Growing up with new media presents advantages and challenges, and this is so both for younger digital natives and their parents.

In this regard the 2009 Digital Future Project looked into both children’s and parents’ perceptions about the effect of the Web on schoolwork.  As can be expected, the viewpoints of the two groups differed.

Almost all (96 percent) of Internet users under the age of 18 claimed that going online has had some value for their schoolwork. But more than 80 percent of adult respondents with children in the household said that going online has had no effect on grades or that grades have declined since Internet use began.

Furthermore, the percentage of adults who see Internet as a negative influence on their children’s performance at school increased in 2009 (10 percent), compared to 2008 (6 percent). This is also the highest percentage of adult respondents reporting a grade decline associated with online activities for the eight years in which the Digital Future Project has asked this question.

The percentage of adults who said that the grades of the children in their household have improved since the household started to use the Internet has remained relatively stable – 18 percent for both 2009 and 2008, down slightly from 20 percent in 2006 and 2007.
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Adult views of the Internet’s effects on children’s grades
(Adult respondents with children in the household)

effect-on-grades-2010

 

For the full report of the 2009 findings, visit here.

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