Risky experiences for children online: Charting European research on children and the internet

2. Risky experiences for children online:Charting European research on children and the internet Leslie Haddon and Sonia Livingstone ICA Conference Montreal May 21st-26th 2008

3. The Project • 21 countries • 3 years • Funded by the EC’s Safer Internet Plus Programme • Evaluating European research on children’s experiences of the Internet

4. The Project • Overall aim of improving ability to manage cross-national comparisons • Work in-progress • Emphasis on children/youth, risks and opportunities

5. Step 1: a repository, a searchable database, containing the details of projects 235 projects in January 2007 (18 countries at that point in time) The repository is still being updated Charting a field of study

6. Spread of studies

7. Spread of studies Research is unevenly spread across Europe • partly because mass diffusion of the internet • partly because of unevenness in research funding.

8. Spread of studies • Larger countries support more empirical research than smaller countries • BUT In some countries, even if the internet and internet studies is well established, the issue of children and risk remains a recent addition to the public policy agenda.

9. Multinational comparative studies • ‘Children and Their Changing Media Environment’ 1998-9 (old and new media, but nothing on risks) • SAFT 2003, 2006 • Eurobarometer 2003, 2004 • Mediappro 2005

10. Quality of what is reported • The majority (95%) of research in this field consists of single-nation studies. • Of these roughly 10% published in an academic form • Many studies are descriptive (lacking theoretical framework/critical analysis) • 12% of the empirical studies are publicly available only in summary form (lack details of methods)

11. Disciplines • Much of the research is conducted by departments of education, information or psychology • Sometimes difficult to tell the discipline • High proportion of proportion are market-research studies - i.e. tried-and-tested questions rather than a disciplinary framework

12. Quality vs. quantitative • The majority of research is quantitative (frequency and distribution of activities) • Less research is qualitative or multi-method • We have less knowledge of children’s own experiences or perceptions or how online activities fit into their everyday lives.

13. Funding sources • Research is mainly funded by national governments • Commercial companies, research institutes and regulators are sometimes significant funders

14. Funder and topic • Government sources: wide range of research topics • Academicresearch: more the contexts and consequences of online use • Commercial companies: more the negative than the positive dimensions of use • Regulators and charities: mainly focus on risk.

15. Age of children researched • The majority of research on children’s use of the internet is conducted on teenagers • Rough correlation: the proportion of young people using the internet and the amount of research on them. BUT • a) use among younger children is growing fast • b) they may be more vulnerable in terms of maturity coping strategies.

16. Topics researched (children) • The most researched topics: online usage, followed by access and then interest and activities

17. Topics researched (children) • Little research on why some children lack access • Little research on the newest kinds of use, such as blogging and podcasting – research lags behind technology development

18. Topics researched (children) Research included: • children’s online skills • social networking • gender differences • playing online games • children’s concerns and frustrations • identity play

19. Topics researched (children) Least frequent topics • civic and political participation • interpreting online content • creating online content • online learning • seeking advice online • search strategies

20. Topics researched (children) • In general there is a lack of empirical research on media literacy: the interpretation, creation and critique of online content

21. Topics researched (Parents) • Little research on parents’ experiences of the internet and how they mediate their children’s experiences • Most common topic: parental styles of regulating their children’s internet use

22. Typology of risks

23. Risk topics • Most researched risks: content-related • Least researched area: commercialism • Most research is mapping • Little on why children take risks • Little on social consequences of risk-taking

24. Conclusions 1 • Gaps in research: e.g young children, other platforms • most studies examine the nature and use of websites rather than more interactive, peer-to-peer, multi-user applications (i.e. web 1.0 rather than web 2.0)

25. Conclusions (risks) 2 • Content and contact risks is lacking in some countries, in others it needs deepening • There needs to be more on commercial risks • Relatively little research on how children (or parents) cope with online risk (coping strategies), or long term effects of exposure to risk

26. Conclusions (risks) 3 • Need research on the effectiveness of parental mediation and children’s responses to such regulation

27. Conclusions 4 • Time-sensitivity: even where substantial amounts of research exist, the findings must be regularly updated • More multi-national research • More longitudinal studies • Multiple theoretical perspectives and multiple methods

28. Conclusions 5 • Scope for improving the quality, rigour and public accessibility of research evidence • More research relating online activities and risks to children's lives offline • More reflecting on children and young people’s own agenda of concerns

29. Reports • Charting report and a methodological review are already available • www.eukidsonline.net • Comparative analysis due in the autumn 2008 • Social shaping research due in autumn 2009