UK teenagers without the internet are ‘educationally disadvantaged’

A major in-depth study in the Department of Education which examines how teenagers in the UK are using the internet and other mobile devices says the benefits of using such technologies far outweigh any perceived risks.

The findings are based on a large-scale study of more than 1,000 randomly selected households in the UK, coupled with regular face-to-face interviews with more than 200 teenagers and their families between 2008 and 2011. The lead researchers were Dr Rebecca Eynon and Dr Chris Davies.

• University of Oxford media release
• Teenagers who don’t have internet access are ‘missing out educationally and socially’ Daily Mail, 01/01/2013, Mark Prigg
• ‘Wired’ magazine
• BBC online
• Mashable
• The Guardian Teacher Network