EU Kids on line, the panEuropean initiative that explores and compares young Internet users across E

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EU Kids on line, the pan-European initiative that
explores and compares young Internet users across
Europe Comparative results
28-29 May 2008
Child and Youth Research in the 21st Century A
Critical Appraisal

• Elena Aristodemou
• Cyprus Neuroscience Technology Institute
• (co-authors Tatjana Taraszow and Yiannis Laouris)

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What is EU Kids On Line?

• The EU Kids Online is a project funded by the EC
  Safer Internet plus Program
• The EU Kids Online project (2006-2009) examines
  research carried out in 21 member states of the
  European Union on how children and young people
  use the internet and new media.
• This three-year collaboration aims to identify
  comparable research findings across Europe to
  evaluate the social, cultural and regulatory
  influences affecting both risks and childrens
  and parents' responses to them. It charts
  available data, indicates gaps and identifies
  factors that shape the research capability of
  European research institutions.
• Last it examines methodological issues that
  relate to cross-cultural analyses and the study
  of childrens online experience in order to
  develop a best practice guide to research.

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What are the key questions?

• What research exists, and what research is still
  needed?
• What risks exist, for which technologies, and in
  relation to which subpopulations?
• How do social, cultural and regulatory influences
  affect the incidence, the experience and the
  responses to different risks?
• In accounting for current and ongoing research
  and anticipating future research, what factors
  shape the research capability of European
  research institutions and networks?

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What are the objectives?

• To identify and assess the quality and
  comparability of data (recent or ongoing) across
  Europe regarding childrens access to and use of
  the internet and new online technologies, noting
  gaps in the evidence base.
• To understand the research itself in context,
  assessing the reasons why certain types of
  research are available (or not) in each nation,
  given different intellectual, social,
  institutional and funding systems. This
  understanding is vital for guiding the future
  research agenda.
• To compare the available data across nations so
  as to identify the changing risks and safety
  concerns associated with new media, assessing
  their distribution, significance and consequences
  for diverse populations (age, gender, region,
  nation, etc).
• To understand these risks in context. Several
  contexts are anticipated
• Use of new and old media in everyday life,
  including positive and negative media experiences
  
• Different cultural contexts of childhood
• Different policy/ regulatory contexts,
  particularly across nations.

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Objectives (continued)

• To enhance our understanding of methodological
  issues involved in studying children and the
  internet and in particular those relating to
  cross-cultural analysis, both for future research
  in this field and for European comparative
  studies more generally.
• To network researchers across different
  countries, disciplines and approaches building on
  continuities while acknowledging different
  starting points, so as to share existing
  knowledge, build capacity and work towards a
  consensual framework for future research.
• To develop evidence-based policy recommendations
  for raising awareness, media literacy and other
  practical actions to promote safer use of the
  internet and new online technologies,
  particularly but not only for children across
  Europe.

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Participating Countries

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Iceland
• Ireland

• Italy
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• The Netherlands
• The United Kingdom

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Lets take a look at our work
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Hypothesis 1As children get older, they gain
greater online skills(or Internet literacy,
including skills enabling self-protection from
online risks).

• Summing the results from the twenty-one
  participating countries, we found evidence that
  supports the hypothesis from eleven countries
  (Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece,
  Iceland, Ireland Italy, Portugal, Sweden and the
  UK).
• In all of these countries data showed that skills
  increase when age increases even though some
  countries didnt have direct evidence as to
  self-protection skills.
• Norway was the only country who had evidence that
  both supported and contradicted the hypothesis.
  For their country, data suggested that older
  children do have more advanced online skills than
  younger children, but they tend to forget not to
  disclose personal information and that puts them
  to the risk of experiencing difficulties when
  meeting face to face with online friends.
• Another evidence from Norway suggested that
  knowledge of safety strategies is consistent and
  does not increase over time. On the other hand
  however, there was evidence that suggested that
  older children are more cautious when needed to
  disclose personal information such as age or date
  of birth.
• The remaining countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech
  Republic, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Slovenia,
  Spain and the Netherlands) had no data to
  present.

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Hypothesis 2 As children get older they are
exposed to a greater amount and range of online
risks

• For the second hypothesis results showed that as
  children get older they are more vulnerable in
  dealing with online risks. Out of the twenty-one
  participating countries only eight had evidence
  to support this hypothesis (Belgium, Estonia,
  Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the
  UK) and three had contradicting evidence for it
  (France, Germany and the Netherlands).
• Specifically, France claimed that as children get
  older they are less likely to participate in chat
  rooms resulting in a decreased chance of facing a
  risk. An explanation for this was given stating
  that as children get older they are less
  interested in expanding their social network.
  Germany had no empirical evidence regarding age
  and risks on online technologies but their data
  on problematic films on mobile phones suggested
  that children aged 12-17 own more of these films
  on their cell phones but the ownership decreases
  from the age of 18 and above. Data from the
  Netherlands suggested that younger children are
  the ones who have an increased amount of risk
  when using the online technologies because
  theyre experimenting with their identities and
  are more prone to receive negative feedback for
  their profiles, and this affects them by lowering
  their self-esteem.
• The remaining countries (Austria, Bulgaria,
  Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Ireland,
  Italy, Slovenia and Sweden) had no data to
  present.

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Hypothesis 3 Those children, who use the
Internet longer, and for more activities,
develop more Internet-related skills and
literacies

• Austria, Iceland, Norway and the UK were the only
  countries out of the twenty-one that had
  available evidence for this hypothesis.
• Their results supported the hypothesis in that
  the more children use the internet the greater
  their online skills and literacies become.
• The other countries had no data to present
  regarding this hypothesis maybe because it is
  really difficult to scientifically test this kind
  of hypothesis. For testing such a hypothesis it
  would mean that the same children should be
  tested several times over the years where at the
  same time monitoring the amount of time spent on
  the internet and the type of activities
  performed.
• It seems logical however, that the more you use
  something the greater the skill you get in
  mastering it.

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Our Conclusions
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Hypothesis 1As children get older, they gain
greater online skills(or Internet literacy,
including skills enabling self-protection from
online risk).

• Europe-wide, it was seen that age influences
  skills in the use of online technologies.
• All countries that have responded to this
  hypothesis are supportive.
• Thus, it can be suggested that older children
  hold more advanced skills than younger ones,
  which enable them to better protect themselves
  from online risks.

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Hypothesis 2 As children get older they are
exposed to a greater amount and range of online
risks

• For this hypothesis, most countries responded
  with evidence that supports it.
• However, three countries showed contradicting
  evidence.
• This might suggest that there is a difference in
  the interests of teenagers from one country to
  another.
• The countries who had evidence contradicting the
  hypothesis agree on that older children use the
  social networking sites mainly for use with their
  existing friends and not for making new ones,
  thus not exposing themselves so much as in
  younger ages. In addition, they note that older
  children are more advanced users and that helps
  them in protecting themselves.

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Hypothesis 3 Those children, who use the
Internet longer, and for more activities,
develop more Internet-related skills and
literacies

• H3 had the lower response rate out of the three
  hypotheses.
• Only three countries responded and all three
  support the hypothesis.
• But with such a small number of responses
  generalization is meaningless.
• One reason that this hypothesis triggered such a
  low response rate could be that it is really
  difficult for such variables to be examined, thus
  most countries didnt really look at the issue.
  In general however, this hypothesis seems
  plausible.

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Conclusions regarding the promotion of safer
Internet

• Important to educate children on risks of online
  use
• - Teach them ways that can prevent them from
  being victimized and ways of combating risks if
  they come across any.
• Knowledge is the most important tool for
  combating this issue and it needs to be used by
  all countries.
• - The ways in which children can be educated
  vary, but a good idea could be to design a game
  for teaching them how to responsively use the
  internet. They can then learn through an
  entertaining way, how to effectively use this
  very powerful tool that has been offered to them
  and minimize problems.

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A word about us.

• The Cyprus Neuroscience Technology Institute is
  a small research organization with about 20
  associates
• Our focus is on socially responsible projects
• We operate the Safer Internet Awareness
  Node/Hotline
• We do research in learning
• We promote human rights

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Thank You
For further information please visit the EU Kids
Online website at http//www.eukidsonline.net/