ncgm ireland initial findings report complete

8/10/2019 NCGM Ireland Initial findings report Complete

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Initial ndings from Ireland.

Brian ONeill & Thuy Dinh

Initial Findings

from Ireland

February 2014

CO-Funded


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www.netchildrengomobile.eu


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Net ChildrenGo Mobile

Net Children Go Mobile: initial findings from Ireland 3

Net Children Go Mobile: Initial Findings from Ireland

Brian O'Neill, Thuy Dinh

February 2014

Please cite as: ONeill, B. & Dinh, T. (2014). Net Children Go Mobile: initial findings from Ireland. Dublin:

Dublin Institute of Technology.

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Giovanna Mascheroni, Kjartan lafsson and

members of the Net Children Go Mobile consortium and Simon Grehan for their assistance in producingthis report. Particular thanks are due to Deirdre McDonnell, Gavin OLeary, Breda Connaughton, PatriciaBrennan and Albert Jordan for their support of the project in Ireland. The support of the Department ofEducation and Skills (Central Policy Unit) is hereby gratefully acknowledged. The project is alsosupported under the National Digital Strategy, Phase 1: Digital Engagement (Department ofCommunications, Energy and Natural Resources).


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Net Children Go Mobile: initial findings from Ireland4


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Contents

Summary ......................................................6

1. Introduction ..............................................8

1.1 The Net Children Go Mobile study ..........8

1.2 Methods ...................................................8

1.3 Further Reports .......................................8

2. Access and Use .......................................9

2.1 Where children use the internet .............9

2.2 How children access the internet .........11

2.3 Ownership..............................................13

2.4 Age of first use .......................................14

3. Online activities .....................................16

3.1 Types of online activities.......................16

3.2. Smartphone users ................................17

3.3 Social networking and media sharing

platforms .....................................................18

4. Risk and harm ........................................20

4.1 Overall perception of risk and harm.....20

4.2 Bullying ..................................................21

4.3 Sexual messages ...................................22

4.4 Meeting new people ..............................23

4.5 Sexual images........................................23

4.6 Other inappropriate content................ 24

5. Mediation ............................................... 26

5.1 Parents .................................................. 26

5.2 Peers ...................................................... 27

5.3 Teachers ................................................ 28

6. Conclusions ........................................... 29

7. References ............................................ 30


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Summary

Net Children Go Mobile is a two-year research

project funded under the European CommissionsSafer Internet Programme. Seven countriesparticipate: Demark, Italy, Romania, UnitedKingdom, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium.

The project uses quantitative and qualitativemethodologies to investigate access and use,risks and opportunities of mobile internet use.This report presents the initial findings of thesurvey of children and young peoples use ofmobile internet technologies in Ireland. 500 9-16

year olds were interviewed face-to-face in theirhomes. The fieldwork was carried out in Irelandby Ipsos MRBI in November and December 2013.

Access and Use

Smartphones stand out as the most used

device for internet access on a daily basis by9-16 year olds in all contexts. Smartphones(35%) followed by laptops (29%) and tablets

(27%) are the devices most used most to goonline.

Most internet use is, in fact still at home. 63% of children report using the internetseveral times a day or at least once a day athome.

Just under half or 46% of children access the

internet from their own bedroom on a dailybasis, with 22% saying the do so several timesper day.

Over half (53%) of 9-16 year olds say they

never or almost never use the internet in

school. Just 7% of Irish 9-16 year olds childrenreport using the internet in school on a dailybasis.

Internet access while on the move - such as

on the way to school or when out and about

- is still limited. 87% of children say theynever or almost never do this. Three quartersof young people rely exclusively on free wifi

access to go online using their smartphone.

In Ireland, home games consoles are the

device that 9-16 year olds are likely to own

(44%), followed by smartphones (40%), atablet (28%) or a mobile phone that is not asmartphone (27%).

Activities Entertainment uses (listening to music and

watching video clips online) continue to bethe most popular online activities for all agegroups.

The next most popular use of the internet isvisiting a social networking site,especially sofor teenagers for whom it is with listening tomusic the most reported online activity.

Instant messaging (e.g.,Skype, WhatsApp) is

used daily by more than a third of 13-16 year

olds.

9 in 10 of all 15-16 year olds In Ireland have a

profile on a social networking site.Notably,just under 40% of 11-12 year olds also have asocial networking profile despite the agerestriction of 13 for most social networkingservices. There is a steep rise from age 11-12to age 13-14 where use of social networkingmore than doubles.

8 out of 10 children who use social

networking use Facebook as their main

profile.

10% of 15-16 year olds say they use Twitter

as their primary social networking platform.This contrasts with the UK where 1 in 4children say the profile they use most isTwitter.

Over one third of all 9-16 year olds (36%) have

a profile on a media sharing platform. Instagram is the most popular media

sharing platformand is reported by 42% of 9-16 year olds as the media platform they usemost often. This is followed by YouTube(34%).

Risk and Harm

Overall, 1 in 5 children in Ireland (20%) say

that they have been bothered by something

on the internet in the past year , a doubling ofthe figure reported by EU Kids Online in 2011.A quarter of 13-14 year olds and 37% of older


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15-16 year say they have experiencedsomething that bothered them or wished theyhadnt seen.

22% of children have experienced any form

of bullying on- or offline. 13% of 13-14 year

olds say that they have been bullied on asocial networking site. Girls are more likely toexperience bullying than boys (26% for girlscompared to 17% of boys). 20% of girlscompared to 11% of boys say they were upsetby what happened.

One of the risks that young people most

often encounter is seeing potentially

harmful user-generated content.35% of girlsaged 13-16 have encountered some form ofharmful content such as hate messages(15%), anorexic or bulimic content (14%), self-harm sites (9%); sites discussing suicide 8%and sites where people share theirexperiences with drugs (7%).

47% of older teenagers have seen sexual

images in the past 12 months compared to11% of younger children. About half of olderteenagers who had seen sexual images saidthey were upset by the experience.

10% of 13-14 year olds and 22% of 15-16

year olds report having received sexual

messages online. 4% report being 'very' (1%)or 'a little ' (3%) upset as a consequence.

1 in 5 children (22%) have had contact

online with people they have never met face

to face.

Mediation

Most parents are actively involved in guiding

their childrens internet use: suggesting waysto use the internet safely (82%), explainingwhy websites are good or bad (81%),suggesting ways to behave with others online(74%) or talking about what to do ifsomething bothered the child online (69%).

Peers also offer support but mostly in apractical way, with friends helping each otherto do or find something (51% overall or 81%for teenage girls).

Most teachers also suggest ways to use theinternet safely (81%) or explain why somewebsites are good or bad (77%).


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1. Introduction

1.1 The Net Children Go Mobile study

This report provides the first initial findings from

Ireland of the Net Children Go Mobile study. NetChildren Go Mobile is a two-year research projectfunded by the European Commissions SaferInternet Programme. It builds on previousresearch by the EU Kids Online network intochildrens risks and safety online. Currently sevencountries (Italy, Denmark, Romania, UnitedKingdom, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium)participate in the project.

The aim of Net Children Go Mobile is to studychildren and young peoples use of mobileinternet technologies and to examineconsequences they may have for childrens onlinewelfare. Employing both quantitative andqualitative methodologies, the research focusesspecifically on how new mobile conditions ofinternet access and use (smartphones, tablets,other portable devices and use of wifi) bringgreater or lesser risks to childrens online safety.

1.2 Methods

The first phase of the research uses a quantitativesurvey methodology modelled on the original EUKids Online study.1A total sample of 500 childrenbetween the ages of 9 and 16 were interviewed intheir own homes using a standardisedquestionnaire on access, use, risks and safetyfeatures of mobile internet use.

The fieldwork for the research was carried in

November and December 2013 by Ipsos MRBI. Athree-stage random selection method was used inorder to ensure that the sample is representativeof the internet-using population between the agesof 9 and 16 years old. Inclusion criteria consistedof internet-using children with access to a mobileconnected device (iPhone, other smartphone,Blackberry, mobile games console etc.). Protocolsfor parental consent and child were used. Thestudy received ethical approval from the Dublin

1See w w w eukidsonl ine net for a full description ofthe EU Kids Online project and findings.

Institute of Technologys Research EthicsCommittee2as well from the coordinating partnerUniversit Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore (UCSC)Milan A safety leaflet with information aboutWebwise.ie, Childline and the Irish NationalHotline was left with each household interviewed.

In addition to the survey, qualitative interviewsand focus groups are also planned as part of theresearch. Interviews with groups of young people,parents, teachers and youth workers will takeplace during the first quarter of 2014 and will bepresented in a future report from the project.

1.3 Further Reports

This report is published to coincide with SaferInternet Day in Ireland on February 11, 2014.

At the same time, a report with findings from 5European countries (Italy, Denmark, Romania,United Kingdom and Ireland) is also released tocoincide with Safer Internet Day (see Mascheroni,G. & lafsson, K. (2014) Net Children Go Mobile:risks and opportunities.

Full findings from the Irish dataset will be

published in a later report planned for June 2014.In addition, more detailed analysis of thequantitative and qualitative data will beundertaken to explore the different dimensions ofaccess and use, activities, risk and harm, andmediation.

2See:http://dit.ie/researchandenterprise/integrityethicsindit/ethicscommittee/


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2. Access and Use

The proliferation of mobile connected devices hasgreatly expanded children and young peoples

opportunities to go online and access the internetoutside the confines of the home. Research hasshown that the social context of internet accessand use is a major factor in shaping children'sonline experiences (S. Livingstone, Haddon,Grzig, & lafsson, 2011). With mobile, always-onconnectivity, the locations, time spent and waysof using the internet are likely to intensify, creatingnew challenges for parents, educators and policymakers (Haddon, 2013).

The Net Children Go Mobile uses three indicatorsto capture the different contexts of internet accessand use: Location of use: own bedroom at home; at

home but not in own bedroom; at school; inother places such as libraries, cafs andrelatives' or friends' homes; when out andabout or on the way to school and otherplaces.

Frequency of use: several times each day,

daily, at least every week, never or almostnever. Devices used to go online: desktop

computers, laptop computers, mobilephones, smartphones, tablets, otherhandheld devices such as iPod Touch, e-bookreaders and games consoles.

2.1 Where children use the internet

The EU Kids Online survey reported in 2011 that

the locations from which children access theinternet were diversifying (Livingstone et al., 2011).This trend is continuing according to Net ChildrenGo Mobile data. A wider range of devices andincreasing amounts of time spent onlinefacilitates more intensive use of the internet frommore locations than is possible with a fixed lineconnection.

Table 1 shows how often children use the internetat the locations asked about, bearing in mind that

they generally use it in more than one location.

Table 1: How often children use the internetat different places

Several

times

each day

Daily or

almost

daily

At least

every

week

Never or

almost

never

Own bedroom 22 24 14 40

At home but not inown room

25 38 27 10

At school 1 6 40 53

Other places (home

of friends/relatives

libraries, cafs etc.)

3 8 36 53

When out and about,

on the way to school

or other places

2 6 5 87

Q1a-e: Looking at this card, please tell me how often you goonline or use the internet (from a computer, a mobile phone,a smartphone, or any other device you may use to go online)at the following locations.Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland).

Most internet use, as revealed in our data, is infact still at home. 63% of children reportusing the internet several times a day or at

least once a day in a room which is not theirprivate room. This is somewhat higher than awider European average (5 countries) of 59%.

Just under half or 46% of children access the

internet from their own bedroom on a daily

basis,with 22% saying the do so several timesper day. 40% of children say they do not usethe internet in their own bedroom or a privateroom at home.

Going online from school is less common (seebelow) and just over half (53%) say they neveror almost never use the internet in school.

Surprisingly, internet access while on themove - such as on the way to school or whenout and about - is still limited. 87% ofchildren say they never or almost never do

this.

Table 2 shows the distribution of daily internetaccess in the locations asked about by gender,age and country, and helps us to understand inmore detail the changing contexts of internet use


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Table 2: Daily internet use at different placesby age, gender and country

Q1a-e: Looking at this card, please tell me how often you goonline or use the internet (from a computer, a mobile phone,a smartphone, or any other device you may use to go online)at the following locations

Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland)

Daily internet use is strongly differentiated

by age with teenagers having more accesseverywhere. Half of all 9-16 year olds inIreland use the internet on a daily basis risingto three quarters of all teenagers.

Accessing the internet from a young

persons own room is associated more with

teenagers. There is a rapid rise in thedevelopment of a bedroom culture (Sonia

Livingstone & Bober, 2006) from 13 years andupwards. The overall average of own roominternet use is however lower compared tothe five other European countries in the study.

Use of the internet when out and about, evenfor teenagers, is lower than other countries(with the exception of Romania) suggestingthat mobile internet access has yet to makea strong impact on Irish children.

Gender differences in access are minor,though slightly more girls than boys reportaccessing the internet in other places andwhen out and about.

Figure 1 shows the comparison between homeand school access across gender, age groups andcountries.

Figure 1: Comparison between home and

school access

Q1a, Q1b and Q1c: Looking at this card, please tell me howoften you go online or use the internet (from a computer, amobile phone, a smartphone, or any other device you mayuse to go online) at the following locations.Base: All children who use the internet.

Just 7% of Irish 9-16 year olds children

report using the internet in school on a daily

basis. This is the lowest of all 5 countries inthe study. It is below the United Kingdomwhere nearly a third (29%) use the interneteveryday in school and substantially belowDenmark where 61% report daily use of theinternet in school.

The gap between home and school access tothe internet is particularly stark. At a timewhen greater use of technology in educationhas been widely advocated, as has the need

to enhance young peoples digital skills, thelow use of the internet in schools for all agegroups will be of concern to policy makers.

73

81

74

94

79

87

92

62

53

73

73

7

8

11

61

29

16

9

5

1

6

9

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IE

Italy

Romania

Denmark

UK

15-16 yrs

13-14 yrs

11-12 yrs

9-10 yrs

Girls

Boys

% Daily use at school

% Daily use at home (bedroom or elswhere)

Ownbedroom

At home

but not

ownroom

Atschool

Otherplaces

When

out andabout

Boys 48 60 9 9 7

Girls 45 66 6 14 9

9-10 yrs 11 50 1 11

11-12 yrs 31 57 5 3 2

13-14 yrs 77 75 9 17 15

15-16 yrs 77 73 16 14 20

Denmark 77 76 61 38 26

Italy 58 52 8 18 30

Romania 60 40 11 9 8

UK 64 63 29 22 33

IE 46 63 7 11 8


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It is also the case that daily use of the internetby Irish young people remains somewhatbelow other European countries. OnlyDenmark within the current study representsa full integration of internet use both at homeand in school.

2.2 How children access the internetThe shift towards greater smartphone use foronline access and the rise of a post-desktopmedia ecology (Mascheroni & lafsson, 2013) isevident when we look at the devices children useto go online in each of the locations asked about.

Table 3 shows which devices children use on a

daily basis to access the internet in differentplaces.

Table 3: Devices used to go online daily atdifferent places

Own

bedroom

At home

but not

own room

At

school

Other

places

When

out and

about

A desktop

computer (PC)5 14 3 1 N/A

A laptop

computer13 22 2 2 N/A

A mobile

phone9 10 1 2

1

A smartphone 28 31 4 13 9

A tablet 20 24 3 3 0

E-book reader 3 3 0 0 0

Other

handheld

devices

9 11 1 3 1

Home gamesconsoles3

10 12 1 5 0

Access at least

once a day46 63 7 11 8

Q2 a-h When you use the internet these days at , how oftendo you usethe following devicesto goonline?Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland).

Smartphones stand out as the most used

3 The questionnaire asked about the use of home gamesconsoles but the fact that 8% of respondents say that they

use home game consoles when out and about might bothreflect the ambiguous meaning of that phrase or that somerespondents are thinking about portable versions of devicesthat mostly are used in the home

device for internet access on a daily basis by

9-16 year olds in all contexts.

In a domestic context, just under 60% usetheir smartphone to go online at least daily. Itis also the device most used to go online in

other locations. Other portable connected devices include

tablets which are the next most used device

in the home by (44%);home games consoles(22%); and other handheld devices such asiPod Touch (20%).

Nearly a third (28%) also use a smartphone

for internet access in the privacy of their

own room.

Laptop computers are also used on a dailybasis by a significant number of children. 35%of children use a laptop at home compared

to the 19% who use a desktop PC on a dailybasis.

Table 4 shows how daily use of different devicesvaries by age and gender.

Table 4: Daily use of devices by age andgender

9-12 years 13-16 years

Boys Girls Boys Girls All

A desktop

computer

(PC)

22 7 22 25 18

A laptop

computer19 30 36 30 29

A mobile

phone that is

not asmartphone

3 7 24 22 13

A smartphone 20 19 44 61 35

A tablet 29 21 24 33 27

E-book reader 7 2 3 3 4

Other

handheld

devices

7 10 21 16 13

Home games

consoles

28 2 43 3 18

Q2 a-h When you use the internet these days at , how oftendo you usethe following devicesto goonline?Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland)

Smartphones (35%) followed by laptops

(29%) and tablets (27%) are the devicesmost used most to go online. Desktop


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computers now fall into joint fourth place fordaily internet access along with home gamesconsoles (18%) underlining the shift to a post-desktop ecology.

Daily smartphone use is particularly

associated with age with a notable increasein use for teenagers from 20% to 44% for

teenage boys and 61% for teenage girls.

Certain devices are seemingly highlygendered such as home games consoleswhich, unsurprisingly, are almost exclusivelyfor boys. By contrast, teenage girls usesmartphones and tablets more.

Figure 2 compares the daily use of smartphonesand laptop computers by age, gender andcountry.

Figure 2: Daily use of smartphones andlaptops by gender, age and country

Q2b and Q2d When you use the internet these days at ,how often do you usethe following devicesto goonline?Base: All children who use the internet

Daily use of either smartphones or laptops is

differentiated by age with use for eachsteadily rising through each age group.

Of the two, smartphones are the most usedfor daily internet use. With the exception of9-10 year olds, all other children and young

people are more likely to use theirsmartphones than use a laptop to go online.

Average daily use of smartphones is at thelower end of the spectrum of the 5 countriessurveyed. Findings for older teens howeverare closer to the norm.

Price structures and packages for mobile internetaccess vary widely across the five countries in thesurvey. Table 5 examines the different kinds of

services used by young people in Ireland toconnect to the internet.

Table 5: Ways of connecting to the internetfrom mobile phones/smartphones by age,gender and country

% Mobile

web

package

and free

wifi

% Mobile

web

package

only

%

Free

wifi

only

% Phone

does not

connect to

the

internet

Boys 4 7 67 21Girls 5 7 81 7

9-10 yrs N/A N/A 73 27

11-12 yrs 2 3 73 22

13-14 yrs 5 9 79 6

15-16 yrs 8 11 70 11

Denmark 36 19 21 23

Italy 51 14 28 7

Romania 32 24 18 26

UK 15 24 20 41

IE 5 7 75 14

Q8 a-c Are you able to connect to the internet from yoursmartphone / mobile phone and if so, how do you connect?

Base: All children who own or have for private use a mobilephone or a smartphone (Ireland)

Three quarters of young people rely

exclusively on free wifi access to go online

using their smartphone. Few use mobile webpackages or incur data charges for onlineaccess.

This contrasts sharply with the other countriesin the survey where there is much wider use ofmobile web packages in combination withwifi.

While there is little difference between agegroups in the use of free wifi, gender stands

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3. Online activities

Research has shown that young peoples onlineactivities tend to follow a ladder of opportunities

(Sonia Livingstone, Haddon, Gorzig, & lafsson,2011), progressing from basic activities such asdoing schoolwork and playing games to using theinternet interactively for communications and formore advanced and creative uses.

EU Kids Online data for Ireland has shown thatOnline activities for 9-16 year olds in Ireland fallsubstantially below European norms leavingmany opportunities unexplored with over half(57%) not going beyond information and

entertainment activities (ONeill & Dinh, 2012a).Net Children Go Mobile asked children aged 9-16about their online activities in order to trackchanges since the last survey in Ireland (ONeill,Grehan, & lafsson, 2011)and to assess how therange of activities may vary with greater mobileand convergent media use.

3.1 Types of online activities

Table 9 shows how many children do each of arange of activities, by age and gender.

Entertainment uses (listening to music and

watching video clips online) continue to be

the most popular online activities for all age

groups.

The next most popular use of the internet is

visiting a social networking site, especially sofor teenagers for whom it is with listening tomusic the most reported online activity.

Instant messaging (e.g.,Skype, WhatsApp) is

used daily by more than a third of 13-16 year

olds.

Using the internet for schoolwork on a dailybasis is relatively low but is consistent withthe low usage of the internet in schoolsreported in this survey.

Table 9: Daily online activities (all types ofaccess) by age and gender


% Children who Boys Girls Boys Girls All

Listened to music 31 32 65 78 50

Watched video clips (e.g.

on YouTube, iTunes,Vimeo, etc.)

40 27 56 75 49

Visited a social

networking profile14 11 68 76 40

Checked information or

satisfied your curiosity

when something

interested you

19 14 28 45 26

Played games on your

own or against the

computer

24 20 36 12 23

Used instant messaging 10 10 35 38 22

Used the internet for

schoolwork 11 6 28 39 20Downloaded free Apps 11 16 15 21 16

Downloaded music or

films5 6 19 31 15

Used file sharing sites 4 11 8 24 12

Played games with other

people on the internet11 2 28 7 11

Watched broadcast

television / movie online4 6 14 15 10

Published photos, videos

or music to share with

others

1 5 7 29 10

Read/watched the news

on the internet 5 2 8 17 8

Published a message on

a website or a blog1 8 7 13 7

Looked up maps /

timetables5 1 7 16 7

Visited a chatroom 1 2 3 16 5

Read an ebook 6 2 3 10 5

Registered my

geographical location2 5 10 4

Used a webcam 1 8 1 6 4

Created a character, pet

or avatar2 8 2 1 3

Spent time in a virtualworld 2 3 2 1 2

Bought things online 1 3 4 2

Purchased Apps 1 1 1 1

Read QR codes/scan

barcodes1

Q9a-d, 10a-e, 11a-e, 12a-k For each of the things I read out,please tell me how often you have done it in the past month.Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland)

Gender differences in activities undertakenare interesting: teenage girls typically domore than boys in all categories with theexception of gaming which is highly gendered


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and male-dominated activity.

Activities that are typical of, though notexclusive to, mobile convergent media suchas downloading free apps (16%) or using geo-location (4%), purchasing apps (1%) or

reading QR codes (


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3.3 Social networking and media sharingplatforms

Social networking is one of the most popularactivities undertaken up by children on a dailybasis. Children who also use a smartphone or

other mobile device are more likely to engage insocial networking on a daily basis.

Figure 5 presents findings on the number ofchildren who have one or more profile on socialnetwork sites.

Figure 5: Children with a SNS profile bygender, age and country

Q16 a-f Do you have your own profile on a social networkingsite(e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that you currently use and ifyou have a profile/account, do you have just one or morethan one?Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland)

As shown in Figure 5, 54% of children inIreland have at least one profile on a social

networking site.

Use of social networking sites is strongly

associated with age. Fewer younger childrenhave a profile on a social networking site.There is a steep rise from age 11-12 to age

13-14 where use of social networking more

thandoubles.

Gender differences are not particularlyevident though slightly more girls than boysare active on social media.

There is considerable variation betweencountries, principally due to differences in use

of social networking among younger users(see below). For older teenagers, socialnetworking activity is almost universal in allcountries.

Table 11 looks more closely at the use of socialnetworking by age in each of the five countries inthe Net Children Go Mobile survey.

Table 11: Children with a profile on SNS bycountry and by age

9-10 yrs 11-12 yrs 13-14 yrs 15-16 yrs

Denmark 41 81 98 99

Ireland 14 39 83 91

Italy 15 52 90 93

Romania 50 80 86 92

UK 19 35 73 88

All 28 57 85 93

Q16 a-f Do you have your own profile on a social networkingsite(e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that you currently use and ifyou have a profile/account, do you have just one or morethan one?

Base: All children who use the internet

9 in 10 of all 15-16 year olds in Ireland have a

profile on a social networking site. Notably,

just under 40% of 11-12 year olds also have a

social networking profile despite the age

restriction of 13 for most social networking

services.

The lower diffusion of social networking inIreland, Italy and the UK is mainly due tolower rates of underage use in thesecountries.

With considerable attention given to the issueof underage use of social network sites, theevidence would suggest that such

campaigns are beginning to have an effect.

Figure 6 shows which social networking profile ismost used by children, by gender and age.

54

64

79

81

58

91

83

39

14

5750

0 20 40 60 80 100

IE

Italy

Romania

Denmark

UK

15-16yrs

13-14yrs

11-12yrs

9-10yrs

GirlsBoys


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Figure 6: Which social networking profile isthe one children use most by gender, ageand country

Q17 What social network is the profile/account that you usethe most on?Base: All children who use SNS (Ireland).

Facebook is still the social network site thatchildren are most likely to use with smallvariations by age and gender. 8 out of 10children who use social networking use

Facebook as their main profile.

7% of children overall and 10% of 15-16 yearolds say they use Twitter as their primary

social networking platform.

This contrasts with the UK where 1 in 4

children say the profile they use most is

Twitter. The popularity of Twitter varies bygender, age and country, and is higher amongboys (though girls in Ireland), teenagers, andespecially UK children. See (Mascheroni &lafsson, 2014)for further details.

Younger children use a diverse range of otherservices (not specified), presumably referringto services designed for their age group.

Given the ease with which smartphones and othermobile devices can be used to create, capture andupload media content, we also asked children ifthey have a profile on a media sharing platformsuch as YouTube, Instagram or Flickr.

Figure 7 shows the number of children with anaccount on one of these platforms by gender andage.

Figure 7: Children with a profile on a mediasharing platform by gender and age

Q23 a-f Do you have your own profile/account on a mediasharing platform (photo and video) such as YouTube,Instagram, Flickr, that you currently use and if you have aprofile/account, do you have just one or more than one?Base: All children who use the internet

Over one third of all 9-16 year olds (36%)

have a profile on a media sharing platform.Use of such platforms is associated with ageand rises from a third of 11-12 year olds tohalf of all 13-14 year olds.

As with social networking, gender differencesare slight with somewhat more girls likely toreport a profile on a media sharing platform.

Instagram is the most popular media

sharing platform and is reported by 42% of

9-16 yearolds as the platform they use mostoften. This is followed by YouTube (34%). Afurther 25% use other media sharing services.

82

87

85

74

48

79

85

7

10

5

6

10

8

6

11

3

10

20

43

13

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

IE

15-16yrs

13-14yrs

11-12yrs

9-10yrs

Girls

Boys

Facebook Twitter Other

36

56

49

29

17

38

34

0 20 40 60

IE

15-16yrs

13-14yrs

11-12yrs

9-10yrs

Girls

Boys


20/32



4. Risk and harm

Online risky experiences reported by children, asevidenced by the EU Kids Online survey

(Livingstone et al., 2011), do not necessarily resultin harm. Experiences of risk are an inherent part ofgrowing up, learning resilience and gaining moreskills. As argued by EU Kids Online, it is childrenwho have less exposure to both opportunities andrisks that tend to be more bothered when theyhave a negative experience online (Hasebrink,Grzig, Haddon, Kalmus, & Livingstone, 2011).

In order to measure the incidence of online risksand harm, we asked children who use the internet

if they have "seen or experienced something on theinternet that has bothered them in some way",where bothered was defined as something thatmade you feel uncomfortable, upset, or feel that

you shouldnt have seen it. Additionally, childrenwere asked if they had encountered a range ofonline risks and, then, if they had been botheredby these.

The measurement of risky and harmful online

experiences largely draws on the EU Kids Onlineframework and methodology (Livingstone et al.,2011). Similarly, harm was measured subjectivelyin terms of the severity of children's responses toonline risky experiences.

Continuities with the EU Kids Online project werealso ensured both at the level of theadministration of the survey and in the design ofthe questionnaire. In order to maximise thequality of child's answer and ensure their own

privacy, the survey was conducted face-to-face inthe home, but sensitive questions were self-completed by the child. The wording of thequestionnaire was refined on the basis ofcognitive testing with children of different age-groups and gender in each country, in order toensure children's comprehension and avoidadults' terminology (like 'sexting'). Furthermore,particularly emotive terms, such as 'stranger' or'bullying' were also avoided.

4.1 Overall perception of risk and harm

Children were asked "In the past 12 months, haveyou seen or experienced something on theinternet that has bothered you in some way? Forexample made you feel uncomfortable, upset, orfeel that you shouldnt have seen it".

Figure shows children's accounts of problematicexperiences by age and gender.

Figure 8: Online experiences that havebothered children by age and gender

Q30 In the PAST 12 MONTHS, have you seen or experiencedsomething on the internet that has bothered you in someway? For example made you feel uncomfortable, upset, orfeel that you shouldnt have seen it.Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland).

Overall, 1 in 5 children in Ireland (20%) say

that they have been bothered by something

on the internet in the past year. While it isstill a minority of children, this is almostdouble the percentage (11%) reported by 9-

16 year olds in for the EU Kids Online survey(ONeill et al., 2011).

More girls (23%) report being bothered than

boys (16%).The youngest children, aged 9-10years, are the least likely to have beenbothered by something online (9%) comparedwith older teenagers.

A quarter of 13-14 year olds and 37% of 15-

16 year olds say they have experienced

something that bothered them or wished

they hadnt seen.

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4.2 Bullying

Being bullied online is one of a number ofconduct risks that has attracted much attentionand given rise to considerable public concern. Inorder to avoid any emotive connotations and

maintain consistency with previous definitionsused by EU Kids Online, bullying was defined inthis survey as follows:

Sometimes children or teenagers say or do hurtful

or nasty things to someone and this can often be

quite a few times on different days over a period of

time, for example. This can include: teasing

someone in a way this person does not like; hitting,

kicking or pushing someone around; leaving

someone out of things.

Following this introduction, children were askedwhether: someone has acted in this kind of hurtfulor nasty way to you in the past 12 months. In orderto gauge the severity of the impact, children werethen asked how upset they had been when theyexperienced this conduct.

Figure shows that 22% of children haveexperienced any form of bullying on- or offline.

16% say they were 'very' (6%) or 'a little upset'

(10%) by what happened.

Girls are more likely to experience bullying

than boys (26% for girls compared to 17% of

boys). Girls are more likely to be upset bywhat happened: 20% of girls compared to11% of boys say they were upset by what

happened.

The impact of age is noteworthy. Theyoungest age group of 9-10 years and 13-14

year olds experience the most bullying (27%in each age group).

It is the youngest age group who report thehighest rates of harm with 18% of 9-10 yearolds saying they were very upset by what

happened.

Figure 9: Child has been bullied online oroffline in past 12 months

Q32 In the PAST 12 MONTHS, has someone treated you in thiskind of way and if so, how upset were you about happened?

Base: All children who use the internet (Ireland).

Bullying can occur in many ways. Table 12 showsthe ways in which children have actually beenbullied.

In this survey, more bullying takes placeacross a variety of internet locations than

happens face-to-face.

5% of young people overall but 13% of 13-14

year olds say that they have been bullied on

a social networking site. This compares with6% of children overall who report that they

were bullied face-to-face in the past twelve

months.

Gaming websites (3%), instant messaging

(2%) and mobile phone calls (2%) are the

other most common forms of cyberbullying.

6

1

3

2

18

5

7

10

8

16

7

8

15

4

6

7

8

6

2

6

6

78

84

73

85

73

74

83

IE

15-16yrs

13-14yrs

11-12yrs

9-10yrs

Girls

Boys

Yes, I was very upset

Yes, I was a little upset

Yes, but I was not at all upsetNo, I haven't experienced this


22/32



Table 12: Ways in which children have beenbullied in past 12 months, by age

Age Gender

9-

10

11-

12

13-

14

15-

16Boys Girls All

Face to face 7.1 4.5 7.8 4.5 6.9 5.5 6.2By mobile phone

calls

5 1.1 3.2 0.4 1.6

By messages sent

to me on my

phone (SMS, text

or MMS)

1.4 1.1 0.4 0.8 0.6

On a social

working site

12.9 9 1.2 9.0 5.2

On a media

sharing platform

3.5 1.1 0.4 2.3 1.2

By instant

messaging

4.3 2.1 3.2 0.4 1.8

In a chat room 0By email 0

On a gaming

website

6.4 0.8 0.7 4.5 2.4 3.5 3

On a question

answer app/

platform (e.g.

Ask.fm)

1.4 0.8 0.4 0.4

By a message

using Snapchat

0

Q33 If someone has treated you in this kind of way, how did ithappen? Multiple responses allowed.Base: All children who use the internet

Age differences are notable: the youngestchildren aged 9-10 are more likely to report

being bullied face-to-face or on a gaming

website (7% and 6% respectively).

By contrast among teenagers (13-14 and 15-

16 years old) cyberbullying is more likely to

occur on a social networking platform.

Gender differences are also noteworthy:somewhat more boys than girls report beingbullied face to face, by mobile phone callsand by instant messaging. In the case of socialnetworking, however, girls are much morelikely to report being bullied.

Despite the controversy that has attached toquestion and answer apps such as Ask.fm,only a small number (less than 2% of 13-14year olds) report being bullied on such a

platform.

4.3 Sexual messages

Use of the internet for the exchange of sexualmessages, whether in the context of a romanticrelationship or more negatively as a form of cyber

bullying is a topic that has received increasedattention (Lenhart, 2009). In keeping with the EUKids Online survey, this practice, more commonlylabelled sexting, was defined as follows: "sexualmessages or images. By this we mean talk about

having sex or images of people naked or having

sex. Here are some questions about this. Think

about any way in which you use the internet and

your mobile phone/smartphone".

Respondents were then asked: "In the past 12

months, have you received sexual messages of thiskind (this could be words, pictures or videos) and if

so, how upset were you about happened? Think

about any way in which you use the internet and

your mobile phone/smartphone."4 For ethicalreasons, this question was not asked of 9-10 yearsold.

Figure 10 shows how children answered thisquestion by gender and age:

Overall, 11% of children have received sexualmessages of any kind, and 4% report being

'very' (1%) or 'a little ' (3%) upset as a

consequence. 7% of boys and a similarproportion of girls say they were not upset bythe experience.

While the numbers saying they had beenupset are small, girls rather than boys weremore likely to say that they had been upset bythe experience.

Receiving sexual messages increases with age:while just 4% of children aged 11-12 are likelyto say they have received messages of thiskind, 10% of 13-14 year olds and 22% of 15-16 year olds report having received such

messages.

4 Compared to the EU Kids Online survey, the question was

rephrased: while the original question asked children if theyhave "seen or received sexual messages" we excluded theword seen as potentially misleading (it was thought to leadto potential confusion with sexual images.


23/32



Figure 10: Child has received sexualmessages online in past 12 months (age 11+)

Q42 In the PAST 12 MONTHS, have you received sexualmessages of this kind (this could be words, pictures orvideos) and if so, how upset were you about happened?Base: All children aged 11-16 who use the internet.

4.4 Meeting new people

An area for concern for parents and carers is who

their children may come into contact with online.Stranger danger is one formulation of this andhas led to considerable anxiety that youngpeople's online communication may encouragethem to meet contacts offline and end up beingabused in a face-to face encounter. Previousresearch has shown, however, that the risk ofharm from face-to-face contact with someonemet online is low (Livingstone et al., 2011).

In the EU Kids Online survey (2011), it wasrevealed many children do make contact withpeople online they do not know offline and thatthis results from the inherent social nature ofonline communication. Net Children Go MobileOne follows this approach and asked children ifthey ever had contact on the internet (on allplatforms/devices) with someone they had notmet face to face before. Figure 11 shows thenumber of children in Ireland who have in been incontact on the internet with people they have

never met face to face before, by age and gender.

Figure 11: Child has been in contact withsomeone not met face to face before

Q37 In the PAST 12 MONTHS, have you ever had contact onthe internet (on all platforms/devices) with someone you hadnot met face to face before? This could have been by email,chat rooms, social networking sites, instant messaging orgaming sites.Base: All children who use the internet.

1 in 5 children (22%) have had contact

online with people they have never met face

to face.

More boys than girls report being in contactwith people they do not know offline. The agetrend is also marked: contact with people metonline increases with age, ranging from 13%of children aged 9-10 years old to 38% of

teenagers aged 15-16.

However, contact with people met online is not,per se, negative or risky: rather, it often provideschildren with an opportunity to share interestsand hobbies. Moreover, not every online contactleads to an offline encounter, and, moreimportantly, not every face-to-face meeting with

someone met on the internet has harmfulconsequences. In the case of Ireland, fewer than4% had gone to meet someone offline they firstmet online.

4.5 Sexual images

Previous research by EU Kids Online revealed that1 in 4 children has come across pornographiccontent, and just 14% have accidentally or

intentionally encountered sexual images online(Livingstone et al., 2011). The data also showedthat, while seeing sexual images is more commonamong boys and older teenagers, younger

1

1

1

3

13

4

6

7

9

9

7

7

89

78

90

96

86

92

IE

15-16yrs

13-14yrs

11-12yrs

Girls

Boys



Yes, but I was not at all upset

No, I haven't experienced this

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children and girls are more likely to be botheredfrom what they have encountered.

Drawing on the EU Kids Online methodology,questions about pornography were introduced inthe Net Children Go Mobile Study in the following

way. "In the past year, you will have seen lots ofdifferent images pictures, photos, videos.

Sometimes, these might be obviously sexual for

example, showing people having sex, or naked

people in sexy poses5. You might never have seen

anything like this, or you may have seen something

like this on a mobile phone, in a magazine, on the

TV, on a DVD or on the internet, on whatever device

you use to go online".

Figure 12 shows how seeing sexual images on andoffline varies by gender, age and country

Figure 12: Child has seen sexual imagesonline or offline in past 12 months

Q35 In the PAST 12 MONTHS, have you seen anything of thiskind and if so, how upset were you by what you saw?Base: All children who use the internet age 11-16.

5 The original text in the EU Kids Online questionnairestated: "In the past year, you will have seen lots ofdifferent images pictures, photos, videos. Sometimes,these might be obviously sexual for example,showing people naked or people having sex". Wechanged it into "naked people in sexy poses" becausethe cognitive testing and the researchers' experiencesuggested that naked images are not necessarilyassociated with pornographic material in all countries.

Overall, 21% of children say that they have

seen sexual images in the past 12 months,

whether online or offline.

Seeing sexual images is primarily related toage: 47% of older teenagers have seen

sexual images in the past 12 monthscompared to 11% of younger children.

Of those who have seen sexual content on oroffline, 8% of children (or less than half ofthose who encountered sexually explicit

images) were bothered by this experience.

While, as we have seen, girls and boys areequally exposed to sexual images, girls aremore likely to be 'very' (3%) or 'a little' (7%)

upset by what they have seen.

About half of older teenagers who had seen

sexual images said they were upset by the

experience. The proportion of those harmedrises with younger age groups: as many wereupset as not upset among 11-12 year olds,rising to a proportion of 3 to 1 who had beenupset among 9-10 year olds.

4.6 Other potentially harmful content

Web 2.0 has enabled the uploading and sharing of

vast amounts of so-called user generatedaccount (UGC). While much user generatedcontent offers new opportunities for creativeexpression and is an essential component ofdigital literacy, some UGC may be problematic,harmful or age-inappropriate for younger viewers.

EU Kids Online reported in 2011 that exposure topotentially harmful content was a commonexperience for children (Livingstone et al., 2011)though it has received less attention among policymakers and researchers than bullying, sexting,meeting strangers and pornography.

In the Net Children Go Mobile survey, we askedchildren: "In the past 12 months, have you seenwebsites where people..." For ethical reasons, thisquestion was not been addressed to 9-10 yearolds.

Table 10 presents an overview of the kinds of

problematic content children have come across,and how this varies by age. Overall, 21% ofchildren report seeing potentially harmful UGC

online making this one of the most common

2

1

2

3

2

3

2

6

14

1

4

6

7

4

13

32

18

7

3

13

14

79

53

79

86

89

78

80

IE

15-16yrs

13-14yrs

11-12yrs

9-10yrs

Girls

Boys



Yes, but I was not at all upset

No, I haven't experienced this


25/32



risks that children encounter.

The most common type of negative content

which children report encountering is hate

and discriminatory messages (15%) and

anorexic or bulimic content (14%).

Other forms of harmful content which youngpeople encounter include: self-harm sites(9%); sites discussing suicide 8%; and sites

where people share their experiences with

drugs (7%)

Seeing negative user generated increases withage: 16% of children aged 11-12 years haveencountered one or more of the content listedcompared with 23% of 13-16 year olds.

Teenage girls report encountering harmfulcontent the most: 35% of girls aged 13-16have encountered one of the forms of

content listed.

Table 10: Child has seen potentially harmfuluser-generated content on websites in past12 months, by age(age 11+)

11-12 years 13-16 years% Seen websites in

past 12 months

where people... Boys Girls Boys Girls All

Discuss ways ofphysically harming

or hurting

themselves

6 2 5 17 9

Discuss ways of

committing suicide9 5 14 8

Promote eating

disorders (such as

being very skinny,

anorexic or bulimic)

19 11 3 21 14

Publish hate

messages that

attack certain

groups orindividuals

14 6 11 23 15

Talk about or share

their experiences of

taking drugs

10 2 5 9 7

Has seen such

material at all on

any websites

17 15 12 35 21

Q44 In the PAST 12 MONTHS, have you seen websites wherepeople discussBase: All children who use the internet age 11-16.


26/32



5. Mediation

The final section of this short report deals withmediation. Mediation in this context refers to the

different ways that parents, teachers and peersmonitor, guide or otherwise support youngpeoples internet use. It may take a variety offorms ranging from actively engaging with thechilds use of the internet, promoting safe andresponsible internet use, regulating the amount oftime spent online or restricting through technicalmeans the kinds of activities undertaken.

Previous research has shown that Ireland haspracticed high levels of restrictive mediation,including setting rules and regulating time spentonline, location of use and online activities(ONeill & Dinh, 2012b). Ireland is included in thecluster of countries classified by EU Kids Online asprotected by restrictions indicating that there isscope for developing more active forms ofmediation of safety and internet use (Helsper,Kalmus, Hasebrink, Sagvari, & Haan, 2013).

5.1 ParentsTable 11 shows the different forms of activemediation of internet use, as reported by children,and variations by age and gender.

Nearly three quarters of parents talk to their

children about what they do on the internet

(71%), making this the most popular way toactively mediate childrens internet use.

Most children also say that their parents stay

nearby while they are online (64%). Other strategies such as sitting with the child

while he/she is online or doing sharedactivities are adopted by about a third ofparents.

Active mediation is structured by age, withparents engaging in considerably more activemediation of younger childrens use of theinternet.

Gender differences are smaller. However, inthe case of teenage girls, parents appear tobe considerably more involved than with

teenage boys.

Table 11: Parents active mediation of thechilds internet use, by age and gender

9-12 years 13-16 yearsDo your parents

sometimes: Boys Girls Boys Girls All

Talk to you about

what you do on the

internet

79 79 46 77 71

Sit with you while

you use the internet48 50 16 24 36

Stay nearby while

you use the internet80 80 37 51 64

Encourage you to

explore and learn

things on the

internet on your

own

63 42 29 40 44

Do shared activities

together with you on

the internet

49 38 20 20 33

Q53 Does your parent / do either of your parents>sometimesBase: All children who use the internet.

Parents mediation of children's internet safety isshown in Table 12:

Table 12: Parents active mediation of the

childs internet safety, by age and gender9-12 years 13-16 yearsHave parents ever

done: Boys Girls Boys Girls All

Helped you when

something is

difficult to do or find

on the internet

89 82 51 65 73

Explained why some

websites are good or

bad

84 86 68 83 81

Suggested ways to

use the internet

safely

88 82 67 86 82

Suggested ways to

behave towards

other people online

73 73 66 81 74

Helped you in the

past when

something has

bothered you on the

internet

49 46 37 56 47

In general, talked to

you about what you

would do if

something on the

internet ever

bothered you

67 72 51 84 69

Q54 Has your parent / have either of your parents ever doneany of the following things with you?Base: All children who use the internet.


27/32



According to the children interviewed, mostparents suggest ways to use the internet

safely (82%) and explain why websites are

good or bad (81%).

Many also take an active role in suggesting

ways to behave with others online (74%) ortalked about what to do if something

bothered the child online (69%).

Age and gender differences are noteworthy:younger children receive considerably more

support than teenagers, especially boys.

Teenage girls, as above, in general receive

more support than teenage boys.

5.2 Peers

Peer support also plays a crucial role in mediationof internet safety. Previous research from EU KidsOnline shows that young people will often turn totheir friends for support when they experience aproblem online.

Table 13 shows how peers engage in active

mediation of children's internet safety, by age andgender:

Most peer support takes the form of offering

support in a practical way, with friendshelping each other when something is difficultto do or find something (51% overall or 81%for teenage girls).

By contrast, peers are less likely to givesafety advice or to help cope with a negative

online experience. Just a quarter of peers

suggest ways to use the internet safely.

Teenage girls do tend to offer more support.58% suggest ways to behave to others

online and 45% suggest ways to use the

internet safely.

Table 13: Friends active mediation of childsinternet safety, by age and gender


Have friends ever: Boys Girls Boys Girls All

Helped you when

something is

difficult to do or findon the internet

48 45 64 81 59

Explained why some


bad

15 23 32 46 28

Suggested ways to

use the internet

safely

12 18 30 45 26

Suggested ways to

behave towards

other people online

14 30 39 58 34

Helped you in the

past when

something hasbothered you on the

internet

21 20 40 54 32


you about what you

would do if

something on the

internet ever

bothered you

13 22 35 66 33

Q58 Have your friends ever done any of these things? Pleasesay yes or no to each of the following...Base: All children who use the internet.


28/32



5.3 Teachers

Finally, teachers, it is widely recognised, play apivotal role in supporting young peoples internetuse and teaching principles of internet safety.

Table 14 provides an overview of the ways inwhich teachers are reported by children to havesupported their internet use.

Table 14: Teachers active mediation of thechilds internet safety, by age and gender


Have teachers ever: Boys Girls Boys Girls All

Talked to you about

what you do on the

internet

66 82 67 76 73

Helped you when

you found

something difficult

to do or find on the

internet

52 57 53 49 53

Explained why some


bad

74 87 75 74 77

Suggested ways to

use the internet

safely

72 86 78 88 81

Suggested ways to

behave towards

other people online

65 75 75 91 76

Made rule about

what you can do on

the internet at

school

53 77 80 82 72

Helped you in the

past when

something has

bothered you on the

internet

22 20 19 30 23


you about what you

would do if

something on the

internet ever

bothered you

51 62 59 75 61

Question 59: Have your teacher ever . (Multiple responsesallowed)Base: All children who use the internet.

Most teachers do suggest ways to use the

internet safely (81%), explain why some

websites are good or bad (77%) and talk tochildren about what they do on the internet.

Teenage girls, whether as a result of negative

experiences they have had online, or becauseof their more active role in social networking,again receive more support than teenageboys.

91% of teenage girls say that teachers have

suggested ways of behaving towards others

online.

Setting rules about what you can do on theinternet in school is mentioned by 81% ofteenagers.


29/32



6. Conclusions

The first preliminary findings from the NetChildren Go Mobile project reveal a changing

landscape for childrens internet access and use inIreland with some marked changes in patterns ofrisk and safety. Since the publication of EU KidsOnline data on childrens experiences online in2011, internet use has continued to intensify withyoung people going online, using the internetmore intensively and notably shifting towardsmore mobile and privatised contexts of use.

The shift to a post-desktop media ecology isremarkable and confirms the speed at which new

technologies and portable connected deviceshave come to dominate use of the internet. Thefact that young peoples experience of the internetis now predominantly a mobile one, mediated bythe use of smartphones, creates a very differentenvironment in which parents, carers andeducators need to consider how to best supportchildrens and young peoples safe andresponsible use of the internet.

From the evidence in this study, parents andteachers are taking an active interest in guidingchildrens internet use, speaking to them abouthow to behave towards others online andexplaining why some websites are good or bad.This is an important development given that themajority of childrens internet use now takes placeaway from adult supervision. At the same, internetsafety education needs to take account of thesechanged contexts of use and focus on the kinds ofrisks that arise when using mobile technologies.

Findings in relation to risk in this report showed amarked increase in mediated forms of bullyingwith instances of cyberbullying over-taking that offace-to-face bullying. Cyberbullying is an evolvingphenomenon and is always part of a wider socialcontext. The fact that bullying is more likely to beexperienced on platforms such as socialnetworking, gaming or instant messaging reflectsin part the wider use of these services by childrenand young people. It also amplifies the need to

educate users in safe use of technologies andappropriate reporting of misuse or abuse.

The proliferation of potentially harmful user-generated content is another aspect of risk onlinethat presents new challenges for educators, carersand policy makers. With 1 in 5 of all young peopleand over a third of teenage girls encounteringsites containing hate messages, pro-anorexia

content and other forms of negative content,there is likely to be significant concern for thequality of young peoples internet experience.The almost doubling in the number reporting theyhave been upset by something online or contentthey wished they hadnt seen underlines thechallenge that such content poses.

Against this, the majority of young people appearto enjoy a wide range of benefits from internetuse, accessing useful information and using it tosocialise and communicate with friends. Asillustrated in the findings of this survey, not allrisks lead to harm and most young people reportnot being bothered by potentially problematiccontent they encounter.

Promoting digital opportunities for education,creativity and more advanced uses remains on theevidence of this report an important challenge forIrish policy. The very low levels of internet use in

schools leaves a wide gap between school andout-of-school culture and between the need forgreater digital skills and literacy and actualpractices in the classroom. Promoting widerintegration of digital technologies and internetcontent in schools can enhance opportunitiesavailable to young people, deepen theirappreciation of safe and responsible behaviourand extend the range of more advanced andcreative uses of rapidly evolving newtechnologies.

Future reports from Net Children Go Mobile willexamine in more detail these emergingopportunities and risks for children and youngpeople online.


30/32



7. References

Haddon, L. (2013). Mobile media and children. Mobile

Media & Communication, 1, 8995.

doi:10.1177/2050157912459504Hasebrink, U., Grzig, A., Haddon, L., Kalmus, V., &

Livingstone, S. (2011). Patterns of risk and

safety online. In-depth analyses from the EU

Kids Online survey of 9-16 year olds and their

parents in 25 countries.

Helsper, E. J., Kalmus, V., Hasebrink, U., Sagvari, B., &

Haan, J. D. (2013). Country Classification:

Opportunities, Risks, Harm and Parental

Mediation.

Lenhart, A. (2009). Teens and Sexting: How and whyminor teens are sending sexually suggestive

nude or nearly nude images via text

messaging.

Livingstone, S., & Bober, M. (2006). Regulating the

internet at home: contrasting the perspectives

of children and parents. In David Buckingham

& R. Willett (Eds.), Digital generations: children,

young people, and new media (pp. 93114).

London: Routledge.

Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Gorzig, A., & lafsson, K.

(2011). EU Kids Online Final Report. L: EU Kids

Online.

Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Grzig, A., & lafsson, K.

(2011). Risks and safety on the internet: The

perspective of European children. Full

Findings.

Mascheroni, G., & lafsson, K. (2013). Mobile internet

access and use among European children:

initial findings of the Net Children Go Mobile

project. Milano: Educatt. Retrieved from

http://www.netchildrengomobile.eu/wp-

content/uploads/2013/10/1stShortReport_we

b-colori.pdf

Mascheroni, G., & lafsson, K. (2014). Net Children Go

Mobile: risks and opportunities. Milano:

Educatt.

ONeill, B., & Dinh, T. (2012a). Digital Literacy, Digital

Opportunities. Dublin: Dublin Institute of

Technology, Centre for Social and Educational

Research.

ONeill, B., & Dinh, T. (2012b). Irish Kids Online:Comparing Youth and Parent Perspectives.

Retrieved from http://arrow.dit.ie/cseroth/41/

ONeill, B., Grehan, S., & lafsson, K. (2011). Risks and

safety for children on the internet: the Ireland

report. LSE, London: EU Kids Online.


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The InternationalAdvisory Panel

Mizuko ItoUniversity of California, Irvine

Richard LingIT University of Copenhagen

Sonia LivingstoneThe London School

of Economics and Political Science

Cristiana De Paoli

Save the Children Italia


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Contacts:Dr. Brian ONeill

[email protected]

DIT - Dublin Institute of TechnologyAungier Street - Dublin 2 - Ireland

Initial Findings from Ireland, February 2014

Net Children Go Mobile Project

Net Children Go Mobile Ireland is supported by Dublin Institute

of Technology, Department of Education and Skills,

Departments of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

COFunded by:

Safer Internet Programme

European Commission(SI-2012-KEP-411201)

ncgm ireland initial findings report complete

Documents