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Editors’ Note: The Pew
Internet and American Life Project released The Internet Goes to
College on September 15, 2002. This is the most current and thoroughly
researched information available on the use of the Internet by college
students, how it impacts their educational experiences, and how it changes
their social life. We are grateful for permission to reproduce the Summary
of Findings, and strongly recommend the entire report at http://www.pewtrusts.com/pdf/vf_pew_internet_college.pdf.
The Internet Goes to College
How students are living in the future with today’s technology
Steve Jones
Summary of Findings
College students are early adopters and heavy users of the Internet
College students are heavy users of the Internet compared to the general population. Use of the Internet is a part of college students' daily routine, in part because they have grown up with computers. It is integrated into their daily communication habits and has become a technology as ordinary as the telephone or television.
- One-fifth (20%) of today's college students began using computers between the ages of 5 and 8. By the time they were 16 to 18 years old all of today's current college students had begun using computers - and the Internet was a commonplace in the world in which they lived.
- Eighty-six percent of college students have gone online, compared with 59% of the general population.
- College students are frequently looking for email, with 72% checking email at least once a day.
- About half (49%) first began using the Internet in college; half (47%) first began using it at home before they arrived at college.
- The great majority (85%) of college students own their own computer, and two thirds (66%) use at least two email addresses.
- Seventy-eight percent of college Internet users say that at one time or another they have gone online just to browse for fun, compared to 64% of all Internet users.
- College Internet users are twice as likely to have ever downloaded music files when compared to all Internet users: 60% of college Internet users have done so compared to 28% of the overall population.
- College Internet users are twice as likely to use instant messaging on any given day compared to the average Internet user. On a typical day, 26% of college students use IM; 12% of other Internet users are using IM on an average day.
College students say the Internet has enhanced their education
Internet use is a staple of college students' educational experience. They use the Internet to communicate with professors and classmates, to do research, and to access library materials. For most college students the Internet is a functional tool, one that has greatly changed the way they interact with others and with information as they go about their studies.
- Nearly four-fifths of college students (79%) agree that Internet use has had a positive impact on their college academic experience.
- Almost half (46%) of college students agree that email enables them to express ideas to a professor that they would not have expressed in class, but, some interactions are still primarily face-to-face: Only 19% of students said they communicate more with their professors via email than they do face-to-face.
- Nearly three-quarters (73%) of college students say they use the Internet more than the library, while only 9% said they use the library more than the Internet for information searching.
- About half of all college students (48%) are required to use the Internet to contact other students in at least some of their classes.
- Two-thirds (68%) of college students reported subscribing to one or more academic-oriented mailing lists that relate to their studies. They use these lists to carry on email discussions about topics covered in their classes.
- More than half (58%) of college students have used email to discuss or find out a grade from an instructor.
- Nearly two-thirds (65%) of college students who email professors say they report absences via email.
College social life has been changed by the Internet
The college experience is not only about learning in the classroom, it is also about encountering new social situations and gaining new social skills. College students use the Internet nearly as much for social communication as they do for their education. But just as they use the Internet to supplement the formal parts of their education, they go online to enhance their social lives.
- 42% of college students say they use the Internet primarily to communicate socially.
- Only 10% of college students use the Internet primarily for entertainment.
- Nearly three-fourths (72%) of college students say most of their online communication is with friends.
- Over two-thirds (69%) of college students said they are more likely to use the phone than the Internet to communicate socially.
- But 85% of college students consider the Internet to be an easy and convenient choice for communicating with friends.
- The most popular online social activity is forwarding messages to friends or family, with 37% of college students reporting doing so.
- A significant number of college students use publicly accessible computers on campus for social purposes even when they have their own computer at their disposal: 33% find that the majority of their computer use occurs at school and outside their homes or dorm rooms.
About the Authors
The principal author is Steve Jones, Senior Research Fellow, assisted by Pew Internet Project Survey Analyst, Mary Madden, Research Specialist.
Research assistants include:
Lisa N. Clarke, Sabryna Cornish, Margaret Gonzales, Camille Johnson, Jessica
N. Lawson, Smret Smith, Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, Megan Hansen, Guenther Lengauer,
Luciana Oliveria, Wendy Prindle, James Pyfer.
Pew Internet & American Life Project: Lee Rainie, Director
1100 Connecticut Avenue,
NW - Suite 710
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-296-0019
http://www.pewinternet.org/