Study shows need to promote use of Internet at home by minors
On average 25% of children and young people between the ages of 6 and 17 in Europe still do not have access to Internet. In Spain this figure is greater at 30%. The fact that minors do not have access to Internet can give rise to e- exclusion. EU Kids Online, the first systematic investigation undertaken in Europe on the experience of children and young people with new technologies, has detected that, with the studies done between 2006 and 2009, there is still a need to promote the use of Internet by young people – particularly in the home, as it is in this environment where they are overseen by their parents. In the EU Kids Online project, a research team from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is taking part, made up of Ms Maialen Garmendia, Mr Carmelo Garitaonandia, Ms Gemma Martínez and Mr Miguel Ángel Casado.
It has been shown that the more use that is made of Internet, the more opportunities can be taken advantage of for the personal and intellectual development of young people (helping in school tasks, acquiring new skills to relate socially, creating content and participating in various activities of a public-spirited nature). However, if this use of the Internet is not appropriate, the minor could also be exposed to harmful risks.
Another factor arising from the study is that the use of the Internet increases as the minor gets older, reaching maximum levels of use between 12 and 13 years. One of the most relevant contributions of EU Kids Online has been to categorise minors between 6 and 10 as a “vulnerable” group given that between 2005 and 2008 the greatest increase in access to and use of Internet in Europe occurred in this group. The fact that these minors do not yet have the skills necessary for using the Internet efficaciously and in a suitable manner makes them a “vulnerable” group and this should be taken into account in all regulation policies applicable in each one of the countries. Nevertheless, vigilance of pre-adolescent (between 11 and 14) should not be overlooked as these do not have the capacity or acquired skills for confronting certain risks.
It has also been shown that the young person’s gender does not have an influence on the level of use of Internet, but on the type of activities carried out online.
Risks according to countries
EU Kids Online has also established a classification of countries related to the level of use by minors of the Internet and the level of risk that they run. In the countries of the East and North of Europe, young people make more use of the Internet and are subject to more risk. In the southern countries (including Spain), however, use tends to be of a low or medium level and the risk, also, medium. On the other hand, Denmark and Sweden are examples of how minors are really adapting positively to Internet (high use-medium risk). The regulation policies adopted by these countries for the effective use of new technologies should be taken as an example for the rest of the European Union.
At a pan-European scale the most common risk amongst internaut minors is providing personal information (50%), followed by viewing pornography online (about 40%); some 30% of minors state they have seen content that incites hate and 20% state that they had suffered cyberbullying, the same percentage that have received non-solicited sexual commentary. Finally, almost 10% of European minors state they have had contact with strangers that they have known online.
In Spain the penetration of Internet is coming about gradually. This could represent an advantage for establishing suitable regulation policies in accordance with the needs of minors.
Another of the main conclusions of EU Kids Online is that the use of Internet by parents positively influences children in their use of Internet. The more parents use online services, the more their children do so. At a pan-European level, Spain included, parents use the Internet more than minors, which has meant they have developed more skills for protecting their children and advising them about activities that can be carried out online. Moreover, it has been shown that adults who have children use the Internet more than those who are childless.
Recommendations from EU Kids Online
1. Identification of those groups of minors who are “vulnerable” to online risks and the application of policies of digital inclusion.
a. Minors between 6 and 14 years, both children and pre-adolescents need more attention and more protection in the use of Internet.
b. Those who cause harm to their peers (e.g. as in cyberbullying). On many occasions these minors have themselves been victims of the same type of harassment and are usually from socially disfavoured homes.
c. Minors whose families have a low socioeconomic level. Not having access to Internet due to this can give rise to social exclusion.
2. Parents have the responsibility to teach the minor how to use the Internet appropriately and efficaciously, but they are not alone in this responsibility. What has to be still determined is the efficacy of having to apply restrictions or rules (time given over to being online, access to certain content, use of communication tools, and so on) in order to reduce risks.
3. It behoves us to promote more literacy initiatives in the media. Moreover, the child has to be taught how to analyse the Net and its environment critically.
4. Positive content is needed because such content, when considered by children, benefit their development and reduce risks in the Net, on encouraging useful and valuable activities.
5. The greater use of Internet is related to greater levels of instruction, and so improvements in educational programmes can contribute to increase the amount and skills in the use of Internet. Education on media should be equipped with resources as a fundamental part of the student curriculum and the school infrastructure.
Source: Basque research
