Does home Internet use influence the academic performance of low-income children? findings from the HomeNetToo project

Abstract

Research on the effects of home Internet use on children's academic performance is virtually nonexistent. Although parents believe that having the Internet at home is important to their children's success in school, evidence linking access to success is lacking. In the HomeNetToo project we automatically recorded the actual Internet use of 130 children (mean age=13) from low-income families for 16 months. Most of the children were African American (83%) and male (58%), and all resided in a mid-size urban community in the United States. Results indicated that Internet use predicted both grade point averages (GPAs) and standardized test scores. In general, the more frequently children used the Internet at home, the better their GPAs and standardized test scores. Implications for efforts to reduce the digital divide and facilitate access to technology for all children are discussed.