Rich and poor teenagers use the web differently

In many countries, young people from wealthy and poor backgrounds spend roughly the same amount of time online. But it’s how they’re using the internet, not how long they’re using it that really matters.

This is according to new research from the OECD, which found that richer teenagers were more likely to use the internet to search for information or to read news rather than to chat or play video games.

In five Nordic countries, as well as in Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Switzerland, more than 98% of disadvantaged young people have internet access at home.

 

By contrast, in some low- and middle-income countries the most disadvantaged teenagers are only able to get online at school, if at all. This applies to 50% of students in Turkey, 45% in Mexico, 40% in Jordan and 38% in Chile and Costa Rica.

Source: World Economic Forum