Dimensions of Exposure and Access to the Internet

DIMENSIONS OF EXPOSURE AND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

5.4.1 Venues of Access

As noted in Chapter 2, individuals obtain access to the Internet through an Internet service provider (ISP). However, it is quite common for many individuals to have more than one. For many youth, multiple venues for access to the Internet are likely, with home, school, and library access as perhaps the most common channels but with many others as well, all of which have (potentially) different ISPs and thus may offer different terms of service. For example, youth are likely to have access to the Internet at the homes of a friend, in which the operative rules of supervision and/or access are most likely to be those governing the friend. Internet cafes are open to anyone willing to pay access fees by the hour. Museums (especially those with after-school or weekend programs) often provide Internet access and operate under less stringent rules than do libraries or schools. Many youth after-school programs and other community-based programs are providing Internet access and courses on how to use the Internet. Even commercial establishments are beginning to provide terminals for Internet access.33

The most frequent venues for youth Internet use are home (74 percent) and school (73 percent). Almost as many youth use the Internet from someone else's household (68 percent). Public libraries account for a much smaller fraction of Internet use--only 32 percent of youth used a library for Internet access in the last year. Internet usage is frequent, with 76 percent using the Internet in the week prior to being interviewed, and with an average frequency of 3 to 4 times per week. On the other hand, 61 percent reported that their typical Internet usage is an hour or less on a typical day--26 percent reported spending 1 to 2 hours on a typical day.34

One important distinction to make about different venues is the degree to which any given venue is private (or can be made so). A person wishing to view material that may be subject to social sanction is highly unlikely to do so where he or she can be seen doing so. For example, an Internet access terminal in a mall that faces a walkway with many passers-by is unlikely to be the venue of choice for viewers interested in becoming sexually aroused (though it might well be the preferred venue for someone intending to shock those passers-by).