Adolescents and Electronic Media

Adolescents and Electronic Media

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ADOLESCENTSAND ELECTRONICMEDIA:GROWINGUPPLUGGED IN

ByBrettBrown, Ph.D., andPilarMarin,M.P.P. May 2009

OVERVIEW

Overthelastdecadethedailyexperienceofadolescentshasbeentransformedbydevelopmentsinelec- tronicmedia,includingthecomputer,theInternet,andcellphones.Relativerarities onlyageneration ago,theyarethedailytoolsofcommunication,information,andamusementforamajorityofadolescents. Beyondaccess,contentandcapabilities haveexploded.Eventelevision,longaubiquitouspresencein Americanhouseholds, hasseencontentchangeandhasgrown dramatically.

Parents,policymakers,andresearchers acknowledgethepowerofthistransformation,andhavebecome increasinglyconcernedbothaboutthepotentialhazardstheypresentto thehealthandwell-beingofyoung users,andthatunequalaccesstotheirperceivedbenefitsmaylimitlong-termprospects(theso-called “digitaldivide”).

Inthisbrief,weprovideaconciseoverviewofresearchrelatingelectronicmediatothehealth,socialde- velopment,andeducationaloutcomesofadolescents.Wealsopresentdatadescribingtrendsandinequali- tiesinaccesstoelectronicmediaaswellasthetimeadolescentsspendandtheactivitiestheyengagein throughthesemedia.Weconcludewithabriefdiscussionoftheimplicationsforpolicy,research,anddata collection.

Note:PortionsofthisbriefdrawfromarecentvolumeofthejournalTheFutureofChildrencalledChil- drenandtheElectronicMedia.Volume18,Spring2008. JeanneBrooks-GunnandElisabethHirschhorn Donahue(Eds).

THE EFFECTSOFELECTRONICMEDIA ONADOLESCENTWELL-BEING

HealthandSafety

Healthandsafetyconcernspotentiallyrelatedtotheuseofelectronicmediabychildrenandadolescents arewide-ranging andhaveinspiredagrowingbodyofresearch.Concernsincludebothbehavior-related maladies(obesity,violence,druguse)andthreatstophysicalhealth(injury, cancer). Inaddition,somere- searchershaveexaminedhealthbenefitsrelatedtoelectronicmediause.Considerable evidenceindicates thatcertainmediainfluenceviolenceandsubstanceuse.Bycontrast,researchlinkingmediatoobesityand sexualbehaviorisless conclusive.

Violence.1 Thereisastrongbodyofresearchlinkingexposuretoviolenttelevisionprogramcontentin childhoodto violentbehaviorbothaschildrenandlaterasyoungadults.2 Ananalysisof217studiesfound amediumeffectoftelevisionviolenceonaggressivebehavior.3To put thatinperspective,the effectsizeis onlyalittlebitsmallerthantheeffectofsmokingonlungcancer.4 Theresearchlinkingplayingviolent videogamestophysicalaggressionislessextensive,butanalysesofavailableresearchfindeffectsizes thatareonlyslightlysmallerthanthosefound for violenttelevision.5

AlcoholandTobaccoConsumption. Severalstrongresearchstudieshavefoundthatadolescentswhoare exposedtosmokinginmoviesaremorelikelytotake upsmoking,evenafter controllingforotherriskfac- tors.6Similarfindingsrelateexposureto alcoholconsumptionin moviesortelevisionandlateralcoholuse. Littleresearchhasbeendonetodaterelatingexposure throughvideogamesortheInternettoadolescent smokinganddrinkingbehaviors.7

Obesity.Thereisconcern thatexcessivemediausepromotesobesitybyreducing timedevoted tophysical exerciseandbyincreasingconsumptionofhighcalorienon-nutritiousfoods.Severalstudieshavefounda relationshipbetweenexcessive television viewingandobesityamongadolescents.Whencontrolswerein- troducedforotherknownriskfactorsinoneoftheanalyses,however,therelationship stayedstatistically significantforgirlsonly.Morerigorousevaluationsusingexperimental/control groupmethodshavepro- ducedmixedresults.Analysesrelatingvideogameplayingtoobesityhavealsofoundsomerelationship, butonlyforsome groups.Insum, theevidencerelatingmediausetoobesityshowssome evidenceofare- lationship,butisnotconclusive.8

SexualActivity.Surprisingly,anddespitelong-standing concernsovertheinfluenceofsexualmediacon- tentonthebehaviorofadolescents, thereisverylittlerelevantresearchinthisareaaccordingtoarecent reviewbyEscobar-ChavezandAnderson(2008).9 Severalanalyseshavefoundthatexposuretosexual contentintelevisionandvideoswasrelatedtomorepositiveattitudestowardspre-maritalsex,andtobeing sexuallyactive,butitwas notcleariftherewas acausalconnection.

InjuryandIllness.Theuseofparticular electronic mediahavebeenlinkedtoseveralformsofinjuryand illness.Theseinclude:

•Cancer:Asubstantialamountofresearchhasinvestigatedwhethertheelectromagneticradiationema- natingfromcellphonescausesbrainandotherformsofcancer. However,theU.S.Centers forDis- easeControlandPrevention, afterreviewingavailableresearch,hasconcludedthatthereisnoevi- denceofasignificantlink.10 Evenso,severalmajorstudiesareongoing,lookingforpossiblelong- termeffects.TheheadofthePittsburghCancerInstitutehasrecommended thatpeople,andparticu- larlychildren,limituse of cellphones as aprecautionarymeasurewhilethisresearchproceeds.11

•AttentionDeficit:Arecentreviewoftheliteratureindicatesthatevidencelinkingelectronicmediause toAttentionDeficitHyperactivityDisorder(ADHD)isinconsistent.12 Anumberofstudiesfindthat childrenwithADHDwatchmoretelevision thanotherchildren,thoughitisunclearwhetherthe ADHDisacauseorconsequenceofmoretelevisionviewing.Onestudyhasalsolinkedexcessive videogameplayingtoattentionproblems,butagainthedirectionof influenceisunclear.

•UpperExtremityMusculoskeletalInjuries:Arecentcomprehensiveliteraturereviewofresearchrelat- ingcomputerusetoinjuryfoundconsistentevidencethatcomputerusewasassociatedwithgreater riskofhand,wrist,forearm,andelbowinjuries,relatedtobothkeyboardandmouseuse.Riskin- creasedwithnumberofhoursofuse,andwasespeciallypronouncedatlevelsover20hoursper week.13

PositiveHealthInfluences.Whilemostresearchhasfocusedonthelink tonegativehealthoutcomes,some researchhasexaminedthepotentialhealthbenefitsrelatedtoelectronicmediause.Arecentsurveyreveals that28percentofadolescentsages12-17whousetheInternetuseittoaccessinformationonhealth,diet- ing,andphysicalexercise;however,theimpactof thatinformationon theirhealthisunknown.14

Inaddition,thereissomeevidencethatsocialmarketingcampaignsusingelectronicmediahavebeensuc- cessfulinpositivelyaffectinghealthbehaviorsofadolescents. Forexample,arecentrigorous,quasi- experimentalevaluationfoundthattheAmericanLegacyFoundation’struthmassmediacampaignwas successfulinreducingthenumberofyouthwhotookupsmoking,accounting for22percentofthetotal declineinteensmokingintheU.S.between1999and2002.15 Evaluationsofstate-funded anti-smoking campaignstargetingadolescentsinMassachusetts andFloridaalsofoundsomeevidencethatsuchcam- paignsreducedteensmoking.16

SocialDevelopment

IncreasedaccesstocellphonesandtheInternethasvastlyexpandedoptionsavailabletoadolescents for interactingwiththeirpeersand,inthecaseoftheInternet,withstrangers. Optionsinclude texting, instant messaging, blogs,onlinegaming,emailand,increasingly, socialnetworking siteslikeFacebookand MySpace.

SubrahmanyamandGreenfield(2008)17concludethat, whererelationshipswith othersareconcerned,ado- lescentsusetheInternetprimarilytostrengthenexisting“offline”relationships withfriendsandromantic interests.Theyalsoindicatethatonlineinteractionwithstrangers(strangersat leastin termsoftheiroffline lives)canhelprelievesocialanxietyandsocialisolationfor some.

Therearealsonegativesocialoutcomesassociated withthegrowthintheuseofelectronic media.These include:

Bullying.Adolescents areexposedtoelectronicbullyingthroughinstantmessaging,cell-basedtextmes- saging,andsocialnetworkingsites.Bullyingbehaviorscanincludesendingthreateningmessages, spread- ingviciousrumors,personalattacks,andpostingembarrassingpictures.A2005telephonesurveyofaU.S. nationallyrepresentativesampleof10-to17-year-oldswhohadusedtheInternetatleastoncepermonth inthepastsixmonths,foundthatninepercentreportedhavingbeenthevictimofonlineharassmentat leastonceinthepreviousyear.18Usingthemorestrictcriteriacommontoschool-basedbullyingresearch, whichrequiresbothrepeatedharassment andanimbalanceofpowerbetweenthoseinvolved,thepercent- agewasmuchlower, withslightlymorethanhalfofthoseaffectedexperiencingmorethanoneincidentin thepreviousyear.19 Substantialresearchhasdemonstratedthenegativeeffectsofbullyingingeneralon childandyouthwell-being,thoughlittleresearchspecificallyontheantecedentsandeffectsofcyber- bullying.20

SexualPredation.Onlinesexualsolicitation ofchildrenandadolescents representsaseriousthreattothe safetyandwell-beingofthosewhoareapproached.Arecentstudyindicatesthatreportsofunwanted onlinesolicitation havedeclinedinrecentyears,perhapsduetofactorsrangingfrombetterprivacycon- trols,moreeducation,andbetterlawenforcement.21 A2005surveyofonlinerespondentsages10to17 indicatedthat13percenthadexperiencedunwantedonlinesolicitation(s),andfourpercenthadexperi- encedaggressivesexualsolicitationonline,wherethesolicitorattemptedtomakeofflinecontact.22

Education

Researchindicatesthat,whileaccesstocomputersinthehomeisassociatedwithbettereducationout- comes,theeffectsoftelevisionuseoneducationoutcomesonlyappearonceprogram contentistakeninto account.

TelevisionandAcademicPerformance.Childrenwhowatchexcessiveamountsoftelevisionscorelower onstandardizedacademicassessmentsthanthosewhowatchlesstelevision.23However,whenresearchers controlforfactorslikeIQandsocioeconomicstatus,thisrelationshipgenerallydisappears. Researchthat takesintoaccountprogramcontentgenerallyfindsthateducationalprogramming isassociatedwithposi- tiveacademicoutcomeswhileentertainment programsarenegativelyassociated,thoughmostofthatre- searchfocuses on young childrenratherthanadolescents.24

Computers,theInternetandAcademicPerformance/Skills.Whileresearchrelatinghomecomputerand Internet accesstoacademicperformanceshowsaclear,positivestatisticalrelationship,fewstudiescontrol adequatelyforbackgroundfactorsthatmaybedrivingtherelationship.25However,homecomputer access hasbeen associatedinonestudy withhigherreadingtestscoresnetofincomeandother backgroundinflu- ences.26Home InternetusehasalsobeenshowntobepositivelyrelatedtoreadingscoresandoverallGPA amonglow-incomechildren.27

Computerliteracyisincreasinglyacknowledgedasavaluableandnecessaryworkforceskill.Thoseenter- ingtheworkforcewithinferiorornoskillsinbasiccomputerskills(wordprocessing,spreadsheets,creat- ingpresentations)andInternetskills(research,communications)areatadistinctdisadvantageinmany cases. Someresearchindicatesthatsuchskillsaregenerallybetterdevelopedamong youthfrommoread- vantagedbackgrounds,evenamongthosewhohavereadyaccesstocomputersandtheInternet.28Closing thedigitaldividemay,therefore,requirestrategiesthatgo beyondequalizingaccesstothemediaitself.

ADOLESCENTS’ACCESS TOANDUSEOFELECTRONICMEDIA

Access

HomeComputer Access.Beginning intheearly1980s,personalcomputers havegonefromanexpensive homeofficetooltoabasichomeapplianceformostfamilies.Thepercentageofchildrenandyouthages3 to17whohave acomputerinthehome rosefrom15percentin1984to76percentin2003(79percentfor teensages 15to17).(See Figure1)Morerecentestimatesfor8thgradepublicschoolstudentsindicatethat in2007,90percenthada computerinthehome.29Another2007nationalsurveyindicatesthatnearlysixin ten(59 percent)adolescentsages12-17 havetheirown computerathome.30

Thedigitaldivideinhomecomputeraccessnarrowedbetween2000and2007,thoughitremainssubstan- tial.Forexample,among4thgradestu-

100

80

60

Figure 1:HomeComputerAccess,

ChildrenAges 3-17,

SelectedYears1984 -2003

70

65

dents,thegapbetween thosewithpar- entswhohadgraduated collegeand thosewithparentswhodidnotfinish highschoolnarrowedfrom34percent- age points to 21 percentage points.

76(SeeFigure2)

4050

2024

15

0

SchoolComputer Access.Computer accessatschoolhasbecome nearly universal among4thgradestudents (95%),andforthevastmajorityof8th

198419891997200020012003

Source: Child Trends DataBank, Home Computer Access and Internet Use, Retrieved

October 14, 2008.

graders(83%).31 Differencesinbasic accessaresmalltononexistentacross

4

racegroups,parent education level,andschool lunchpro- grameligibility.32

100

Figure2:Computer AccessAmong8th GradeStudents

ByParentEducationAttainment,2000 and2008

96

92

83

Internet Access. In 2007, 758075

percentofteensages12to1758

hadInternetaccessinthe home. Of those with access,40 morethanfourinfive(83per-

cent)hadaccessthroughafast20

connectionsuchasDSL,cable,0

8691

75

LessthanHighSchool

GraduateHighSchool

SomePost-HighSchool

Education

GraduateCollege

orsatellite(i.e.,something

otherthandial-up).

20002007

Source: U.S.Dept. ofEducation, InstituteofEducation Sciences, National Center forHealth Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2000 and 2007 Mathemat- ics Assessment.

Figure3:TeenswithInternetAccessintheHome, byFamilyIncomeLevel,2007

Internet accessamongchildren and adolescents ages3to17hascontinued toincreaseinrecentyears,from66per- centto71percentbetween200333 and

2007.34

100

80

60

40

20

0

57

373653

40

8588

67

939799

Internet accessisstillanissueforthose inlow-income families.Lessthan40 percentofteenslivinginfamilies with total incomes less than $15,000 per yearhadInternet accessinthehome, compared toover80percentamong those with family incomesexceeding

$50,000,andover95percent among those with incomes over $100,000.35

Source:ChildTrendsAnalysis of U.S. CensusBureau,CurrentPopulationSurvey,October2007.

(SeeFigure3)

CellPhones.Adolescentaccessto cellphoneshasgrownrapidlyin the last several years. Between

2004and2007,thepercentage of adolescents ages12to17who have cellphonesrosefrom 45 percentto71percent.36 (SeeFig- ure4)There arenosignificant differences incellphoneowner- shipacrosswhite, black, andHis- panicteens,andonlymodestdif-

100

80

60

40

20

0

Figure 4:CellPhoneOwnership Among Teens

Ages12-17, 2007

71

45

ferencesby incomelevel.37

Source: Lenhart, A.,Arafeh,1

Smith,A.,and Macgill, A.(2008)2riting, Technology

and Teens. Page 8. Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

TimeandActivitiesUsingElectronicMedia

Television.Thenumberofhoursspentwatchingtelevisionhasdecreasedamongteenssincetheearly

1990s.Forexample,amongeighth gradestudents,thepercentagewhowatchedfourormorehoursoftele- visionontheaverageweekdaydeclinedfrom36percentto29percentbetween1991and2006.Duringthat sameperiod,thepercentage watchinganhourorlessperweekdayincreasedfrom20percentto29per- cent.38

Blackteensaremuchmorelikelythanwhiteteenstowatchexcessiveamountsoftelevision. In2006,57 percentofblackeighthgradestudentsreportedwatchingfourormorehoursoftelevision onanaverage weekdaycomparedwith20 percentof whitestudents.39(SeeFigure5)

100

80

60

40

20

0

Figure 5:Television: 8thGradersWatching 4+Hours perAverageWeekday,2006

57

20

BlackWhite

Computers. In2003,amongall adolescents ages12to17,just over one-half(51 percent)used

than homework for at least an houraday,and10percentwere

perday.40 In2000,themostre- centyearforwhich suchesti- mates are available, about half (47percent)ofeighthgradestu- dentsusedthe homecomputerfor

Source: Child Trends DataBank: Watching Television, table 1. Retrieved October 14, 2008.

percent)used onealmosteverydayfor thatpurpose.41

school work at least once per week,andaboutoneinfive(21

TheInternet.Amongadolescents ages12to17whousetheInternet,thepercentagewhouseitonadaily basisincreasedfrom42percentin2000to61percentin2006.42 Dailyusevariedsubstantially acrossin- comegroupsin2006,rangingfrom39percentforonlineteenswithfamilyincomesoflessthan$30,000 peryearto79percentforthose

with annual incomes of

$75,000ormore.43 (See Fig- ure6)

TheInternetisarichresource supporting awidevarietyof activities by teens ranging fromcommunications toinfor- mationgathering, gameplay- ingandother formsofenter- tainment. Arecentnational surveyofteensages12to17 bythePew InternetandAmeri-

Figure 6:InternetUse:Percentage ofTeensAges12-

17whoGoOnline Daily,byFamilyIncome,2006

79

80

39

40

20

0

$30,000$75,000+

Source: Lenhart, A.,Arafeh, S.,Smith,A.,and Macgill, A.(2008) Writing,Technology and Teens. Page 8.Washington, D.C.:Pew Internetand American Life Project.

canLifeProjectidentifiedthefollowingactivities:(SeeFigure7)

•SocialNetworkingSites:Overhalf(55percent)ofthosewhogoonlinehavecreatedapersonalprofile onMySpace,Facebook,orsimilarsocialnetworking sites.Oneinfive(21percent)sendsmessagesto theirfriendsthroughthesesiteson adailybasis.44

•Blogging.Thisisanincreasinglypopularteenactivity,withthepercentofonlineteenswhohavecre- atedablogoronlinejournalincreasing from19percentin2004to28percentin2006.Girlsaremore likelytoblog;35 percentcomparedto20 percentfor boys.45

•EmailandInstantMessaging.Fourteenpercentofallteensreportusingemailtocommunicatewith friendson adailybasis, comparedwith28 percentwho use instantmessaging(IM).

•Purchases. Overathirdofonlineteens(38percent)reporthavingusedtheInternettomakepur- chases.46

•InformationGathering.OveraquarterofallonlineteensreporthavingusedtheInternettogatherin- formationonhealth,dieting,orphysicalexercise.Overhalfreportedusingittogatherinformation on colleges,andoverthree-quartersreportedusingittogatherinformationon news or currentevents.47

•Games. Nearlyhalf(49 percent)of allonlineteensreportthattheyplaygameson theInternet.

Figure7:InternetActivities:PercentageofTeensAges12-17

EngaginginVariousOnlineActivities,2006

100

8077

6055

49

38

40

2828

2014

0

Createdpersonal profileon

MySpace, Facebook,or

similar.

Blogging(ever)EmaildailyInstantMessage daily

Purchases(ever)GamesReadaboutnews, currentevents

Source: Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Macgill,A. and Smith, A. (2007) Teens and Social Media. Washington, D.C.: Pew

Internet and American Life Project

CellPhones.In2006,aboutathird(35percent)ofallteensages12to17spokewiththeirfriendsusing theircellphoneonadailybasis.Amongteenswhohaveacellphone,thatincreases tooveronehalf(55 percent).48 Overaquarterofallteensusecellphonesonadailybasistosendtextmessagestotheir friends.49

DISCUSSION

Theevolutionofelectronicmediahasbroughtprofoundchangesinthewaysthatadolescents communi- cate,recreate,andlearn.Theverybreadthoftheirinfluenceoverthesefundamental activitieshasgener- atedstrongconcernsaboutpotentialpositiveandnegativeimpactsonchildandyouthwell-being. Policy makershaveresponded tothesechangesbyattemptingtoshapethecontentchildrenandadolescentshave accesstoacrossthevariousmedia.Theseincludeeffortstolimitaccesstoinappropriate andpotentially harmfulcontent(e.g.,V-Chipblockingdevicesfortelevision,encouragingvoluntaryratingsystemsfor entertainment),effortstocounteractnegativemessagesthroughsocialmarketing(e.g.,truthandsimilar anti-tobaccocampaigns)andrequirementstoprovide accesstomorepositiveandeducationalcontent.The markethasresponded also,providingparentswithmeanstoscreenoutwhattheyperceivetobeharmful Internetcontent,andprovidingteens withmore vigilantprotectionagainstpotentialpredatorsonmajorso- cialnetworkingsites.50

Policymakers havebeenequallyconcernedtoaddressunequalaccesstothebenefitsofthesenewmedia, particularlycomputersandtheInternet—theso-calleddigitaldivide.Federalpolicyandprogramshave movedaggressively,forexample, tomakesurethatcomputersandtheInternetarereadilyavailable inthe schoolstoallstudentsregardlessofincomelevel.Themarket,too,hashelpedtoreducethedigitaldivide astechnicalinnovationhascontinuedtodrivedownthe priceofhomeaccess.Asthedata demonstrate,the digitaldivide,definedintermsofaccess,hasbeensteadilyshrinking overthelastdecade,thoughnotable inequalitiesremain.

Researchanddatacollectionmustkeepupwiththechangingmediaenvironmentinordertoprovidepoli- cymakerswith thebest informationavailabletoguidetheir work.Futureresearchwill needtobetterinves- tigatehowtheseincreasinglyintegratedmedia(television,Internet,computers,cellphones)shapethelives of adolescents,andhow themediacanbeused toactivelyshapehealthanddevelopmentinpositiveways.

Datacollectionmustalsokeeppacewiththischangingenvironment. Inthisregard,thePewInternetand AmericanLifeProjecthassteppedupwithaseriesofnationallyrepresentative, cutting-edgesurveysto betterunderstandteenelectronicmediauseandmonitorchangingtrends.Unfortunately, thefederalgov- ernment,oncetheleaderindatacollection inthisarea,hasreduceditsdatacollection activities, substan- tiallyshrinkingthenumberofrelevantquestionsaskedontheNationalAssessmentofEducational Pro- gress(NAEP)andtheCurrentPopulationSurveyInternetandComputerUseSupplement,thetwoleading nationaldatasourcesfortrackingInternetandcomputer use. Giventhewideavailabilityandfrequentuse of electronicmedia,we suggest restorationandexpansionof federaldatacollectioninthisarea.

ThisResearchBriefis a productofapartnershipbetweenChildTrendsandtheNationalAdolescentHealthInforma- tionCenterattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco,tocreateresources andprovideassistancetoimprovethe healthofyoungpeopleandtheirfamilies.ThisbriefwassupportedbytheU.S.Department ofHealthandHuman Services,HealthResourcesandServicesAdministration,MaternalandChildHealth Bureau(MCHB),grant number U45 MC00002.

Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center thatstudies children at every stage of development. Our mis- sion is to improveoutcomesfor childrenby providingresearch,data,andanalysistothepeopleandinstitutions whosedecisionsandactionsaffectchildren.Foradditionalinformation onChildTrends,includingpublications availabletodownload, visitourWebsiteat indicatorsofchildandyouthwell-being,visittheChildTrendsDataBankat For summariesofover350experimentalevaluationsofsocialinterventionsforchildren,visit

TheNationalAdolescentHealthInformation Center(NAHIC)wasestablishedwithfundingfromtheMaternaland ChildHealthBureauin1993toserveasanationalresourceforadolescenthealthresearchandinformation andto assuretheintegration,synthesis,coordinationanddisseminationofadolescenthealth-relatedinformation. Formore information,visit

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FutureofChildren.Vol18,No.1,147-180.

9 Ibid

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19 Ibid,Table2.

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AmericanPsychologist56(6/7):477-489.Seealso

US Departmentof Education,Officeof EducationalResearchandImprovement,NationalCenterfor EducationStatistics (2000)NAEP1999TrendsinAcademicProgress:ThreeDecadesofStudentPerformance.NCES2000-469.Washington,D.C.: OERI.

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29 NationalAssessment for EducationProgress 2007 MathematicsAssessments. ChildTrendsanalyses,downloadadthrough

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31 Thisrepresentsthepercentof studentswhose mathteachersreportedthatcomputerswereavailabletobothstudentsandteach- ersintheirschool.(NAEP2007MathematicAssessments).

32 NationalAssessmentforEducationProgress2007MathematicsAssessments.ChildTrendsanalyses,downloadadthrough

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33 Changesinquestionwording in2003 preventcomparisonswithearlieryears.

34 2007estimatesfromChildTrendsoriginalanalysisofOctober2003CurrentPopulationSurveydata.2003estimatesfrom

U.S. Census Bureau,CurrentPopulationSurvey-October,Table2A, downloadedNovember21, 2008,

population/www/socdemo/computer/2003.html

35 ChildTrends,originalanalysesofOctober2007CurrentPopulationSurvey.

36 Lenhart,A., Arafeh,S., Smith,A., andMacgill,A. (2008) Writing,Technology,andTeens.Washington,D.C.:Per Internet andAmericanLifeProject.p8.

37 Ibid.

38 ChildTrendsDataBankWatchingTelevisionindicator,retrievedSeptember14, 2008.

39 Ibid.

40 NationalSurveyofChildren’sHealth2003.Downloadedfrom

41 US Departmentof Education,Institutefor EducationalSciences,NationalCenterfor EducationStatistics.NationalAssess- mentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)2000MathematicsAssessment.Downloadedfrom

42 Lenhart,A.,Madden,M.,Macgill,A.,andSmith,A(2007)TeensandSocialMedia.Washington,D.C.:PewInternetand

AmericanLifeProject.p 2..

43 Lenhart,A., Arafeh,S., Smith,A., andMacgill,A. (2008) Writing,Technology,andTeens.Washington,D.C.:Per Internet andAmericanLifeProject.p. 7.

44 Lenhart,A., Madden,M., Macgill,A., andSmith,A ( 2007) TeensandSocialMedia.Washington,D.C.:Pew Internetand

AmericanLifeProject.pp19and26.

45 Lenhart,A.,Madden,M.,Macgill,A.,andSmith,A(2007)TeensandSocialMedia.Washington,D.C.:PewInternetand

AmericanLifeProject,p. ii.

46 Lenhart,A., Madden,M., Macgill,A., andSmith,A ( 2007) TeensandSocialMedia.Washington,D.C.:Pew Internetand

AmericanLifeProject.p26.

47 Ibid.

48 Lenhart,A., Madden,M., Macgill,A., andSmith,A ( 2007) TeensandSocialMedia.Washington,D.C.:Pew Internetand

AmericanLifeProject.Tableonp18.

49 Ibid.

50 For anexcellentreviewof themajorpolicyissues relatedtochildrenandelectronicmedia,seeJordon, A. (2008) Children’s mediapolicy.FutureofChildren.Vol18,No1,235-253.