[p2p-research] Do the Internet and Home Computers Make Kids Stupid(er)?

[Michel Bauwens]

The NN Squad list was alerted to an interesting study from Duke University
which suggests home computer use and internet access might adversely affect
reading and math proficiency in 5th-8th graders by “crowding out” other
learning.  See, http://www.caldercenter.org/upload/CALDERWorkingPaper_48.pdf


Similarly, the introduction of high-speed internet service is associated
with significantly lower math and reading test scores in the middle grades.
Moreover, student fixed-effect specifications reveal that increased
availability of high speed internet is associated with less frequent self-
reported
computer use for homework.  On the margin, then, access to broadband
internet appears to crowd out studying effort, presumably by introducing new

options for recreational use by students and other family members.  In
addition, we find that the introduction of broadband internet is associated

with widening racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.  One interpretation

of these findings is that home computer technology is put to more productive

use in households with more effective parental monitoring, or in households

where parents can serve as more effective instructors in the productive use

of online resources.  [p.4]

Although we find no evidence that this access improves math and reading
scores, it could still improve important skills that are not directly
measured by standardized tests in math or reading. These skills, ranging
from the ability to use basic office software to advanced programming or
hardware maintenance skills, may be of considerable value in the labor
market. [p. 4]

The use of computers for activities other than schoolwork could have
detrimental impacts through a number of channels – by directly reducing
the amount of time spent studying, by displacing social activities, or by
introducing a number of health-related problems ranging from obesity to
repetitive stress injuries.  [p.10]

Access to computer technology reduces the prices and time costs of a wide
variety of activities. The cost of revising a term paper declines with
access to word processing software; the cost of accessing
articles or encyclopedia entries for the purpose of research declines with
broadband access. Both of these activities presumably have a positive impact

on expected future living standards. Computer access also reduces the
marginal cost of playing arcade-style games, and of engaging in multiparty
conversations with friends. These activities could conceivably lead to
either an increase or decrease in  future living standards, but the
case for a positive impact is more tenuous. In any event, these activities
may yield smaller returns to future living standards than the activities
that they displace. [p.12]

Students who obtain access to a home computer sometime between 5th and 8th
grade tend to score between 1% and 1.3% of a standard deviation lower on
their subsequent math and reading tests. The positive cross-sectional
association between home computer ownership and test scores thus reflects
the digital divide: those who own computers are in general a positively
selected group. [p. 19]

Students in ZIP codes that transition from no broadband service to limited
service from three or fewer providers post a statistically significant
decline in math test scores. The estimated decline is a relatively
strong 2.6% of a standard deviation.  The impact on reading test scores is
more modest and statistically insignificant. [p.20]

Students unobservably predisposed to higher test scores tend to read for
pleasure, spend more time on homework, and watch modest amounts of
television. Consistent with existing evidence, students predisposed to poor
test scores are more likely to spend at least six hours per day watching
television. [p.21]

Home computer use may become more beneficial over time, if for example non-
productive computer uses such as gaming can be enjoyed instantaneously but
productivity-enhancing uses must be learned over time.  Alternatively, if
non-productive computer uses have an addictive quality, implying that users

habituate and require increasing doses to maintain utility, the effects
could also become more negative over time. [p. 25]

Results for both reading and math indicate that the negative effect of
computer ownership on both math and reading holds fairly steady over the
first three years. There is slight evidence of moderating effects on
reading test scores over time, but no trend in the negative impact on math
scores.  Any positive effects of learning to use a computer productively
over time appear to be offset by negative effects, such as those associated

with learning to use a computer for recreational purposes. [p. 26]

In specifications with race interactions, three of four interaction terms
indicate that the impact of increased broadband access is significantly more

negative for black students than for others. Although the negative effect of

initial high-speed service on math test scores appears to be independent of

race, initial introduction has a concentrated negative impact on black
students' reading scores while having no significant impact on others.
Expansion of service to four or more providers is associated with a much
stronger test score reduction for black students, between 3 and 4 percent of

a standard deviation in both reading and math. [p.27]

The sole significant interaction between gender and ISP access indicates
that widespread adoption of high-speed internet is associated with a
reduction in male reading test scores of 3% of a standard deviation,
while female reading test scores are not significantly affected.
This pattern is consistent with October 2003 CPS evidence indicating that
girls are more likely to use the internet for completing school
assignments and less likely to use it for playing games, to check up on
news, weather or sports, or to find information on products relative to boys

[p. 28]

[Conclusion]  This evidence is consistent with the view that internet
service, and technology more broadly, is put to more productive use in house

holds with more effective parental monitoring of child behavior.  For school

administrators interested in maximizing achievement test scores, or
reducing racial and socioeconomic disparities in test scores, all evidence
suggests that a program of broadening home computer access would be
counterproductive.  Of course, administrators may have other goals aside
from improving math and reading test scores. Computer literate students may

enjoy improved job opportunities later in life, or may be poised to take
better advantage of online resources once their internal mechanisms for
behavioral regulation have fully developed. ... It is not clear, however,
whether computer literacy actually leads to better employment outcomes,
and also not clear whether access to home computers in the early secondary
school years is critical to later computer literacy. [p.35]

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