Broadband Internet Expansion and Adolescent Time Use: Evidence from Virginia's Telecommunication Initiative[0.5em] Gender Differences in the Effects of Digital Access on Teen Daily Activities

Abstract

This paper estimates the causal effects of broadband internet expansion on how teenagers allocate their time, exploiting Virginia's Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) as a natural experiment. Using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data from 2010–2023 in a difference-in-differences framework, we find that broadband expansion increased screen time by 26 minutes per day and online socializing by 15.5 minutes per day, while reducing physical exercise by 5 minutes and sleep by 5 minutes. Crucially, these effects differ substantially by gender: teenage boys show larger increases in screen time (+32 minutes vs. +20 minutes for girls), while girls exhibit larger increases in online socializing (+21 minutes vs. +10 minutes for boys). These findings provide the first quasi-experimental evidence on how broadband infrastructure affects youth time allocation and highlight the importance of considering gender-specific responses when designing digital inclusion policies. \vspace{1em} Keywords: Broadband internet, time use, adolescents, gender differences, difference-in-differences, Virginia VATI \vspace{0.5em} JEL Codes: J22, L96, I21, O33