Indicator 3: Location of Internet Use

In 2015, about 71 percent of children ages 3 to 18 used the Internet in one or more locations. Among these children, 86 percent used the Internet at home; 65 percent at school; 31 percent at someone else's home; 27 percent at a library, community center, or other public place; and 14 percent at a coffee shop or other business offering internet access. In addition, 27 percent of these children used the Internet while traveling between places.

Internet use includes a wide variety of activities, from checking email or browsing the Web to watching videos or using mobile apps on all types of devices (e.g., computers, mobile phones, tablets, etc.). Using the Current Population Survey, this indicator examines where children ages 3 to 18 used the Internet in 2015 by selected child and family characteristics. It also discusses changes in children's internet use in some locations from 2011 and 2015. The previous indicator, Prevalence of Internet Use at Home, focused on the percentage of all children using the Internet at home, while this indicator examines the places where children with internet access used the Internet.

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Figure 3.1. Percentage of children ages 3 to 18 who use the Internet anywhere, and among children who use the Internet anywhere, percentage using it in various locations: 2011 and 2015

† Not applicable.
¹ Percentages sum to more than 100 because a child could have used the Internet in more than one location.
NOTE: Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Data on internet use while traveling between places were collected only in 2015.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), July 2011 and 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 702.20.

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In 2015, about 71 percent of children ages 3 to 18 used the Internet anywhere. Among these children, 86 percent used the Internet at home; 65 percent at school; 31 percent at someone else's home; 27 percent at a library, community center, or other public place; and 14 percent at a coffee shop or other business offering internet access. In addition, 27 percent of these children used the Internet while traveling between places. A higher percentage of children used the Internet anywhere in 2015 than in 2011 (71 vs. 62 percent). However, among children who used the Internet anywhere, the percentages using the Internet at home and at school were lower in 2015 than in 2011 (86 vs. 91 percent for internet use at home and 65 vs. 70 percent for internet use at school).

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Figure 3.2. Among children ages 3 to 18 who use the Internet anywhere, percentage using it at home, by selected child and family characteristics: 2015

¹ Children living in areas whose metropolitan status was not identified are excluded from this figure. In 2015, less than 1 percent of children ages 3 to 18 lived in an area with nonidentified metropolitan status.
² Refers to metropolitan statistical areas, which contain at least one urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more.
³ Refers to areas that are outside of metropolitan statistical areas.
⁴ Highest education level of any parent residing with the child (including an adoptive or stepparent). Includes only children who resided with at least one of their parents.
NOTE: Family income shown in current dollars. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities).
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), July 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 702.20.

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There were differences in children's internet use at home in 2015 across all child and family characteristics examined. For instance, among children who used the Internet anywhere, the percentage using it at home was higher for children who were Asian (91 percent), White (89 percent), and of Two or more races (87 percent) than for those who were Hispanic (81 percent), Black (80 percent), and American Indian/Alaska Native (74 percent). Also, the percentage using the Internet at home was higher for children in metropolitan areas (87 percent) than for those in nonmetropolitan areas (81 percent). The percentage of children who used the Internet at home was also generally higher for older children, children whose parents had higher levels of educational attainment, and children with higher family incomes.

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Figure 3.3. Among children ages 3 to 18 who use the Internet anywhere, percentage using it at school, by selected child and family characteristics: 2015

¹ Children living in areas whose metropolitan status was not identified are excluded from this figure. In 2015, less than 1 percent of children ages 3 to 18 lived in an area with nonidentified metropolitan status.
² Refers to metropolitan statistical areas, which contain at least one urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more.
³ Refers to areas that are outside of metropolitan statistical areas.
⁴ Highest education level of any parent residing with the child (including an adoptive or stepparent). Includes only children who resided with at least one of their parents.
NOTE: Family income shown in current dollars. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), July 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 702.20.

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Compared to internet use at home, fewer differences and different patterns by child and family characteristics were observed for children's internet use at school. In 2015, among children who used the Internet anywhere, a higher percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native children (75 percent) used the Internet at school than did children who were White (65 percent), Hispanic (64 percent), of Two or more races (64 percent), and Asian (61 percent). Additionally, a higher percentage of children in nonmetropolitan areas (70 percent) than of those in metropolitan areas (64 percent) used the Internet at school. While the percentage of children who used the Internet at school was generally higher for older children than for younger children, there were no measurable differences by highest level of education attained by either parent and by family income in the percentages of children using the Internet at school.

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Figure 3.4. Among children ages 3 to 18 who use the Internet anywhere, percentage using it at a library, community center, or other public place, by selected child and family characteristics: 2015

¹ Children living in areas whose metropolitan status was not identified are excluded from this figure. In 2015, less than 1 percent of children ages 3 to 18 lived in an area with nonidentified metropolitan status.
² Refers to metropolitan statistical areas, which contain at least one urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more.
³ Refers to areas that are outside of metropolitan statistical areas.
⁴ Highest education level of any parent residing with the child (including an adoptive or stepparent). Includes only children who resided with at least one of their parents.
NOTE: Family income shown in current dollars. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), July 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 702.20.

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Compared to internet use at home, different patterns by child and family characteristics were also observed for children's internet use at a library, community center, or other public place. For instance, among children who used the Internet anywhere in 2015, the percentage using the Internet at a library, community center, or other public place was higher for children who were Pacific Islander (46 percent), of Two or more races (34 percent), Black (34 percent), Asian (32 percent), and Hispanic (29 percent) than for White children (23 percent); and it was higher for Black children than for Hispanic children. In addition, the percentage of children who used the Internet at a library, community center, or other public place was generally higher for children with lower family incomes than for those with higher family incomes: Among children who used the Internet anywhere, 33 percent of children with a family income between $10,000 and $19,999 and 32 percent of children with a family income of less than $10,000 used the Internet at a library, community center, or other public place, while 26 percent of children with a family income of $100,000 or more and 25 percent of children with a family income between $75,000 and $99,999 did so.

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Figure 3.5. Among children ages 3 to 18 who use the Internet anywhere, percentage using it at someone else's home, by selected child and family characteristics: 2015

! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
¹ Children living in areas whose metropolitan status was not identified are excluded from this figure. In 2015, less than 1 percent of children ages 3 to 18 lived in an area with nonidentified metropolitan status.
² Refers to metropolitan statistical areas, which contain at least one urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more.
³ Refers to areas that are outside of metropolitan statistical areas.
⁴ Highest education level of any parent residing with the child (including an adoptive or stepparent). Includes only children who resided with at least one of their parents.
NOTE: Family income shown in current dollars. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Data exclude children living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), July 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 702.20.

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With respect to children's internet use at someone else's home, differences existed across some of the child and family characteristics examined. Among children who used the Internet anywhere in 2015, a higher percentage of White children (34 percent) than of Black (28 percent), Asian (28 percent), and Hispanic children (25 percent) used the Internet at someone else's home. The percentage was also higher for children of Two or more races (34 percent) and Black children than for Hispanic children. The percentage of children using the Internet at someone else's home was higher for children in metropolitan areas (31 percent) than for those in nonmetropolitan areas (28 percent); and it was generally higher for older children and children whose parents had higher levels of educational attainment.

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