While cell phone ownership does not vary by gender and teen girls are somewhat more likely to own tablet computers, boys are the ones who stand out as the most active app downloaders. Boys who are mobile device owners are significantly more likely than girls to say that they have downloaded an app to their cell phone or tablet computer (79% vs. 62%).
Teens living in wealthier households are more likely than those in lower income homes to download apps. Eight in ten (79%) teen mobile device owners living in households earning $50,000 or more per year download apps, compared with 60% of those living in households earning less than $50,000 per year. Teen app downloading does not vary significantly according to a parent’s education level or by their race or ethnicity.
Focus group discussions suggest that teens often choose free apps
In focus group discussions with teens, participants said they primarily downloaded social media and game apps to their phones and tablets, though they also downloaded apps relating to music, news, and the weather. When choosing which apps to download, participants stated that they typically downloaded free ones:
Female (age 13): “Usually, I just stick to free ones. Because if I don’t like it, I can just delete it. And it doesn’t matter.”
Female (age 12): “A lot of times I don’t have money [to download an app that costs money], so it [downloading the free one] is my only option.”
Female (age 13): “You can’t be sure if it’s going to be a good app but if it’s free, you can just delete it.”
Female (age 17): “[For some apps,] there’s one or two added benefits to paying for it. But they’re not so substantial that you need to have it and need to pay $1.99.”
Female (age 17): “[I download] whichever one [app] is free.”
Female (age 17): “I don’t think I’ve ever paid for an app.”
However, participants also considered a variety of factors to determine the quality of the app. These factors included the number of downloads, the reviews, the ratings, and the appearance of the app:
Female (age 19): “I look at the pictures to see if the game is cool.”
Female (age 13): “I look at the reviews, and pictures, to see what they look like.”
Female (age 17): “I look at the reviews on Google Play. I look to see what people are saying.”
Male (age 17): “If it got a million downloads, I’m like, OK, it’s cool, people are downloading. But if it’s got like ten downloads...”
Although teens may be downloading free apps because of financial considerations, or being able to delete the app without consequence if they don’t like it, it can sometimes be related to the fact that teens may not need permission from their parents when downloading free apps:
Interviewer: “Do you have to ask your parents before you download an app?”
Female (age 12): “I have to ask if it costs money but if it is free...”
Half of teen apps users have avoided an app due to concerns about the personal information they would have to share in order to use it
As we have found with adults, many teen apps users also avoid certain apps when they have privacy concerns.6 Half (51%) of teen apps users say that they have decided not to install a cell phone or tablet app after they found out they would have to share personal information in order to use it.7
Younger teen apps users ages 12-13 are more likely than older teen apps users 14-17 to say that they have avoided apps over concerns about personal information sharing (56% vs. 49%). Boys and girls are equally likely to avoid certain apps for these reasons. There are no clear patterns of variation according to the parent’s income, education level or race and ethnicity.
One in four teen apps users have uninstalled an app because they found out it was collecting personal information that they didn’t want to share
A smaller segment of teen apps users (26%) say they have removed an app from their cell phone or tablet after they found out it was collecting personal information that they didn’t wish to share.8 Boys and girls and teens of all ages who are app downloaders are equally likely to say they have uninstalled apps for this reason. As is the case with avoiding apps, there are no clear patterns of variation in app deletion according to the parent’s income, education level or race and ethnicity.
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