There is a dearth of survey instruments for measuring Internet skills. This article presents results from additional implementations of a previously-developed index measure. It considers the performance of the original instrument over time as well as shortened versions of it on two surveys of different populations. Drawing on analyses of five different data sets, the article makes recommen-dations for various length survey items for measuring people’s web-use skills.

With millions of teenagers on the Internet, millions of parents are trying to understand what their teens are doing and why. Understanding how technology use impacts teens‘ learning, growth, and social development is critical for their health and wellbeing and for the welfare of the family. Yet, balancing parent authority with teen privacy and autonomy is difficult. We conducted an interview study with 16 parents to examine challenges in ―technoparenting‖— parenting teens ‘ technology use. Parents said they wanted more transparency in their teens ‘ use of cell phones and the Internet and they struggled with their own unfamiliarity with technology. Technoparenting is a distributed problem and, surprisingly, parents wanted support and collaboration from the broader community. We conclude with design implications for a socially translucent ―digital window.‖

and other research outputs The net generation and digital natives: implications for higher education Other

Can media literacy education promote and improve youth engagement in civic and political life? Unfortunately, to date, there have been almost no quantitative assessments of the frequency of media literacy education, nor of any possible subsequent impacts. This study draws on a unique panel data set of a diverse group of youths in high school and college settings. It finds that exposure to media literacy education is not strongly related to demographic variables. In addition, with controls for prior levels of online political activities, for political interest, and for a broad range of demographic variables, this study also finds that digital media literacy education is associated with increased online political engagement and increased exposure to diverse perspectives. There is a stark contrast between youths' participation with new media and their civic and political participation. When judged by traditional standards, levels of civic and political commitment, capacity, and activity by youths are the lowest of all demographic groups, and until recently, have also been declining Paul Mihailidis, Eszter Hargittai, the editors, and the anonymous reviewers also provided very helpful feedback. Of course, despite all this help, we take full responsibility for our analysis and conclusions. such as social media, blogging, video games, and smart phones (see Engagement with new media has the potential to strengthen young people's participation in civic and political life. Educators, policymakers, foundations, and others are considering ways to develop desirable bridges between these two domains (for examples, see the National Broadband Plan [2010], the Center for Media Literacy, and the National Association for Media Literacy Education). The present study represents one of the first efforts to assess quantitatively both the frequency and distribution of digital media literacy activities in high schools and post-secondary settings, as well as whether such activities can increase the likelihood that youth will engage with digital media in ways that support civic and political participation. The State of Youth Civic and Political Engagement There are many signs that youths' levels of participation in civic and political life are lower than desirable. Fewer than 23% of youth aged 18-29 voted in the 2010 mid-term elections (CIRCLE, 2011). Broader indicators of civic and political engagement highlight problems as well. For example, in 2008, 55% of those aged 18-29 were judged to be -disengaged‖ in a report by the National Conference on Citizenship (2008; see also Not only are levels of civic and political participation low, they are alarmingly unequal. For example, young people with more education are far more likely to vote than their less-educated counterparts (CIRCLE, 2008, p. 1). Similarly, compared with those who have no college experience, those aged 25 or older who have a bachelor's degree are more likely to report working with others on a community problem (45% vs. 32%, respectively), meeting to discuss community issues (45% vs. 21%), and volunteering in the past year (72% vs. 43%) (National Conference on Citizenship, 2008). There are also disparities associated with socioeconomic status (SES). Roughly 75% of those in the top 20% of measures of SES participate in offline political activity, while the percentage drops to about 32% for those in the bottom 20%. These disparities are also apparent online. While 65% in the top quintile reported engaging in one of five online political activities, only 10% of those in the bottom quintile made the same claim (Schlozman, Verba, & Brady, 2009). 2 In part, low levels of some traditional forms of civic and political engagement may reflect a shift in the priority youths place on various kinds of activities. For example, as scholars such as Lance Bennett (1998) have noted, youths grant significance to political expression and enact it in ways that differ from those of earlier generations. This movement entails a shift away from civic and political engagement that aims to influence elites and state institutions toward a range of more direct forms of lifestyle politics and 2 Interestingly, the difference between those who had attended college and those who had not diminished markedly when it came to posting political material on blogs or engaging politically on social networking sites. While it was 28% for overall political activity, it was only 7% for these activities International Journal of Communication 6 (2012) Article Title Words 3 politics that emphasize self-expression and self-actualization The Civic and Political Potential of Digital Media Literacy Media literacy can be defined as -the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms‖ (Aufderheide & Firestone, 1993, p. 7). It describes a set of capacities related to media consumption and creation that one can acquire. Digital media literacy extends the traditional understanding of media literacy to include new skills that are required to navigate today's new media environment, and it also involves creative production and instruction on how to evaluate and use information critically The importance of digital media literacy in relation to civic and political life can be manifold. Perhaps most fundamentally, digital media literacy is seen as a way to promote online forms of civic and political engagement. Indeed, digital media technologies are now a central component of civic and political life, especially for young people. For example, In short, digital media literacy may expand the degree to which youths tap the affordances of the Web to engage in civic and political activities online (such as seeking out information, producing content, or engaging in dialogue on civic and political topics) that will help to offset their generally low levels of civic and political engagement by boosting their online engagement. In addition, this online engagement may also boost offline engagement. Studies show that, when youths and adults seek out information and participate in discussions online, there is an increase in their overall levels of civic acts, such as raising While many highlight the positive potential of online engagements, concerns are also raised that lead some to advocate for media literacy. For example, many scholars have expressed the concern that the ways in which online environments enable individuals to choose what they read and with whom they interact may lead those who are engaged in online discussions of societal issues to enter echo chambers, where they would primarily be exposed to, and interact with, only those who share their ideological viewpoints A rich tradition in political theory details the benefits of exposure to divergent viewpoints and the dangers of being exposed to only those with whom one agrees. Exposure to divergent views have been viewed as a means of promoting reflection, reaching a better understanding of complex issues, and developing a deeper appreciation of others' viewpoints Empirical studies have also found that exposure to divergent viewpoints can enhance an individual's knowledge of actual public opinions, their tolerance, and their sense of the legitimacy of democratic outcomes (see The Frequency and Distribution of School-Based Media Literacy Activities While it is common for adults to view youths as -digital natives‖ Unfortunately, even though many states, schools, and organizations have stated a desire to increase the level of digital media literacy education in our schools (see The Impact of Digital Media Literacy Curriculum There are also very few quantitative studies on the impact of digital media literacy education on civic outcomes. In fact, there are very few empirical studies of the broader (noncivic) impact of media literacy courses (see Conceptual work in this area is more common. Jenkins (2006) argues that increased digital media literacy education has the potential to close the digital media -participation gap‖-the variation in engagement with digital media (Hargittai & Walejko, 2008)-among youths by providing the skills and opportunities that will enable active participation in the public sphere. Working in a related vein, Rheingold (2008) outlines ways in which participatory pedagogies can be used by educators to activate youths' public voices via online platforms, as well as to build strong connections to civic and political issues about which they care. Other work suggests that many more traditionally conceived literacy skills, such as interpersonal skills and strategic planning, can be effectively taught through digital media because of youths' familiarity with, and regular use of, new media Research Questions As detailed above, there is a significant need for studies that examine both the frequency and the distribution of current practices and their impact. Specifically, this study aims to address four questions: RQ1: How This represents a panel retention rate of 41.7%. Our rate of attrition was due to students transferring from the school, students being absent on the day of the survey, and our limited time to conduct surveys in the schools (which meant that we could not survey students in every senior classroom). Students in this panel came from seven high schools. To minimize selection bias, we surveyed entire classes of juniors during class time. The selection of these classes was based on class schedules and the availability of the computer lab where the surveys took place. We did not select classes on the basis of either students' experiences of digital media literacy activities or their exposure to new media in general. We conducted regression analysis (not reported here) and found that the demographic characteristics of both samples were statistically similar, with the exception that there were more Latinos in T1 than T2. The districts and schools were purposively selected to ensure a diverse range of demographic and academic characteristics. The percentage of students receiving a free or reduced-price lunch varied widely across schools, from 1% to 83%. In addition, the sampled schools reported average Academic Performance Index (API) 3 scores ranging from the bottom 20% to the top 10% of all the high schools in California. Of those students who identified their ethnicity, 36.7% were white, 30.8% were Asian-American, 18.2% were Latino, and 7.6% were African-American. presidential election (hereafter, post-high school panel). These students came from one of 21 different schools, each located in a different district in California. The schools were purposively selected to ensure a diverse range of demographic and academic characteristics. We contacted schools and, in addition to providing data on their schools, offered them funds as compensation for the time they put into working with us on data collection. Our selection of classes from the 21 schools followed the same procedure as in the first panel. Since all the students in a given class took the initial survey, our initial sample was, in some ways, better than a traditional phone sample, where many choose not to participate. However, only some who were surveyed while in high school (1,305 out of 5,505, or 23.7%) agreed to let us contact them again once they left high school. Using e-mail, phone numbers, and mailed surveys, we were ultimately able to contact 435 of those who gave us permission to take the T2 survey. This represents a panel retention rate of 33.3% against the baseline sample (N = 1,305) and 7.9% (23.7% × 33.3%) against the total pool of 3 The API is a single-number summary of scores on several standardized tests, including in math, language arts, and science. International Journal of Communication 6 (2012) Article Title Words 7 survey respondents (N = 5,505). We examined differences between the original sample and the sample of individuals who took the T2 survey in 2009 and found some differences on the basis of gender, political interest, and grade point average, but no differences in digital media participation. This sample covers schools that enroll mostly white students (19.0%), schools that enroll predominantly students of color (42.9%), and schools that are racially mixed (38.1%). The percentages of students receiving a free or reduced-price lunch also varied widely across schools, from 0% to 92%. In addition, the sampled schools reported average API scores ranging from the bottom 10% up to the top 10% of all the high schools in California. The selection of diverse schools was reflected in the racial makeup of the high school students who participated in our survey. Of those students who identified their ethnicity, 22.0% were white, 27.2% were Asian-American, 38.5% were Latino, and 5.5% were AfricanAmerican. While diverse, these sample populations are not representative of the population of the state. The panels reflect student averages for the state of California for white students (29.4%) and AfricanAmerican students (7.6%) but under-represent Hispanic and Latino students (48.1%) and over-represent Asian-American students (8.1%) (Ed-Data, 2011). While a national sample would be preferable, we have no reason to believe that relationships between variables would differ in the broader population after controlling for demographic variables that differ between samples. We do, however, believe that the descriptive data on the youths, the schools, and the youths' online experiences should be interpreted with caution. For example, given the centrality of the technology industry in the state, it is possible that students' levels of engagement with online environments and teachers' attention to digital media may be greater in California than in other parts of the United States. In addition, it would have been ideal to have had enough schools to be able to perform school-level analysis, but given the small number of schools involved and the fact that our follow-up samples may not be representative of the schools these students attended, we performed only individuallevel analyses. We believe that this data set is quite unique. Indeed, we know of no other panel survey of a broad and diverse sample of youths that examines the relationship between digital media literacy activities and a range of digital media practices that are likely supports for civic and political engagement. Measurement Three groups of variables were created from the two sets of our panel data: (a) indicators of online civic and political engagement (outcome variables), (b) measures of digital media literacy activity, and (c) demographic variables. We used some of these survey items on prior surveys. We also conducted several focus groups with high school students in 2005 to clarify how they were interpreting our items. Indicators of Online Civic and Political Engagement We examined two dependent variables: politically driven online participation and online exposure to diverse perspectives. Politically driven new media participation comprised three questions, gauging, on a six-point scale ranging from -never‖ (0) to -several times a day‖ (5), how often respondents (a) used Results from exploratory factor analysis clearly indicate that these items all load on one factor. As a result of online activities, few individuals are exposed only to perspectives with which they agree or disagree (for a related finding, see Digital Media Literacy Activities In this study, we were particularly interested in digital media literacy activities that might support online civic and political engagement. In an effort to assess the opportunities students had to develop digital media literacy, we asked four questions about classes our respondents had taken during the school year that the surveys were taken (in the high school panel), or about classes they had taken during the past 12 months (in the post-high school panel). Specifically, students were asked how often in their classes they (a) had learned how to assess the trustworthiness of online information, (b) were required to use the Internet to get information about political or social issues, (c) were required to use the Internet to find different points of view about political or social issues, and (d) were given an assignment where they had to create something to put on the Web. These items focus on broad categories of activity. They are hardly exhaustive of the range of activities designed to promote digital media literacy, and they do not enable us to drill down deeply to characterize best practices. Rather, these data provide a sense of how frequently students are required to employ some of the affordances of digital media while in school, and serve to help us consider how having these curricular experiences may influence youths' activities during their discretionary time. All of these items were assessed during the second wave of each panel on a four-point frequency scale ranging from -never‖ Demographic and Educational Variables While our primary focus was on exposure to media literacy activities, we were able to include a number of variables that captured the demographic, educational, political, and media use characteristics of our sample. Since, as indicated below, prior studies have found that these variables may well be related to our dependent variables, including them in our analysis helped to isolate the effects of media literacy activities. Specifically, we included students' gender and race Political Orientations We also employed two variables to isolate the effects stemming from political orientation. First, we accounted for the strength of political ideology, as past research has documented a significant relationship between the strength of political ideology with various types of political activities Given the relationship between political ideology and political engagement, we included the -intensity‖ of conservative or liberal leanings, rather than the direction of such leanings. We constructed a measure of strength of political ideology by folding over a standard five-point-scale political ideology measure ranging from -very liberal‖ (1) to -very conservative‖ (5) at the mid-point and taking the absolute value. Thus, this measure ranged from -middle of the road‖ (0) to -very liberal or very conservative‖ (2). Second, we also took into account political interest. Citizens' interest in politics and public affairs has been shown to be a consistently strong predictor of civic and political engagement General Uses of New Media One potentially confounding factor in our examination of the influence of digital media literacy activities on civic and political engagement is the possibility that the relationship might be spurious, resulting simply from the levels of general new media usage. In other words, those who are active users of new media in general might seek new media-related education and also actively engage in politically driven activities. To attend to this possibility, we included four control variables addressing diverse aspects of new media use other than politically driven online activities and online exposure to divergent perspectives. First, we took into account the amount of time the respondents spent online as a general measure of Internet use. Time spent online was assessed only in the high school panel. Second, we included two items measuring people's use of new media for communicating and socializing with those around them (i.e., friends, family, and acquaintances). We included two items assessing how often the respondents (a) used e-mail, text messaging, or instant messaging software to communicate with friends or family, and (b) used blog, diary, or social networking sites (like MySpace) to socialize with people (-friends, family, or people you've met online‖). These two items were assessed on a six-point frequency scale ranging from -never‖ (0) to -several times a day‖ (5), and were correlated modestly at r = 0.32. Finally, since literature has indicated that there may be a relationship between some forms of video game play and civic outcomes Analytic Strategy The main objective of our data analysis was to assess the distributions and the potential impacts of digital media literacy activities. Our choice of analytic techniques reflects the availability of repeated measures for digital media literacy activities, as well as for our outcome variables. As described in the prior section, we assessed digital media literacy activities only once, in the second wave of each panel. However, we measured our outcome variables twice, in both the first and the second wave of each panel. To take full advantage of the structure of our panel data, we used a lagged dependent variable regression analysis that included prior values of the outcome variable as an independent control variable. By taking into account lagged values of our outcome variable, this kind of panel model predicts the level of a given outcome variable at time 2 while controlling for the value of that outcome at time 1. This model provides unbiased estimates of the effects of digital media literacy activities on new media engagement by adjusting any initial differences in the outcome variables that might exist between those who were already active online and those who were not International Journal of Communication 6 (2012) Article Title Words 11 One shortcoming of our survey in relation to this analytic strategy should be mentioned. Our outcome variables measure the total amount of time youth spent doing these various activities. Thus, teacher assignments that require engaging in these activities may be included in youth assessments of the time they had spent doing these activities, and this, in turn, may inflate the relationship between digital media literacy activities and various online civic and political activities. Results Digital Media Literacy Activities Are Common, Though Not Universal (RQ1) We found that, at both the high school and the college levels, many youths are required to take part in digital media literacy activities (see These opportunities were more common at the college level, where between 68% and 81% reported having each of these same opportunities -often‖ or -very often.‖ Opportunities to create content for the Web were much less common. Only 15% of the high school youths in our survey reported having this opportunity -often‖ or -very often,‖ and 66% reported -never‖ having this opportunity. Again, these opportunities were slightly more common for the college youths, with 22% having these opportunities -often‖ or -very often.‖ While our survey is not nationally representative, it is of a broad and diverse sample. These results indicate that many youths are having these opportunities, but that the opportunities are far from universal. Using lagged dependent variable models, our subsequent analysis focuses on the relationships of digital media literacy activities with two different types of online engagement (politically driven online participation and online exposure to diverse viewpoints). For each outcome variable measured in the second wave of each panel, the same outcome variable assessed in the first wave was entered as a predictor, along with digital media literacy activities and the other independent variables. We estimated this panel model using both the high school panel data and the post-high school panel data. Exposure to Digital Media Literacy Activities Is Relatively Equal Among Those in School (RQ2) Given that digital media literacy activities may promote desired online civic and political engagement, it is important to examine how equitably these opportunities are distributed. Regression analysis of our data indicates that mothers' education levels (which we use as a proxy for socioeconomic status; see

a b s t r a c t The omnipresence of student-owned information and communication technologies (ICTs) in today's college classrooms presents educational opportunities but can also create learning problems. Specifically, multitasking with these technologies can interfere with the learning process. Indeed, research in cognitive science shows that there are clear performance decrements when trying to attend to two tasks at the same time. This study examines the frequency with which students multitask during class using a large sample (N = 1,839) and examines the relationship between multitasking and academic performance as measured by actual overall semester grade point average (GPA). Students reported frequently text messaging during class but reported multitasking with other ICTs to a lesser extent. Furthermore, only social technologies (Facebook and text messaging) were negatively related to GPA.

Some authors have stated that university students born after 1982 have been profoundly influenced by digital technologies, showing different characteristics when compared to previous generations. However, it is worth asking if that is a current observable phenomenon. Are those students born after the 80s really more familiar with ICT tools than those born in previous generations? Do they show different study habits and

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to research student experiences of technology in

In this article we examine how the internet and other digital technologies are used by Portuguese Afro-descendant youth living in contexts of socio-economic depriva-tion. More specifically, based on a set of interviews held with rappers, we pursue a discussion on the significance of the concepts of digital inclusion and participation, arguing that young people’s online practices reflect not only distinct ways of digital participation but also cultural engagement. By studying black amateur rap, our main goal is to examine how disadvantaged young people use the internet and other digi-tal technologies and how these apparatuses may be employed for cultural expres-sion and identity construction. Our research shows, on the one hand, how crucial a strategic use of these devices can be for amateur cultural production, on the other hand, how these platforms contribute to build an enlarged circuit of ethicized cultural expression. Therefore, we argue that digital participation contributes to reverse the cultural devaluation experienced by these black communities, working as a mechanism of individual and cultural empowerment.

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