Internettet - nyt medie, nye problematikker? - Medierådet for Børn og ...

SUMMARY
Summary
The purposes of this dissertation are to conduct a qualitative study of Danish parents'
opinions on and handling of their children’s safety and awareness on the Internet in
everyday life and to suggest a future communication campaign to Danish parents. One
which the Media Counsel for Children and Young People is able to use as a part of
their participation in the SAFT-project. The qualitative study consisted of three focus
group interviews with parents of children between the ages of 6-8 years, 9-12 years,
and 13-16 years. The Media Counsel for Children and Young People is planning to use
this study as part of their participation in the SAFT-project. The SAFT-project is a
European research project with the objective to raise awareness about the Internet’s
benefits and dangers concerning adolescents and children.
The main conclusions of the dissertation are that Danish parents are able to handle the
problems that arise concerning their children’s safety on the Internet. Parents feel that
teaching their children to be critical to the content on the Internet, discussing problems
and finding solutions together are an essential role of being a parent. Furthermore, the
parents regulate their children’s usage of and access to the Internet in several ways.
The parents of children in the youngest age group are rarely concerned of their
children’s safety on the Internet. This is because these children have limited reading
and writing skills and are unable to use the Internet on their own. The parents of the
children in the middle age group often help with Internet use, which results in children
rarely using the Internet on their own. The parents with children in the oldest age
group, however, feel their children are more competent Internet-users than they are in
some aspects. However, parents of all age groups in the study are concerned about
their children’s ability to think critically concerning issues of pornography, health and
chat rooms.
In general, the study shows that contrasts between generations exist among the parents
and their children due to parents often having a different understanding of the
Internet’s influence on their children’s lives. These contrasts exist even though the
parents have compound understandings of their children’s use of and safety on the
Internet. One example is that some parents feel the Internet isolates children, while
others find their children’s internet-usage to be a social event. The above results show
that the Media Counsel for Children and Young People can help the Danish parents by
establishing both online and offline forums. These forums provide parents a place to
discuss their concerns and experiences regarding their children’s Internet-usage.