Parents' reliance on the Web to find information about children and families: Socio-economic differences in use, skills and satisfaction

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Abstract

This research examines socio-economic status (SES) differences in parents' Web use, skills, and satisfaction. A total of 120 parents were interviewed about their use of the Web to find child and family information, and they provided feedback as they searched for information online. Findings indicate that the higher the SES level (a) the greater the use of the Web; (b) the more sophisticated the search skills (e.g., selecting one's own search engine rather than relying on a default; changing keywords); and (c) the greater the skills in evaluation (e.g., emphasizing the credibility of the sponsoring organization). In contrast to the digital divide in Web use and skills, there was no evidence of greater satisfaction among higher SES parents. These findings have implications for programs to assure that all parents have access to relevant and trustworthy online information pertaining to their children.

Introduction

Parents' access to childrearing information appears to be increasing, in large measure because of their reliance on the Web. Unfortunately the increase in Web use has been accompanied by a pronounced digital divide across socio-economic status (SES) with greater use by higher SES parents. In recent years there have been suggestions of a divide in Web skills (e.g., searching for and evaluating credible sites) as well as in Web use. This gives rise to concerns about the quality of information to which lower SES parents have access. The present study examines SES differences in parents' Web use and Web skills, as well as in parents' Web satisfaction, and considers ways to meet the needs of low SES parents.

Before describing the present study, we review evidence of historical changes in parents' reliance on different types of information, and of demographic differences in Web use and skills.

There is evidence that parents' thirst for information about child development has been increasing for many years. From 1960–1964 there were 32 new titles published on child development and childrearing. This figure increased to 148 between 1970 and 1974; by the 1990s, over 100 new titles on these topics were published every year (Boccella, 1995, November 29, Clarke-Stewart, 1978).

The Web is already an important source of information for parents, and it is poised to become dominant. In a society that is highly mobile (few relatives and friends are readily available), characterized by rapid change (information is quickly outdated) and time pressure (need for speed), parents are likely to increasingly rely on the Web to obtain information about children. The Web is always available, it is up to date, and it is fast. As early as 2002, 70% of parents with children under 18 reported they were using the Web (Allen & Rainie, 2002). The most frequently reported purpose for parents using the Web is to seek information rather than for amusement or e-commerce (Lee & Horrigan, 2005). Many parents report seeking information about their children: 80% of mothers seek health information online (Lee & Horrigan, 2005) and 71% of mothers seeking health information online say they have obtained information related to their role as a caregiver (Allen & Rainie, 2002). That is, about 57% of mothers indicate that they have found health information pertaining to caregiving.

There are compelling reasons to suspect the relative ascendancy of the Web as a childrearing resource. For example, in a 2002 study, parents were shown a directory of sites about children and families, and were asked how much they rely on the Web versus other sources of information about children (Rothbaum & Martland, in press). Parents indicated that they currently rely on the Web for this purpose significantly less than they rely on other sources (except TV). After viewing what was available online, these same parents indicated that, in the future, they would rely on the Web more than family and friends, books, pediatricians, magazines and TV. Research on newsletters paints a similar picture and adds to our understanding of parents' preferences. Newsletters are similar to websites in that they are user friendly, target particular issues and age groups of children, and are rated higher than other sources of information such as TV, books and professionals' advice (Riley, Meinhart, Nelson, Salisbury, & Winnet, 1991). Findings that newsletters are perceived to lead to real changes in behavior/parental effectiveness (Bogenschneider and Stone, 1997, Garton et al., 2003, Weigel and Martin, 2004) may be generalizable to websites.

Parents increasingly rely on the Web for a variety of types of information. Parents of autistic children indicate that they relied on the Web more than on any other resource in seeking information about the disorder (Department of Public Welfare, 2004). When individuals who have already searched for health information on the Web were asked whom they would consult the next time they need reliable information about health or medical conditions, 58% selected the Web and only 35% selected a medical professional (Fox & Fallows, 2003). These findings indicate an increasing reliance on the Web as a source of childrearing information among parents.

Low socio-economic status parents may be at a disadvantage in using the Web to find information. Since the Internet's inception, academics and policymakers have sounded alarms about the country's “digital divide”—greater use of the Web by those with high as compared to low SES. Differences were initially conceptualized as due to lower access to computers and high-speed connections for disadvantaged populations. There are indications that the access gap is closing. Today, Internet technology has thoroughly penetrated American life, with over 75% of Americans reporting Internet access in 2004 (USC Annenberg School, 2004). African-Americans, Latinos and older Americans – the populations traditionally considered the most technologically marginalized – are now the fastest growing groups of Internet users in the country (USC Annenberg School, 2004).

Yet concerns about a digital divide persist (Komar, 2003, Martin, 2003). A recent study found that the Web was used by an overwhelming majority (88%) of those with at least a college education as compared to a minority (32%) of those with less than a high school education (Lee & Horrigan, 2005). Even if SES differences in use are decreasing, they may still be substantial.

Initial concerns about SES differences in access have been joined by concerns about SES differences in Web skills. Several authors refer to differences in the proficiency of Web use as a “new” or “second” digital divide (e.g., Atwell, 2001; Van Dijk, 2002, Education Week Editorial, 2001, May 10). Research indicates that even undergraduate students, who represent a middle-to-high SES due to their education level, demonstrate limitations in Web skills, including relying on websites that provide unreliable information (e.g., personal pages) despite formal training by librarians and professors (Davis, 2003). Less educated users who lack formal instruction are likely to experience even greater difficulties. The fact that teachers in high poverty areas, as compared to wealthy areas, have fewer skills in Web instruction (US Department of Commerce, 2002) portends an increasing rather than a decreasing digital skill divide (cf. Van Dijk & Hacker, 2003).

There are only a few studies of SES differences in Web skills. The studies suggest but do not provide direct evidence of SES differences in parents' Web skills, and they provide little insight into the nature of the differences. Findings suggest differences in the ability to efficiently and effectively find information on the Web. For example, college grads are more likely (39%) than high school grads (20%) to use a search engine on a typical day (Fox, 2002). Using a national sample of over 2000 adults, Robinson, DiMaggio and Hargittai (2003) found that more educated users report more technical supports (e.g., online help, manuals, supervisors at work and co-workers) and manifested greater familiarity with Internet terms, which implies a more sophisticated and complex understanding of the Web and how to use it.

The Robinson et al. (2003) study also found that level of education, and to a lesser extent income, of users are positively associated with number of visits to educational (e.g., health and science) sites. These SES markers are also negatively associated with visits to entertainment sites. The association between SES and use of the Web for informational purposes has been reported by other investigators (Cho, Gil de Hunia, Rohas & Shah, 2003). In one of the only studies of SES differences in parents' Web skills, Lindbarger and Chernin (2003) found that parents with low SES backgrounds were less comfortable with the Internet and were much less likely to view it as an educational tool for their children than parents of working and middle SES backgrounds.

To date, there has been little research on SES differences in Web satisfaction. Given the SES differences in Web use and skills, it is possible that there are corresponding differences in satisfaction. However, the inability to find studies on satisfaction suggests an absence of differences (i.e., studies that do not obtain significant findings are often not published).

The present study examined SES differences in parents' Web use, skills and satisfaction. With SES as a key variable, this study assessed:

  • 1.

    Extent and frequency of parents' Web use to find childrearing information

  • 2.

    Characteristics of parents' Web-search knowledge and behavior

  • 3.

    Criteria used by parents to evaluate sites they view

  • 4.

    Level of parents' satisfaction with search results and sites they view.

We also addressed a methodological concern: Web use research has relied exclusively on self-report measures. This is less of a problem when the goal is to assess parents' access to or use of the Internet than when the goal is to assess differences in Web skill. In this study we interviewed parents prior to and after asking them to engage in a search for information, and they provided feedback about their search while they engaged in it.

Another feature of this study is that we assessed parents' reactions to a Web directory that was designed to help them obtain reliable information. This directory, the Child & Family WebGuide, provides parents access to research-based sites. The WebGuide describes sites that contain information about children and families, organizing the sites by category (e.g., family, education, health) and by specific topics, thus reducing the need for sophisticated search skills. In addition, the WebGuide systematically evaluates the sites it lists, thereby assisting parents in determining the trustworthiness of the information. We were interested in SES differences in response to the WebGuide.

Section snippets

Method

The study employed face-to-face interviews with 120 parents to obtain information about general Web habits and use of the Web to find information about children and families. In addition to direct questions, parents were asked to think out loud (“narrate” their thoughts) while they searched for information on a child-related topic they selected using a search procedure of their choice.

Results

For each question, four linear × linear chi square analyses were conducted—one for age of child, sex of child, sex of parent, and SES. The number of significant findings for age of child, sex of child, and sex of parent was not significantly greater than expected by chance. By contrast, 26 of the 50 findings involving SES were significant. For 25 of these 26 significant effects, the middle SES parents fell in between the high and low SES parents. Due to number of analyses, there is a possibility

Discussion

The present results paint a complex picture of SES differences in the digital world. In addition to the well-documented digital use divide, we find a digital skill divide. Higher SES parents searched in a more complex and resourceful manner that produces more relevant and trustworthy results. SES differences in parents' abilities to find and evaluate Web-based child development information may mean that low SES parents are more likely to obtain information from dubious websites that fail to

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    The research reported in this article was generously funded by the William T. Grant Foundation.

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