Cell phones active in young people's web browsing
Source: Agencies |
March 14, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A NEW report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that 78 percent of young people, ages 12 to 17, now have cell phones. Nearly half of those are smartphones, a share that's increasing steadily - and that's having a big effect on how, and where, many young people are accessing the web.
The survey, released yesterday, finds that one in four young people say they are "cell-mostly" Internet users, a percentage that increases to about half when the phone is a smartphone.
In comparison, just 15 percent of adults said they access the Internet mostly by cell phone.
"It's just part of life now," says Donald Conkey, a high school sophomore in Wilmette, Illinois, just north of Chicago, who is among the many teens who have smartphones. "Everyone's about the same now when it comes to their phones - they're on them a lot."
He and other teens say that if you add up all the time they spend using apps and searching for info, texting and downloading music and videos, they're on their phones for at least a couple of hours each day - and that time is only increasing, they say.
"The occasional day where my phone isn't charged or I leave it behind, it feels almost as though I'm naked in public," says Michael Weller, a senior at New Trier High School, which Conkey also attends. "I really need to have that connection and that attachment to my phone all the time."
According to the survey, older teen girls, ages 14 to 17, were among the most likely to say their phones were the primary way they access the web. And while young people in low-income households were still somewhat less likely to use the Internet, those who had phones were just as likely - and in some cases, more likely - to use their cell phones as the main way they access the web.
It means that, as this young generation of "mobile surfers" grows and comes of age, the way corporations do business and marketers advertise will only continue to evolve, as will the way mobile devices are monitored.
Already, many smartphones have restriction menus that allow parents to block certain phone functions, or mature content. Cell phone providers have services that allow parents to see a log of their children's texts. And there are a growing number of smartphone applications that at least claim to give parents some level of control on a phone's web browser, though many tech experts agree that these applications can be hit-or-miss.
Despite the ability to monitor some phone activity, some tech and communication experts question whether surveillance, alone, is the best response to the trend.
The survey, released yesterday, finds that one in four young people say they are "cell-mostly" Internet users, a percentage that increases to about half when the phone is a smartphone.
In comparison, just 15 percent of adults said they access the Internet mostly by cell phone.
"It's just part of life now," says Donald Conkey, a high school sophomore in Wilmette, Illinois, just north of Chicago, who is among the many teens who have smartphones. "Everyone's about the same now when it comes to their phones - they're on them a lot."
He and other teens say that if you add up all the time they spend using apps and searching for info, texting and downloading music and videos, they're on their phones for at least a couple of hours each day - and that time is only increasing, they say.
"The occasional day where my phone isn't charged or I leave it behind, it feels almost as though I'm naked in public," says Michael Weller, a senior at New Trier High School, which Conkey also attends. "I really need to have that connection and that attachment to my phone all the time."
According to the survey, older teen girls, ages 14 to 17, were among the most likely to say their phones were the primary way they access the web. And while young people in low-income households were still somewhat less likely to use the Internet, those who had phones were just as likely - and in some cases, more likely - to use their cell phones as the main way they access the web.
It means that, as this young generation of "mobile surfers" grows and comes of age, the way corporations do business and marketers advertise will only continue to evolve, as will the way mobile devices are monitored.
Already, many smartphones have restriction menus that allow parents to block certain phone functions, or mature content. Cell phone providers have services that allow parents to see a log of their children's texts. And there are a growing number of smartphone applications that at least claim to give parents some level of control on a phone's web browser, though many tech experts agree that these applications can be hit-or-miss.
Despite the ability to monitor some phone activity, some tech and communication experts question whether surveillance, alone, is the best response to the trend.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
