Downloading Apps for Children (PEW)

Lenhart, A. (2012, May 15).  Downloading Apps for Children.  Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/05/15/downloading-apps-for-children/

I read the article Downloading Apps for Children.  I found some very interesting information in the article.  The article was about what types of apps are being downloaded for children and who is downloading them.  The articles stated that there was not a difference in race, ethnicity, or income in who was downloading the apps.  The differences were in what kind of apps were being downloaded and how they were being used.  Apps for entertainment only were 46% of the downloads, apps for educational purposes were 31% of the downloads, and apps for entertainment and education were 22% of the downloads.  This information did not really surprise me.  Most of the apps out there are for entertainment, so it would be reasonable to conclude that the highest downloads were for entertainment only.  Something that did surprise me was that out of all the educational apps available, 80% were for children aged preschool or elementary.  This surprised me because I really thought the high school age would have the most educational apps, especially because that age is more likely to have phones or tablets to use the apps.  The article also discussed how the apps are being utilized.  Higher income families are more likely to use the downloaded apps WITH their children than lower income families.  The article attributes this to lower income families not knowing what an app really is.  In the school I teach at, the kids that have (and bring to school) the phones and tablets capable of downloading and supporting apps belong to the lower income students.  Overall, I thought this was a very informative article.  I would like to have a little more information on the names of the apps they are considering entertainment versus educational.  Wouldn't some educational apps also be entertainment apps?

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