The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home

Young people are exposed to a range of information technologies (IT) in different environments, including home and school, however the factors influencing IT use at home and school are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate young people's computer exposure patterns at home...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Harris, Courtenay, Straker, Leon, Pollock, Clare
Format: Journal Article
Published: IOS Press 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24870
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author Harris, Courtenay
Straker, Leon
Pollock, Clare
author_facet Harris, Courtenay
Straker, Leon
Pollock, Clare
author_sort Harris, Courtenay
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Young people are exposed to a range of information technologies (IT) in different environments, including home and school, however the factors influencing IT use at home and school are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate young people's computer exposure patterns at home and school, and related factors such as age, gender and the types of IT used. 1351 children in Years 1, 6, 9 and 11 from 10 schools in metropolitan Western Australia were surveyed. Most children had access to computers at home and school, with computer exposures comparable to TV, reading and writing. Total computer exposure was greater at home than school, and increased with age. Computer activities varied with age and gender and became more social with increased age, at the same time parental involvement reduced. Bedroom computer use was found to result in higher exposure patterns. High use of home and school computers were associated with each other. Associations varied depending on the type of IT exposure measure (frequency, mean weekly hours, usual and longest duration). The frequency and duration of children's computer exposure were associated with a complex interplay of the environment of use, the participant's age and gender and other IT activities.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-248702017-09-13T15:10:44Z The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home Harris, Courtenay Straker, Leon Pollock, Clare exposure home human – machine interface school children Ergonomics Young people are exposed to a range of information technologies (IT) in different environments, including home and school, however the factors influencing IT use at home and school are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate young people's computer exposure patterns at home and school, and related factors such as age, gender and the types of IT used. 1351 children in Years 1, 6, 9 and 11 from 10 schools in metropolitan Western Australia were surveyed. Most children had access to computers at home and school, with computer exposures comparable to TV, reading and writing. Total computer exposure was greater at home than school, and increased with age. Computer activities varied with age and gender and became more social with increased age, at the same time parental involvement reduced. Bedroom computer use was found to result in higher exposure patterns. High use of home and school computers were associated with each other. Associations varied depending on the type of IT exposure measure (frequency, mean weekly hours, usual and longest duration). The frequency and duration of children's computer exposure were associated with a complex interplay of the environment of use, the participant's age and gender and other IT activities. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24870 10.3233/WOR-121494 IOS Press fulltext
spellingShingle exposure
home
human – machine interface
school
children
Ergonomics
Harris, Courtenay
Straker, Leon
Pollock, Clare
The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home
title The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home
title_full The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home
title_fullStr The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home
title_full_unstemmed The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home
title_short The influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home
title_sort influence of age, gender and other information technology use on young people's computer use at school and home
topic exposure
home
human – machine interface
school
children
Ergonomics
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24870