While young people generally have an easier time navigating the Web than their parents, factors such as parental control, lack of trust in commerce sites, and the high price of goods online tend to hold back their spending. But shopping does not just mean buying, said Charles Hamlin, president of NFO Interactive, the survey company that conducts the annual study in conjunction with Jupiter. About one-third of respondents said online browsing of products regularly influenced their offline choice of that products to buy, he said. When they do make purchases, girls and boys show widely divergent shopping habits the study found. Boys dominate purchases in areas such as software, PCs, consumer electronics, and sporting goods.
Girls buy more music, books, event tickets, clothing, and health and beauty aids.
Similarly, boys were more likely to play games and read about sports online, while girls were heavier users of chat, instant messaging, and e-mail. As kids get older, online usage increases, the study found. Forty percent of respondents said their time online had resulted in spending less time watching television.