As part of a series of posts, we examine the latest research on how young people and the wider population in the UK use the internet, and what it means for Local Authorities, schools and teachers.

What do young people use the net for?
The main use of the net, by far, is for learning: 57% use the net for homework, saying it provides more information than books. 15% use it for learning that’s not ’school’. Parents viewed the internet as a good research tool, but lamented the loss of ‘real’ research skills and worried that the information was not always appropriate or completely accurate.
40% use it to stay in touch with friends, 9% for entertainment such as YouTube (a low figure given the younger age of the part of the sample of respondents). Parents recognised the benefits of the internet as a communication tool but worried about its effect on interpersonal skills and its unpleasant side effects such as cyber bullying.

Where do people in the UK use the internet?
Most users of the net are using it at home (94%), then at work (34%), another’s house (30%) or at school (16%). Only 12% use public libraries and 9% internet cafés. Most people’s first exposure to the web is at home.
The most common technologies found in the home are: (2007 compared to 2005)

• Digital camera (61%, up from 51%)
• Digital TV (47%, up from 29%)
• Mp3 player (43%, up from 9%)
• Games Consoles (43%, n/a)
• Satellite TV (41%, down from 42%)
• Web cam (26%, up from 18%)
• Cable TV (21%, up from 17%)
• PDA (10%, up from 6%)

How do people use the net?
Most use of media is for getting information. Both users and non-users of the internet read as many books as each other, but users watch less TV (cf. Clay Shirky’s theory on “cognitive surplus”). The result is that users generally get more information in general, and as much as non-users through other sources (and face-to-face [F2F] remains the most important means). Users actually value F2F meeting more than non-users. Indeed, in ‘real world’ users are more likely to be outgoing individuals and part of a social group or club than non-users of the net.

Categories: Digital Literacy, Research, Technology