PRESENTED BY THE HORTONVILLE TEENANGELS Teen and Tween use of Wireless Handheld Devices

Project Introduction It seems that many teens and tweens carry some sort of a cell phone or handheld device.  What percentage of teens and tweens do carry a handheld device?  What applications are primarily used?  How are these applications used?

Looking at Existing Research Harvard study on handheld devices  2006  Looked at how handheld devices are used in college courses.  Made us wonder how handheld devices are used for our own schoolwork/research.  ede.pdf

Looking at Existing Research Poll: Teens Going Sex-Crazy in Cyberspace  Suggested that 20% of teens had sent a nude or semi-nude photo of themselves  40% have sent or posted sexual material  Made us wonder about our own peers. 

Looking at Existing Research Education Week – Students Turn Their Cell Phones On for Classroom Lessons  Cell phones in the classroom can engage students  Exciting to learn with cell phones  Use them to text in a group or for Internet when there is only one computer in a classroom.  We wondered about the use of cellp hones for schoolwork among our peers.  (

Who Participated in Our Study? 507 Teens and Tweens Surveyed  18% 9-11 years of age  41% years of age  24% years of age  17% 16 or older From different areas of the country  Wisconsin  New Jersey

Questions we asked Demographic Information  Please tell us your age:  Please tell us the name of the city in which you live. General Use  Do you use a cell phone or other wireless handheld device (iPhone, Blackberry, PDA)?  Tell us about the device that you use.  If you know the brand or specific name of the device you use, please enter it here.  How long have you used a wireless handheld device?

Questions we asked Time on Device  How many hours per week do you spend on text messages?  How many hours per week do talk on the cell?  How many hours per week do use other apps (games, camera, Internet) on the device?

Questions we asked Time on Device  On average, about how much time do you spend each week browsing the web on your device?  On average, about how much time do you spend each week playing games on your device?  On average, about how much time do you spend each week using your device for schoolwork or research?

Questions we asked Applications  If you could run any application on your handheld, what would it be and why?  What "safe use" advice would you give to a younger person who is new to using a handheld device?  Is there anything else that you would like to share?

Open Ended Responses Who do you most often text and why? What do you most often talk about? What is your favorite other app? Have you ever sent a photo and then decided it was a bad idea? If so, tell us about that. Tell us about any of your favorite sites visited on your handheld. Tell us about any of your favorite games on your handheld. Tell us about what kind of schoolwork or research you do on your handheld.

Findings Do you use a cell phone or other wireless handheld device?  81% said yes  19% said no

Findings Tell us about the device that you use.  91% cell phone  6.9% iPhone  2.8% Blackberry  2.3% PDA  19.7% Other  Responses included iPod, razr, PSP, MP3 Player

Findings If you know the brand or specific name of the device you use, please enter it here.  307 responded  Varied greatly – Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericson

Findings How long have you used a wireless handheld device?  Less than 6 months – 22.3%  6 months to a year – 19.7%  1 to 2 years – 27.9%  Over 2 years – 30.4%

Findings How many hours per week do you spend on text messages?  Less than 1 hour – 36.5%  1 to 5 hours – 33.3%  5 to 10 hours %  Over 10 hours – 16.3% Who do you most often text and why?  Friends  Family

Findings How many hours per week do talk on the cell?  Less than 1 hour– 41.9%  1 to 5 hours – 40.2%  5 to 10 hours – 9.5%  More than 10 hours – 8.7% What do you most often talk about?  Friend stuff (school, hanging out, where to meet, gossip)  Homework

Findings How many hours per week do use other apps (games, camera, Internet) on the device?  Less than 1 hour – 45.8%  1 to 5 hours – 29.2%  5 to 10 hours – 14.8%  More than 10 hours – 10.5% What is your favorite other app?  Games  Facebook  Internet  camera

Findings On average, about how many photos do you send every week from your handheld device?  1 time per week – 18.7%  2-5 times per week – 19.2%  6-10 times – 9.5%  More than 10 – 46%  I don’t send photos – 46% Have you ever sent a photo and then decided it was a bad idea?  Most said no – they are very careful about what they send.

Findings On average, about how much time do you spend each week browsing the web on your device?  1 hour or less – 24.8%  2 to 5 hours – 12.5%  6 to 10 hours – 3.8%  More than 10 hours – 2.6%  I don’t browse the web – 56.6% Tell us about any of your favorite sites visited on your handheld  Google  MySpace  Web Mail  YouTube

Findings On average, about how much time do you spend each week playing games on your device?  1 hour or less – 37.6%  2 to 5 hours – 11.5%  6 to 10 hours – 2.8%  More than 10 hours – 2.6%  I don’t play games – 45.8% Tell us about any of your favorite games on your handheld.  Varied greatly  Pacman, Tetris, and Bejeweled were frequent – but many, many different responses.

Findings On average, about how much time do you spend each week using your device for schoolwork or research?  1 hour or less – 28.1%  2 to 5 hours – 10%  6 to 10 hours -.8%  More than 10 hours -.8%  I don’t use it for schoolwork or research – 60.6% Tell us about what kind of schoolwork or research you do on your handheld.  Calculator was the most common response

Findings If you could run any application on your handheld, what would it be and why?  VideoChat  Photobooth  Rock Band  Google Earth  Safari

Findings Time of Ownership by Age

Findings Texting Time by Age

Findings Talking Time by Age

Findings Time on Other Apps by Age

Findings What "safe use" advice would you give to a younger person who is new to using a handheld device?  Know who you are talking to/texting  Think before you send!  Don’t use up your minutes!

Conclusions Majority of teens and tweens use some sort of a handheld device. We like to text! We are careful with the devices we use. We use these devices primarily to connect and socialize with each other. We could better utilize these devices for schoolwork/research!