Austria

In brief

Austria was involved in the EU Kids Online 2010 survey but not in the follow-up in 2020. In 2010, Austrian children could be classified as “unprotected networkers”. The mobile internet was of prime importance in Austria but children used the internet less intensively than in other countries. Nevertheless, older teenagers encountered contact risks significantly more often. Austrian parents underestimated the online risks faced by children and they tended to be unconcerned. In this situation, children reported a larger number of risks than their parents imagined. Parents rarely made use of active mediation strategies. They tended to remain passive or manage their children’s online safety by taking a restrictive approach.

For more recent publications see “Selected publications.”

Please click here for German language Website

EU Kids Online Austria contributes to several national initiatives in order to foster online opportunities and benefits for children, for example Saferinternet.at and the No-Hate-Speech Committee.
Presentations on youth research and education at conferences and workshops with third sector stakeholders.
EU Kids Online Austria cooperated with the regional Ministers of Youth and the Federal Ministry of Families and Youth (BMFJ). The team participated in national ministerial conferences in an advisory capacity.

Factsheet

Summary of findings

Safety Guide

Questionnaires

The EU Kids Online fieldwork involved several questionnaires. First, a face to face interview with one parent. Second, a face to face interview with the child. Then a self-completion interview for sensitive questions, with one version for 9-10 year olds and one version for 11-16 year olds.

Questionnaire for parent

Questionnaire for child

Self-completion questionnaire for child (Children age 9-10)

Self-completion questionnaire for child (Children aged 11-16)

Kovacs, C., Jadin, T., & Ortner, C. (2022). Austrian college students’ experiences with digital media learning during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 734138. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.734138

Gozansky, Y., & Ortner, C. (2022). Knowledge, Fear, and Children's Media. in M. Götz, & D. Lemish (Hrsg.), Children and Media Worldwide in a Time of a Pandemic (S. 71-84). Peter Lang Verlag.

Trültzsch-Wijnen, C, Trültzsch-Wijnen, S. (2022): Screen time is cool but friends and family are more important: children’s daily life during lockdown in Austria. In: MERJ (Media Education Research Journal) Spring 2022. (06.07.2022) https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6722904

Trültzsch-Wijnen, S, Trültzsch-Wijnen, C. (2022): Die Nutzung von und der Umgang mit digitalen Technologien im Kontext des Fernunterrichts in Österreich und im europäischen Vergleich. In: MedienJorunal 3/ 2021 [published 2022], S. 45-64. https://doi.org/10.24989/medienjournal.v45i3

Trültzsch-Wijnen, C, Trültzsch-Wijnen, S. (2021): Notfall-Fernunterricht in Österreich. In: Ludwigsburger Beiträge zur Medienpädagogik. 21/ 2021. Online: https://www.medienpaed-ludwigsburg.de/article/view/418/409

Ortner, C., Kovacs, C., & Jadin, T. (2020). Kinder und Medien in der Covid-19-Krise. Österreich im internationalen Vergleich. Medienimpulse, 33(3). https://doi.org/10.21243/mi-03-20-15

Götz, M., Mendel, C., Lemish, D., Jennings, N., Hains, R., Abdul, F., Alper, M., Asgari, H., Babayaro, H., Blaya, C., Borzekowski, D., Cadavid, S., Camerini, A-L., Carmona, B., Carter, C., Chale, M., Düssel, M., Duhalde, A., Gayed, A., ... Ortner, C., ... Yee, A. Z. H. (2020). Children, COVID-19 and the media: A study on the challenges children are facing in the 2020 Coronavirus crisis. TelevIZIon, 33(E), 4-9.

Trültzsch-Wijnen, C, Trültzsch-Wijnen, S., Olafson, K. (2019): Between Enthusiasm and Protection: Teacher’s Attitudes as Critical Sucess Factor for Digital Literacy. In: Erstad, Ola/ Flewitt, Rosie/ Kümmerling-Meibauer, Bettina/ Pires Pereira, Iris Susanna (eds.): The Routledge Handbook of Digital Literacies in Early Childhood. London: Routledge. S. 171-186 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203730638

Paus-Hasebrink, I., Kulterer, J. & Sinner, P. (2019). Social Inequality, Childhood and the Media. A Longitudinal Study of the Mediatization of Socialisation Transforming Communications – Studies in Cross-Media Research. London: Palgrave Macmillan; Open Access: Social Inequality, Childhood and the Media

Paus-Hasebrink, I., & Sinner, P. (2013). Nutzung, Chancen und Risiken Heranwachsender im Internet - Österreichische Kinder im europäischen Vergleich. In. Medien & Zeit, Kommunikation in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart 28(3), pp. 36-45.

Dürager, A., Dürager, S., & Paus-Hasebrink, I. (2013). Protection vs. Privacy. An Area of Conflict. In. B. O´Neill, E. Staksrud, Elisabeth & S. McLaughlin (Eds.). Towards a Better Internet for Children? Policy Pillars, Players and Paradoxes. Göteborg: Nordicom, pp. 267-281.

Paus-Hasebrink, I., & Hasebrink, U. (2012). Vergleichende Forschung als Kooperationsstrategie. Das Beispiel 'EU Kids Online'. In. B. Stark, M. Magin, O. Jandura & M. Maurer (Eds.). Methodische Herausforderungen komparativer Forschungsansätze. Methoden und Forschungslogik der Kommunikationswissenschaft Band 8. Köln: Herbert von Halem Verlag, pp.95-114.

Paus-Hasebrink, I., & Dürager, A. (2012). Nutzung und Risiken für Kinder und Jugendliche im Internet. Das Beispiel EU Kids Online. In. I. Stapf, A. Lauber, B. Fuhs & R. Rosenstock (Eds.). Kinder im Social Web. Qualität in der KinderMedienKultur. Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp. 229-246.

Paus-Hasebrink, I., Sinner, P., Prochazka, F., & Dürager, A. (2012). Austria. In L. Haddon, S. Livingstone and the EU Kids Online network (Eds.), EU Kids Online: National perspectives. London: EU Kids Online, LSE, pp. 5-6.

Paus-Hasebrink, I., Prochazka, F., Sinner, P., & Dürager, A. (2012). Werkstattbericht EU Kids Online – Chancen & Risiken im Internet. In kommunikation.medien, 1. Ed. (journal.kommunikation-medien.at].

Paus-Hasebrink, I., Bauwens, J., Dürager, A.E., & Ponte, C. (2012). Exploring Types of Parent-Child Relationship and Internet Use across Europe. In. Journal of Children and Media – JOCAM, 7(1), pp. 114-132.

Christina Ortner, FH-Prof. Mag. Dr., is Professor of Online Communication at the study program Communication and Knowledge Media at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria at the Faculty in Hagenberg. She studied communications at the University of Salzburg, where she worked as senior scientist, lecturer and research fellow for more than ten years. She received two academic awards for her PhD thesis on the role of media for young adults' orientations towards the EU, which she wrote at the Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies (SCEUS). Throughout her career Christina Ortner was involved in various national and international research projects. She is member of several scientific associations and co-coordinator of the Austrian team of EU Kids Online since 2021.

Sascha Trültzsch-Wijnen, Associate Prof. PD Mag. Dr., is a professor at the Department of Communication at the University of Salzburg, where he is also Head of the Study Commission and Head of the Doctorate School Popular Culture Studies. He studied at Martin-Luther-University in Halle (DE), where he received his PhD in 2008. Since 2009 he has been at Salzburg University where he received his Venia Legendi for media and communication science in 2017. He has been part of several international projects, such as COST IS 0906 “Transforming Audiences”, “The Gobal Hobbit” project and most recently the KiDiCoTi project – Kids Digital Lives in Covid-19 times. He is reviewer for international agencies, journals, conferences and member of international scientific associations. Since 2021 he is a co-coordinator of the Austrian team of EU Kids Online.

Christine W. Trültzsch-Wijnen, H-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr., is Professor of Media Education and Head of the Media and Digitalisation Centre as well as the Education Innovation Studio (EIS) at the Salzburg University of Education Stefan Zweig. She holds a PhD from the University of Salzburg and a venia legendi for Media and Communication Studies from Charles University in Prague (2nd PhD). She has been involved in several international projects (e.g. COST IS 0906 “Transforming Audiences”; COST IS1401 „Strengthening Europeans‘ Capabilities by Establishing the European Literacy Network“; COST IS1410 "Digilitey - The digital literacy and multimodal practices of young children"; UNESCO/Translit “Politiques publiques d’éducation aux médias et à l’information en Europe”). She is a partner of the Austrian EU Kids Online team since 2024.

Anna M. Eder-Jahn is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Salzburg University of Education Stefan Zweig, where she is affiliated with the Media and Digitalisation Centre. There she heads the postgraduate programme Teaching Basic Digital Skills (as a school subject). As an educational scientist, her research focuses on professional competencies of both pre-service and in-service teachers, with a particular interest in motivational patterns. In her teaching, she works with future and current teachers at both the elementary and secondary levels, emphasising media literacy and the meaningful integration of digital media in the classroom. Her innovative contributions to this field earned her a shortlist nomination for the Ars Docendi – State Award for Excellence in Teaching, in the category “Teaching and Digital Transformation”.

For many years Ingrid Paus-Hasebrink was the Coordinator of the Austrian EU Kids Online team. At the end of 2021 Christina Ortner und Sascha Trültzsch-Wijnen took over this task.

Christina Ortner
Department of Communication and Knowledge Media
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Softwarepark 11, 4232 Hagenberg, Austria
E-mail: christina.ortner@fh-hagenberg.at

Sascha Trültzsch-Wijnen
Department of Communication
University of Salzburg
Rudolfskai 42, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
E-mail: sascha.trueltzsch-wijnen@plus.ac.at
https://www.plus.ac.at/trueltzsch-wijnen

EU Kids Online homepage

Austria

In brief

Highlights

Reports and resources

Questionnaires

Selected publications

Team

Contact

EU Kids Online homepage

Participant countries Members of the EU Kids Online network