Internet use: Why teenagers prefer smartphones to laptops
Smartphones are great for keeping in touch, and cool for social media and selfie addicts - but anything ‘serious’ from coding to editing – requires a laptop, right? Wrong. While a lot has been written and said about smartphone addiction among teens (and it’s a huge problem), it’s also a fact that teenagers are using the smartphone for computing instead of a computer. But why? To understand it, we have put together findings from The Common Sense Censes (Media use by teens and tweens in 2019), 2020 survey report by The New York Times, and 2021 updated figures by PC Mag.
Smartphones are immersive for cross platform users
All the reports we mentioned above stated smartphone numbers for teenagers to be over 82% in the USA. The findings of the surveys highlighted the many ways in which teenagers were using smartphones to create a related, immersive world across platforms. They may pick up fashion inspiration from Pinterest, use Amazon to shop, Snapchat to post a selfie, stylize the photo on an online edit tool, make it further interesting by linking it with a character from Webtoon, and then post it back on Instagram on their page as a creation to inspire other people.
Smartphones allow seamless multitasking
Multitasking is a common habit among teens. Video games, chatting with friends, group study, collaborating on a class experiment – all happen together – and from the same device. All this also happens while doing daily chores, eating, commuting and socializing in real life. So that makes the laptop too bulky for carrying around.
Smartphones have good video streaming
Video viewing continues to beat all other screen media activity, including social interaction. But online video viewing has skyrocketed, especially since the lockdown. Meanwhile, traditional TV viewing has decreased in time among teens. OTT platforms are mobile subscriptions that create their own social networking too. In short, smartphones are teenagers’ mini multiplex.
Smartphones blur the line between work and play
With the current thrust on gamified learning and flexible online classes, smartphones are a gadget of choice for teen students. A large number of talented teen creators are using the smartphone to study, code, create animations, manage websites, and all so successfully that this trend is probably here to stay.