Survey of Teenagers and the New Information Technology - Abstract 

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  1. In the Canton of Ticino, 2 families (with teenagers attending school) out of 3 own a personal computer (PC). Usually, it is the youngest members of the family who use it. The computer is more widespread in families whose children go to high school than in families whose children follow an apprenticeship.

  2. Internet is not widespread in the families, since 81% of the respondants are not connected to it. Among Internet users the most likely "navigators" are males attending high school. The teenager-parent gap concerning the use of Internet is not as wide as it is for the use of the PC. Parents who use Internet most are of Swiss nationality.

  3. More than 90% of those interviewed indicated that the personal computer is a tool. It is interesting to note that most of the students attending lower secondary school define it as a (clever) robot. They look at the personal computer in two ways: as a source of knowledge and as entertainment. The use of the personal computer varies: more than 80% use it to write; whereas more than 70% use it to play. Also, it has been observed that - depending on which type of school is attended - the ways of using the personal computer differ.

  4. Internet is mainly considered a means of communication and for finding information. Lower secondary school students, in particular non-Swiss and females, see the web as a source of information. In terms of its use it turns out that the Internet is mainly employed to search for information, though both curiosity and entertainment are incentives to surf on the web. The most regular info searchers are, once more, high school students, mainly Swiss males; whereas vocational students or young people following an apprenticeship surf the web for entertainment or curiosity. It is interesting to note that lower secondary school students and non-Swiss mostly use Internet as a means of communication.

  5. Among the youngsters interviewed, 3 out of 5 claimed to use the computer weekly; whereas nearly 1 out of 5 never uses it, or hardly ever. Those who use a personal computer daily are mostly males following an apprenticeship; whereas it is less used by non-Swiss females attending lower secondary school. As far as an Internet connection is concerned, only 1 teenager out of 6 has one at home and uses it effectively.

  6. School plays a fundamental role in the students' information technology education; in fact about 41% of them have learnt how to use a personal computer at school. It has also been observed that those attending lower secondary school claimed to have learnt how to use a personal computer from "somebody else", i.e. directly from a parent or a relative. It is mostly the Swiss females who ask their parents; whereas non-Swiss often become familiar with Information technology through a friend's help.

  7. As far as the computer skills relating to the teenagers' world are concerned, about half of those interviewed are able to install a computer program. 2 people out of 3 use an anti-virus program; the most used programs concern end-user computing. Most of those interviewed save data only if necessary and a high percentage of respondants never do; only 17% of the people who responded save data regularly.In addition, nearly 80% of teenagers do not know any programming language.

  8. When asked "Do you think you will be using a computer in your future job?" 2 out of 3 answered affirmatively, especially those attending an apprenticeship or vocational schools. Moreover, 70% of the young people - in particular males attending lower secondary and high schools - plan to use the computer at home and for fun in the future. Also the question "Will you be using the Internet, in the future, to make purchases?" was asked in order to sound Internet prospects. Most of the interviewed (40%) did not express themselves about the prospects of a virtual market. The users are uncertain about this specific use of Internet. Moreover, even though many companies use large numbers of personal computers, those actually connected to the virtual net are only relatively few.

Developed by BOSS LAB - February 1999


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