• 800 teens ages 12 to 17 and a parent or guardian were contacted by landline or cellular telephone in a nationally representative rdd survey conducted from June to September 2009.

• 9 focus groups in four cities with middle and high school aged teens (ages 12-18) conducted in June and October 2009

• Joint project of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and the University of Michigan.

• Data from adult surveys from Sept 2009 & January 2010

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How do they do that – or do they?

Commonly held beliefs about teens, young adults and technology:

• Everyone uses the internet

• Every teen has a cell phone…

• … and all teens text unimaginably large numbers of messages a day

• Teens no longer call anyone on the phone

• Parents and K-12 schools struggle with management of teens’ phones

• Teens have been supplanted by older adults on social networks

• Teens love Twitter

• Young adults don’t care about privacy, particularly online

• Teens are active creators of content online

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EVERYONE USES THE INTERNET

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EVERY TEEN & YOUNG ADULT HAS A CELL PHONE…

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…AND THEY SEND AND RECEIVE AN UNIMAGINABLY LARGE NUMBER OF TEXTS EVERY DAY.

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TEENS NO LONGER MAKE PHONE CALLS.

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Teens who pay for phone costs are more likely to do more with cell phone

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PARENTS AND SCHOOLS STRUGGLE WITH MANAGEMENT OF TEENS’ CELL PHONES

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TEENS & YOUNG ADULTS HAVE BEEN SUPPLANTED BY OLDER ADULTS ON SOCIAL NETWORKS

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TEENS LOVE TWITTER

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Twitter

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YOUNG ADULTS DON’T CARE ABOUT THEIR PRIVACY, ESPECIALLY ONLINE

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Thinking about the ways you use social networking sites… Do you ever…

All SNS users

18-29 30-49 50+

Change the privacy settings for your profile to limit what you share with others online

65 71 62 52

Delete people from your network or friends’ list 56 64 52 42

Keep some people from seeing certain updates 52 58 52 36

Filter updates posted by some of your friends 41 44 43 27

Delete comments that others have made on your profile

36 47 29 24

Remove your name from photos that have been tagged to identify you

30 41 24 16

Post updates, comments, photos or videos that you later regret sharing

12 19 9 4

Social networking users are curators of content

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TEENS CREATE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF CONTENT ONLINE

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Final Thoughts

• Cell phones leap frog connectivity roadblocks for low income, minority teens and adults

• Teens and young adults are not monolithic – so a multi-pronged approach is prudent

• Changes suggest a move towards mobile…

• …but teens and young adults do not always embrace the newest thing

• Young adults know that you are watching, and are increasingly taking steps to manage their online reputations

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Thanks!

Amanda Lenhart

http://www.pewinternet.org

Twitter: @amanda_lenhart