Most Teens Share a Computer

Today's teenagers have nearly universal access to the Internet, according to a Pew survey, with 95 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds going online. Sixty-seven percent of teens have a laptop or desktop computer at home. But among those with a computer at home, 71 percent have to share the computer they use most often with parents, siblings or other family members. The percentage of teens who have to share a computer ranges from a high of 81 percent among 12-to-13-year-olds to 66 percent among 14-to-17-year-olds. Even among 17-year-olds, the 51 percent majority has to share.

The need to share the home computer may be driving another trend in teen tech use: smartphone adoption. Thirty-seven percent of teens owned a smartphone in 2013, up from 23 percent in 2011. One in four teens accesses the Internet mostly by cell phone.

Source: Pew Research Center, Teens and Technology 2013