Young CHATTERS

1. Teenagers and Internet: Survey results Young CHATTERS or Big CHEATERS

2. Contents About the Team Part I: Part II: Part II: Description and Goals of the Project Part III: Part III: Teenagers Survey Results Part IV: Part IV: Parents Survey Results Part V: Part V: How They Consider the Results Part VI: Part VI: Project artifacts

3. Part I: About the Team Ahmad Al Omran Secondary Boys School School name Hoora, Bahrain, Gulf Area Location Grades K - 10 & 11 Team members Mohamad Al Jamal :: Team Facilitator :: In Collaboration with Mrs. Amal Malallah :: Team Facilitator :: Khawla Secondary Girls’ School ALIHassan ABDULKareem AHMADWaheed ABDULAziz SALMAN MOHAMAD MOHAMADSadeq Back2Contents

4. Part II: Description and Goals of the Project Nowadays, millions of teenagers around the world use the Internet for a long time, especially for chatting. We think that they are addicted to both the Internet and chatting. Therefore, we would like to know how far the teenagers and their parents are aware of the problem and what they may suggest to get rid of it. Why we suggest this project Goals • To make teenagers aware of their Internet addiction. • To help teenagers to think of the causes of this problem. • To help teenagers themselves suggest solutions and methods that will help teenagers to stop surfing the net for a long time. • An online questionnaire for students Tools • An online questionnaire for parents Number of respondents [49] teenagers; [14] boys and [35] girls [21] parents Back2Contents

5. Part III: Teenagers Survey Results [ Check artifacts page] • The Internet is no longer a luxury. A grand percentage of 78 use the Internet on a daily basis! Obviously, everybody loves the Internet! How they utilize it however, is a different story, one that is waiting to be told! • Internet penetration in Bahrain is very high – this translates to large amounts of home users, as the years go by, the numbers will grow further in the home user department. • Most Bahraini teenagers use the Internet for chatting but at the same time, they also do other activities – like “searching for information” (read : Copy-pasting to satisfy school reports/projects) and playing games. • The great majority of teenager in Bahrain have a large contact list – some even have multiple contact addresses with completely different contacts in each. Back2Contents

6. Part III: Teenagers Survey Results (Continued) • Examples of most popular sites for teenagers in Bahrain : • Search engines (ex : google) • Forums • "Social Networking” Sites (ex : hi5 / myspace / facebook) • Email sites (ex : hotmail / gmail / yahoo) • Games / entertainment sites (ex : Miniclip) • Newspaper / local / world news / news sites • "Educational” (ex : wikipedia.com / iEarn ) • The advantages of surfing the Internet for a long time according to the respondents are: • it improves your English language • It opens you up to other cultures • It improves your typing skills tremendously • You eventually learn to deal with the more technical things in computers

7. Part III: Teenagers Survey Results (Continued) • The disadvantages of of surfing the internet for a long time according to the respondents are: • It has negative effects on your eyesight, hearing (possibly) and fitness, • fitness and hearing impacts can be countered with exercise / proper volume levels! • Addiction to the Internet – This is true to an extent, there are people who can't live for 30 minutes without their beloved Internet! • Viruses, spyware • You could run into “disturbing” popups. http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2403

8. Part III: Teenagers Survey Results (Continued) • Teenagers suggest the following to help teenagers who surf the net for long times • Move attention towards other hobbies / activities • Go out and other miscellaneous outdoor activities. • Study – Pfffffffft, like studying ever cured an addiction • Put a proper “schedule” for when to go online. • Do relaxation exercises – What? Yoga? O_O. • Have the addicted person become more aware of the health dangers associated with long net' sessions – Hey, not a bad idea. Tis' the first step however! • Have someone “watch” over them and disallow them to stay online for long. • The other non-net surfing hobbies include: • Reading, Watching TV, Talking on the phone, Video games, Sports – Whether it's basketball or football, listening to music, writing – Whether they're poems or stories, drawing, shopping, cooking – Surprise, no?

9. Part III: Teenagers Survey Results (Continued) • Most parents shout at their children for staying too long online (or for opening a pornographic website). The reasons, according to the respondents are : • They fear for my health. • They have nothing better to do . • They want me to focus on studying. • They want me to do other things... such as cleaning my room. • Because I spend too much time on the computer. • My bad marks. • Teenagers have their own reasons to lie at their parents: • I want to stay online longer. • My parents have no idea what I'm doing so I lied. • I don't have the time to explain to them, easier to lie. • Because my parents always want to know everything in absolute detail. • Because it's none of their business – A bit rude I say!

10. Dad I NEED your HELP Part IV: Parents Survey Results [ Check artifacts page] • The majority of parents know about computers and how to use them. • Three quarters of parents see their kids as smart and wonderful, however they don’t know everything about them. • Two Third of respondent parents know that their children sit for long times on the computer. • Half of the parents think that their kids are studying or looking for information on the net. • 42% of parents sometimes talk to their children about being glued to the computer for a long time. • More than half of the parents think that sitting that long on the computer influences their kid's marks negatively. Back2Contents

11. Dad I NEED your HELP Part IV: Parents Survey Results (Continued) • More than half of parents (56%) don’t think that their children are addicted to the Internet • Disconnecting the Internet cable is the solution to Internet addiction according to most parents. • The kids’ solutions to their fellows addiction sound more reasonable than their parents’. That makes me think, “Are the kids living in a world and the parents in another? Or is it just the parents who are refusing to believe that the world has changed and is changing ?

12. Young CHATTERS or big CHEATERS Part V: How They Consider the Results [ Check artifacts page] MARIAM Ghazi, 15 KHAWLA Sec. School I was not astonished by the results, because I know the situation we are in. I know that there are lots of disadvantages on spending our time chatting. But really really we cannot help it. Chatting becomes part any teenager daily life. We all chat, so how can I not log in and start a conversation when I know that all my friends are there waiting??!! Chatting becomes part of any teenager daily life. Back2Contents

13. Young CHATTERS or big CHEATERS Part V: How They Consider the Results The results are as clear as crystal, as anyone living in Bahraini and is a teenager will tell you that a lot of his/her friends use the computer exclusively for chat. The number of MSN messenger contacts has become something we brag about when we talk to friends at school, we also have a tendency to exchange contact addresses with each other just to keep in touch and further bloat the MSN contact list. Obviously, this gigantic usage of chat in Bahrain is a sign of so-so computer literacy, although I wish if people were more eager to explore things beyond the realm of MSN messenger and internet explorer. As a conclusion, this is nothing new if you’re a teenager living in Bahrain – it’s common knowledge over here. ALI Hassan Jumaa Parents attitude to the internet addiction is inspiring

14. Young CHATTERS or big CHEATERS Part V: How They Consider the Results (Continued) SARA Al Saad, 15 KHAWLA Sec. School Well, reading the result makes me realize the size of the problem my colleagues face. I am not addicted to chatting as I have more priorities in my life. I always advise my friends to focus on the important things in their life like studying; having a good relationship with their family; improve themselves and start building their future. I really wish this well come to an end like many other “phenomenon” in teenagers life I am not addicted to chatting as I have more priorities in my life.

15. Young CHATTERS or big CHEATERS Part V: How They Consider the Results(Continued) Most teenagers are internet junkies, most don’t like admitting it. Some brag about it. A lot of teenagers use the internet on a daily basis and for more than 5 hours (myself included), and the majority of these people chat or search for information. I am under the impression that most parents didn’t answer sincerely on the questionnaire, because they were flattering their children in every answer and no parent flatter their teenage child. Half the answers to the question “why do your children use the internet” came out to be that the child is using it to study or for school, and when we asked that same question to the children. So, its clear that the parents are “hoodwinked”. But most parents agree that their children are in fact addicted to the internet and they gave some excellent ways to cure it, my personal favorite is “Nothing”. ABDUL AZIZ AbdulWahed Murad I am under the impression that most parents didn’t answer sincerely on the questionnaire

16. Young CHATTERS or big CHEATERS Part V: How They Consider the Results (Continued) FATIMA Al Ghattam KHAWLA Sec. School I have answered the questionnaire and I admit that I like chatting and I have a long list. However, I do not let that take a big part of my day. Well, my parents do not allow me to spend a long time on the computer. They are always around checking things and asking us about homework and stuff. Therefore, I believe that they have a major role in their children attitudes and believes towards everything in life. I am not sure what I was going to be used to if my parents weren’t the same. I like chatting and I have a long list. However, I do not let that take a big part of my day.

17. Young CHATTERS or big CHEATERS Part V: How They Consider the Results (Continued) I quite expected the students answers-I am a student too. On the contrary students showed no love for their parents . Their answers were similar and showed that in their opinion parents do not listen to them , neither want to talk about it. Parents' opinion rules, end of discussion that's how most student found their parents act, and that's what seems to make them unaware of what is happening ,-even though they might think they are. Amazingly, students showed a great understanding to each other problems and issues. When a child ask his parent about something they usually say"we know what is better for you".Well, you better show me wh it is better for me or else let me solve things by my own because whatever you are going to say probably won't be accepted. ABDUL KAREEM Abdulla Shabeeb Amazingly, students showed a great understanding to each other problems and issues.

18. Young CHATTERS or big CHEATERS Part V: How They Consider the Results (Continued) KHADIJA Mohamad KHAWLA Sec. School Wow, I think we are in a serious problem. We really need to do something. After reading the result, I may consider myself one of the people who really need help. I leave the computer open 24/7. It is on and I am logged in even if I am at school, I just put you know the sign “away” and then be online whenever I am in my room. I thought deeply of things I do and wanted to do in my time as one of the student say in the questionnaire and I found out that I am missing a lot and my school marks could have been better than what they are now. Thank you very much for making me realize this. I will do my best to help myself and my friend to reach our best. After reading the result, I may consider myself one of the people who really need help.

19. Part VI: Project artifacts Students Analysis of Surveys Students Survey analysis “Young CHATTERS or Big CHEATERS” Parents Survey analysis “Dad I NEED your HELP” Samples of Students comments on the Surveys results KHAWLA’S Girls School “Contribution” Sketch: Cartoon Comment “Tick Tock How they look” Back2Contents

20. Teenagers and Internet: Survey results Young CHATTERS or Big CHEATERS