24% of white teens say they usually do their non-school writing on a computer

Fact recorded on: May 18, 2008. Categories: General, PCs.

24% of white teens say they usually do their nonschool writing on a computer, compared with 5% of black teens and 11% of Hispanics. Similarly, 21% of teens ages 15-17 usually use computers for their non-school writing, compared with 15% of teens ages 12-14, according to Pew Internet Project. While girls and boys are equally likely to use computers for their school writing, boys show a greater tendency to rely on computers when writing for personal enjoyment outside of school. 23% of boys primarily use a computer for the writing they do for personal enjoyment, compared with 14% for girls. This difference may be due in part to the types of writing boys and girls engage in. As noted above, girls are more likely than boys to engage in traditionally longhand activities such as writing letters or notes and maintaining a personal journal. 31% teens from households where their parents have a college or advanced degree usually use a computer for their non-school writing, compared with 14% of teens with parents who have some college education and 13% of teens whose parents have no college experience.

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