June 28th, 2008
40% of parents feel that writing on a computer makes their child more likely to use poor spelling and grammar
33% of black parents feel that writing on a computer makes their child more likely to have a short attention span-significantly higher than the comparable figure for whites (19%), according to Pew Internet Project. Fathers are more ambivalent than mothers on the issue of effort and taking short cuts. 42% fathers feel that computers make no difference in the short cuts or overall effort their child puts into his or her writing, compared with 30% of mothers. Finally, there are some statements over which parents are split, with large numbers of parents feeling positively, and equally large numbers responding negatively. For instance, 40% of parents feel that writing on a computer makes their child more likely to use poor spelling and grammar, 28% feel that using a computer for writing makes this outcome less likely. Similarly, parents are evenly divided as to whether using a computer for writing makes their child more likely (22%) or less likely (18%) to have a short attention span.
