Mining PEW

Lenhart, A.  (2012).  Digital divides and bridges:  Technology use among youth.  PEW
     Internet.  Retrieved on July 28, 2014 from
     http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/04/13/digital-divides-and-bridges-technology-use-among-youth/


This is a presentation that caught my eye because of the title.  It's about a talk that Amanda Lenhart gave at a conference called "Media and the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents."  Lenhart discusses the differences in use of technology among youth of different races.  She begins by pointing out that
Latinos use the internet a little bit less than whites.  She also includes that more whites own cell phones than Latinos or African Americans.  Furthermore, according to Lenhart, about 23% of all teens own smart phones regardless of their race.  Lenhart also points out that about one-quarter of Latinos are not sure whether or not their phone is a smart phone.  She also notes that teens' use of social networks and Twitter has increased significantly since 2006.  African American teens use Twitter more than whites or Latinos do and lower income youth use social network sites more than those of higher income.  Latinos send or receive texts slightly more than African American teens and whites text less.  The majority of teens have private settings on their social media accounts.  Lenhart contends that teens believe most people on social media are nice and that only a few are mean.  Lastly, she states that kids seek advice about using the internet and cellphones responsibly from parents, then teachers, and thirdly from TV.

To be honest, I liked how this presentation started because it stayed on topic as far as differences in technology use of kids of different ethnic groups, but then it seemed to go off-topic.  I was hoping that Lenhart would include more information and more comparisons like she did in the beginning.  Regardless, I did learn from the presentation.  It did surprise me, though, that some Latino teens didn't know whether their phone was a smartphone or not.   Something else that surprised me was that African Americans use Twitter more than whites or Latinos put together.  This presentation is from 2012.  I seem to remember that just last week I heard on TV that more Latinos use Twitter nowadays.  It was also interesting to me that Latino teens out-text both African Americans and whites.  I always figured white teens would text more.





Presentation Length:  15 pages
Count to date:  68/150 pages