Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/161021 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10398
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Concerns over the perceived negative impacts of computers on social development among children are prevalent but largely uninformed by plausibly causal evidence. We provide the first test of this hypothesis using a large-scale randomized control experiment in which more than one thousand children attending grades 6-10 across 15 different schools and 5 school districts in California were randomly given computers to use at home. Children in the treatment group are more likely to report having a social networking site, but also report spending more time communicating with their friends and interacting with their friends in person. There is no evidence that computer ownership displaces participation in after-school activities such as sports teams or clubs or reduces school participation and engagement.
Subjects: 
computers
ICT
education
social development
school participation
experiment
JEL: 
I20
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
465.52 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.