By the time they arrive at university, the current cohorts of engineering undergraduates are part of a demographic which has greater and more intense use of digital technologies than any other age group: they are more likely to use the internet; own a gaming console and a portable gaming device; go online wirelessly (via laptops or cellphones); share digital content; own an iPod or other mp3 player; make use of social networking sites such as Facebook; and download ‘apps’ onto smartphones (Zickhur 2011).
These patterns have been driven in part by the increasing presence of internet connectivity in the home and schools, and lowered cost around the ownership and maintenance of devices.
The social nature of the technologies is also a massive incentive for use—texting is the most popular cellphone feature, and the typical US teenager will send over 50 texts in 1 day, mostly to friends (Pew Internet 2010).
Young people have embraced the concept of creating ‘virtual presences’ in a digital world, and have become the driving force behind the development of online communities and social networking sites (Boyd 2006).