The research focuses on four broad themes, examining both opportunities and dangers of the internet and relating children's engagement with internet contents and services with the social contexts of use. Thus, the project will ask questions relating to the following areas:
Opportunities
1) Communication, identity and participation in social networks
2) Education, learning and literacy
Dangers
3) Digital inequalities
4) Inappropriate or unwelcome content
The project seeks to balance an account of opportunities and dangers (More...)
Opportunities: Communication, identity and participation in social networks
How are social networks and peer culture changing as online communication becomes commonplace? How do children construct an online identity, and for which children are various forms of identity-play important? How far are children using online communication for ‘serious', ‘personal' or ‘self-help' purposes, and what assumptions do they make about privacy, trust, etc? Is the internet providing an opportunity for children's creativity production of content? Does online communication support community participation? (Back to top)
Opportunities: Education, learning and literacy
Which educational opportunities are children taking up? Are children as expert as they seem and in what ways? How is children's online learning being supported and by whom? What kinds of new literacies are being developed through online education, communication and/or entertainment? Is the home really a site of free exploration while the school remains hierarchical and traditional? What do children understand of the computer interface, including its conventions, help systems, etc? (Back to top)
Access remains stratified, but is Internet use also stratified in extent and quality? What are the key barriers to use and what inequalities do they produce? Why are some children not online, and in what ways does this make a difference in their lives? What support are parents receiving or in need of? What strategies do children use to overcome disadvantages? Do they regard the Internet as a new form of exclusion, educational and/or social? How does access and use at home link with use in school, libraries or elsewhere? (Back to top)
Dangers: Inappropriate or unwelcome content
In relation to potentially harmful or exploitative content and contact online, what safe or risky practices do children engage in? What is the incidence of upsetting, worrying or intrusive experiences online? In what contexts – online and offline - do these occur and with what outcome (whether sexual, intrusive, deceptive, racist, gambling, etc)? What are parents' and children's awareness of risks, regulation and available support? How far are technical or other forms of safety practice taken up and if not, why not? How sceptical are children of what they find online, and what do they trust? (Back to top)
Opportunities? Dangers? A balanced account
The project seeks to balance an account of opportunities and dangers precisely because society must strike a balance between the failure to minimise the risk of harm and the failure to maximise the benefits of new opportunities. Within homes, parents and children are already finding their own balance. It seems in some homes opportunities are prioritised over risks, possibly resulting in creative but incautious Internet use, while in others risks are treated as paramount, possibly leading to narrow use that underestimates the potential of the Internet. It is vital to ascertain how far this is the case, in which homes, and with what consequences. (Back to top)
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
© UK Children Go Online 2003-2005