On an average week day, kids in Grades 6-7, like their younger counterparts, use the Net to play games (82 per cent) and do homework (75 per cent) . However, their interest in communication begins to take up more of their online time and energy.
- On an average school day, they spend 47 minutes a day instant messaging, compared with 26 minutes a day in Grade 4.
- 14 per cent of memorable online experiences reported by this age group involve friends, compared with just 8 per cent in Grades 4-5.
They also rely on the Net to pursue personal interests and express themselves.
- Over half (54 per cent) surf the Net to learn more about things that interest them personally.
- One-third (30 per cent) have their own Web site, and one-tenth (12 per cent) write an online diary or Weblog.
The top five sites selected as favourites by this age group are:
- Addicting Games
- Miniclip
- Neopets
- Runescape
- Candystand
Kids this age all tend to hang out on the same Web sites. As a group they, like their younger counterparts in Grades 4-5, are more conventional in their choices, and fewer kids strike out on their own.
- Around one-quarter list Addicting Games as one of their three favourite sites.
- Two-thirds (68 per cent) have at least one favourite on the top 20 list.
However, the top 20 sites identified by this age group include a growing number of edgier Web sites that are typically frequented by teens. For example:
- Habbohotel (the number seven site) is an interactive play environment in which users visit different rooms in the hotel and chat with other people. Conversations typically revolve around finding a date and frequently include sexually explicit talk.
- eBaumsworld (number 10) is a multi-media site known for its attitude-laden, sexually-explicit humour and gross or disturbing images.
- Newgrounds (number 12) is a game site with adult content.
Boys tend to be more interested than girls are in this kind of edgy content.
- In the past school year, 32 per cent of boys in Grade 7 had intentionally visited sites containing hate, gore, gambling, porn or adult chat, compared with eight per cent of girls.
- Boys are more likely to land on these sites by accident than on purpose. This finding may indicate that the sites they visit are more likely to be linked to offensive content.
In spite of their interest, most boys (84 per cent) agree with girls (94 per cent) that younger kids should be protected from things like online porn, gore and hate.
