DoE: 90% of kids use computers

About 90% of people ages 5 to 17 use computers and 59% of them use the Internet - rates that are, in both cases, higher than those of adults. Even kindergartners are becoming more plugged in: One out of four 5-year-olds uses the Internet. The figures come from a new Education Department analysis of computer and Internet use by children and adolescents in 2001. A second report from the agency, based on 2002 data, shows 99% of public schools have Internet access, up from 35% eight years ago. By the time they're 10 years old, 60% of children use the Internet. That number grows to almost 80% for kids who are 16.