Young Canadians in a Wired World

Phase II of Young Canadians in a Wired World came out last week (“the most comprehensive and wide-ranging study of its kind in Canada”). The study “looks at the online behaviours, attitudes, and opinions of more than 5,200 children and youth from grades 4 to 11, in French and English language schools, in every province and territory”. The report is worth a read-through, here are a few of the findings that are worth pointing out:

• 94% of young people say they go online from home
• 23% of students have their own cell phone
• 51% of Grade 11 students access the Internet from their own personal computers
• 28% of Grade 4 students use IM
• 86% of Grade 11 students use IM
• 89% of Grade 4 students are online gamers
• 14% of Grade 4 students blog

You already know what I’m going to say, right? If you work in a public library in Canada, these are your users; if you work in an academic library in Canada (as I do), these are your users next year. Plan accordingly. The great thing about studies and reports like this one is that they provide ammunition during those planning stages (for anyone in your organization who needs convincing that yes, it IS a good idea to try out an IM reference service; or yes, it IS a good idea to expand your info literacy program to include sessions on blogging).

Here are a few more salient points:

• “Kids use the Internet to extend their existing social networks and develop new ones within their community”
• “When students are asked how they like to get their information for school assignments, the Net is the clear winner over books from a library. Sixty-two percent of Grade 4 students prefer the Internet, while 38 percent choose the library. Ninety-one percent of Grade 11 students prefer the Internet, with only nine percent choosing the library.” *
• “Despite their preference for the Net, young people recognize the drawbacks of getting information online. When students are asked what Internet-related subjects they would like to learn about in school, the top choice for 68 percent is “How to tell if information you find on the Net is true or not.” **

* & ** Fascinating, isn’t it? I think these two points, viewed back-to-back, make it pretty clear where we need to step up and improve our services and programming. What better way to do that than to meet them halfway (online) with services (IM) and programmes (Blogs for Teens! Fun Website Evaluation Classes!) they can relate to? Oh, the possibilities!