Pew Research Center specialist speaks to parents on “Teens and Technology”
March 19, 2010
by Christine Yeres
Parents of teens, what keeps you up at night? Fears of your teen texting while driving? Confusion about your teen’s social networking on the Internet? The Chappaqua PTA and New Castle CARES want you to get a better night’s sleep. They have invited Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, to speak on Monday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bell auditorium on “Teens and Technology: What Parents Need to Know.”
Lenhart directs research on teens, children and families. She has produced detailed reports on teens’ social networking, gaming, blogging, micro-blogging and cell phone use. Her most recent reports include “Teens, Video Games and Civics: Twitter and Status Updating;” “Teens and Distracted Driving;” and “Teens and Sexting.”
Lenhart was the lead author on a recent Pew Internet Project report entitled “Social Media and Young Adults.” She and her colleagues found that “Nearly three quarters (73%) of online teens and an equal number (72%) of young adults use social network sites. By contrast, older adults have not kept pace; some 40% of adults 30 and older used the social sites in the fall of 2009.”
“Additionally, teens ages 12-17 do not use Twitter in large numbers – just 8% of online teens 12-17 say they ever use Twitter, a percentage similar to the number who use virtual worlds. This puts Twitter far down the list of popular online activities for teens and stands in stark contrast to their record of being early adopters of nearly every online activity.” The entire report can be found by clicking HERE.
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does so by conducting public opinion polling and social science research; by reporting news and analyzing news coverage; and by holding forums and briefings. It does not take positions on policy issues.
Lenhart, 35, graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College with a double major in English and Anthropology and earned a Masters with distinction from Georgetown University in Communications, Culture and Technology.
Lenhart appeared on the PBS News Hour on February 24, 2010—click HERE to view the segment.
There are no comments for this article yet.
