Czech Republic

In brief: Czech findings from EU Kids Online 2020

Czech children aged 9 to 17 most frequently use smartphones to access the internet – 84% do so daily. Older children generally use the internet more often and participate in more online activities; consequently, they also encounter more online risks. Interestingly, some commonly feared online risks do not seem to upset Czech young people very often. After encountering sexually explicit content, 41% reported feeling happy and 39% were not upset. Similarly, 78% were happy and 10% were not upset after a face-to-face meeting with a person they only knew from the internet. It is worth noting that a majority of such meetings (67%) was with someone their age, and only 7% were with adults.

There are some intriguing gender differences regarding online risks. For example, while slightly more boys received sexually charged messages, girls were more often specifically asked to share intimate information. Girls also encountered online content supporting extreme thinness more frequently. On the other hand, more boys than girls struggle with computer viruses and spend too much money on in-app purchases and online games. Regarding cyberaggression, girls, as well as younger children, were more upset after being attacked online. The highest percentage of cyber aggressors was among older boys aged 13 to 17 (19%), more than twice as much as among girls of the same age (8%).

Some Czech children are exposed to harmful content – 27% saw hate messages, 19% saw gory or violent images and 17% saw eating disorder-related websites at least once a month. In the Czech Republic, exposure to harmful content is associated with children’s emotional problems and sensation-seeking. Parental mediation strategies – enabling, restrictive and technical mediation – were not associated with exposure to harmful content. However, a positive family environment was a protective factor. Therefore, it seems that while restricting access to the internet doesn’t work, it might help if parents could focus on building good relationships with their children.
Bedrošová, M., Hlavová, R., Macháčková, H., Dědková, L. & Šmahel, D. (2018). Czech children and adolescents on the internet: Report from a survey at primary and secondary schools. EU Kids Online IV in the Czech Republic 2017–2018. Brno: Masaryk University.

Factsheet

Summary of findings

Recommendations

Safety Guide

Czech children and adolescents on the internet (English)

Czech children and adolescents on the internet (Czech)

Questionnaires

Questionnaire for parent

Questionnaire for child

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

Self-completion questionnaire for child (Children age 11-16

2019

Dedkova, L., & Smahel, D. (2019). Online Parental Mediation: Associations of Family Members’ Characteristics to Individual Engagement in Active Mediation and Monitoring. Journal of Family Issues.

Görzig, A., Bedrosova, M., & Machackova, H. (2019). Do Stereotypes of Mental and Developmental Disorders Predict Bystander Intentions in Cyberbullying? An Application of the Stereotype Content Model. International Journal of Developmental Science, 13 (3-4), pp. 83-95.

Helsper, E. J., & Smahel, D. (2019). Excessive internet use by young Europeans: Psychological vulnerability and digital literacy?. Information, Communication & Society.

2018

Cernikova, M, Smahel, D., & Wright, M. F. (2018). Children’s experiences and awareness about impact of digital media on health. Health Communication, 33, 664-673.

Machackova, H., Dedkova, L., Sevcikova, A., & Cerna, A. (2018). Bystanders’ supportive and passive responses to cyberaggression. Journal of School Violence, 17, 99-110.

Ševčíková, A., Blinka, L., & Daneback, K. (2018). Sexting as a predictor of sexual behavior in a sample of Czech adolescents. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15, 426-437.

Wright, M. F., Yanagida, T., Macháčková, H., Dědková, L., Ševčíková, A., Aoyama, I., Bayraktar, F, ... Shu, C. (2018). Face-to-face and Cyber Victimization among Adolescents in Six Countries: The Interaction between Attributions and Coping Strategies. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 11, 99-112.

Cernikova, M, Dedkova, L., & Smahel, D. (2018). Youth interaction with online strangers: Experiences and reactions to unknown people on the Internet. Information, Communication & Society, 21, 94-110.

Bedrošová, M., Hlavová, R., Macháčková, H., Dědková, L. & Šmahel, D. (2018). Czech children and adolescents on the internet: Report from a survey at primary and secondary schools. EU Kids Online IV in the Czech Republic 2017–2018. Brno: Masaryk University.

2017

Macháčková, H., & Šerek, J. (2017). Does ‘clicking’ matter? The role of online participation in adolescents’ civic development. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(4), article 5.

Smahelova, M., Juhová, D., Cermak, I., & Smahel, D. (2017). Mediation of young children’s digital technology use: The parents’ perspective. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(3), article 4.

Wright, M. F., Yanagida, T., Aoyama, I., Ševčíková, A., Macháčková, H., Dědková, L., … & Shu, C. (2017). Differences in severity and emotions for public and private face-to-face and cyber victimization across six countries. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48, 1216-1229.

2015

Barbovschi, M. & Velicu, A. (2015, forthcoming). Forced identities of young people: impersonated, hacked, shared or tagged without permission. Breaches of self-presentation and identity management online in EU Kids Online III and Net Children Go Mobile projects. In Lorentz, P., Metykova, M., Smahel, D. & Wright, M. (Eds.). Living in the Digital Age: Self-Presentation, Networking, Playing, and Participation in Politics. Masaryk University Press. Brno, Czech Republic.

Dedkova, L., Cerna, A., Janasova, K., & Daneback, K. (in press). Meeting online strangers offline: The nature of upsetting experiences for adolescent girls. Communications. European Journal of Communication Research.

Dědková, L. (in press). Navazování kontaktů online a setkávání se s neznámými lidmi z internetu [Seeking and meeting online strangers]. In A. Ševčíková (Ed.), Děti a dospívající online: Vybraná rizika používání internetu [Youth online: Selected risks of internet use]. Praha: Grada.

Macháčková, H. (in press). Online komunity: v čem představují rizika pro dospívající? [Online communities: What are their risks for adolescents?]. In A. Ševčíková (Ed.). Děti online: vybraná rizika požívání internetu [Children online: Selected risks of internet use]. Praha: Grada.

Macháčková, H. (in press). Soukromí a sebe-odkrývání na online sociálních sítích [Privacy and self-disclosure on online social network sites]. In A. Ševčíková (Ed.). Děti online: vybraná rizika požívání internetu [Children online: Selected risks of internet use]. Praha: Grada.

Ševčíková, A. (Ed.) (in press). Děti a dospívající online: vybraná rizika používání internet [Children and adolescents online: Selected risks associated with internet use]. Praha: Grada publishing.

2014

Barbovschi, M. (2014). Dealing with misuse of personal information online – coping measures of children in the EU Kids Online III project. Special issue Communications. The European Journal of Communication Research.

Ševčíková, A., Šerek, J., Barbovschi, M., & Daneback, D. (2014). The Roles of Individual Characteristics and Liberalism in Intentional and Unintentional Exposure to Online Sexual Material Among European Youth: A Multilevel Approach. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 11(2),104-115. doi: 10.1007/s13178-013-0141-6

Smahel, D., Wright, M. F., & Cernikova, M. (2014). Classification of online problematic situations in the context of youths’ development. Communications: European Journal of Communication Research.

Smahel, D., & Wright, M. (2014). The meaning of online problematic situations for children: Results of qualitative cross-cultural investigation in nine European countries. London: EU Kids Online.

David Smahel, Ph.D. is a Professor at the Faculty of Social Studies and the Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. He is a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS: irtis.fss.muni.cz), which researches the social-psychological implications of the internet and technology. Current research focuses on adolescents’ and adults’ internet use, the online risks of children and adolescents, online addictions, digital technology and health, and ICT security. He is the editor of Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace and co-authored the book Digital Youth: The Role of Media in Development (Springer, 2011).

Hana Macháčková, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, where she works at the Faculty of Social Studies. She is member of Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS). Her research interests include online aggression and cyberbullying, online communities, health and digital technology, online participation, or self-disclosure and privacy on the internet.

Lenka Dedkova, Ph.D. is a postdoc researcher at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. She is a member of Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS) and associate editor of Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace. Her main research interests involve online aggression, interacting with unknown people from the Internet, parental mediation, and online security.

Martina Šmahelová, M.A. is a junior researcher at the Institute for Research on Children, Youth and Family, Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University and a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS). Her main interest lies in qualitative data analysis and she studies experiences of children and families in the context of new media, behaviour of children on the internet, and privacy and self-disclosure on the internet. She also works on research in area of health and technologies.

Marie Bedrošová, M.A. is a PhD student of Sociology and Media Studies in the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, and a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS). Her research interests include cyberhate and related online discrimination, with a focus on children and adolescents, she is also interested in qualitative media analysis and participatory culture.

David Šmahel
Professor
Faculty of Social Studies
Masaryk University
Joštova 10
602 00 Brno
Czech Republic
Tel: CZ +420 604 234 898
Email: smahel@fss.muni.cz
www: http://irtis.fss.muni.cz

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