Tuesday, September 29, 2009
What do we know about children and the internet across Europe?
EU Kids Online 1 has published its final evaluation report following a three year study of research across 21 member states.
The European Community's Safer Internet Programme funded the comprehensive analysis of 360 pieces of research from across Europe with the aim to provide an accurate account of how children are using the internet and online technologies across Europe. The EU Kids Online network is coordinated by Dr Sonia Livingstone and Dr Leslie Haddon at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
A key finding of the newly published report is that 75% of European children have access to and use the internet on a regular basis, although with significant variations between countries from 45% of children in Italy and 94% in Finland.
Across Europe there was a consistent rise in the number of children using the internet and online technologies with the most significant increase of use in younger children. By 2008 60% of 6-10 year olds in the EU were online, a rise of approx 20% since 2005.
Another difference in 2008 compared with 2005 concerns the location of use. While use at school is considerable, in 2005 it was as common as home as a location for children’s internet use (one third of under 18’s went online in each place). By 2008, 6-17 year olds in all EC countries were much more likely to use the internet at home (65%) than school (57%) or anywhere else, and 34% are now going online using their own computer.
A further finding was that the generation gap of internet use was reducing, if not disappearing: in 2005 between 20-25% of teenagers who used the internet had parents who never went online, by 2008 that figure had fallen to between 1-3%.
The report clearly establishes that internet use is widespread and growing across Europe for children of all ages and their parents.
Analysing the role of schools in this change and future development of online technology skills, the report establishes that greater internet use is associated with higher levels of education at both country and individual levels. The role of schools in supporting and enabling internet and online technologies is highlighted by the report as central. "Schools are best placed to teach children the digital and critical literacy skills required to maximise opportunities and minimise risks. Schools are also best placed to reach all children, irrespective of socioeconomic status and other forms of inequality."
The research recommends that each child in EU is provided with a "ladder of online opportunities" to progress their online competencies "beginning with information-seeking (of any kind), progressing through games and communication, taking on more interactive forms of communication and culminating in creative and civic activities."
The evidence is that experience of certain types of internet use such as communication and information searching is widespread among children, fewer children are creative, productive, critical or civically engaged in their online activities. The ladder is proposed to support progression in the skills of using online technologies alongside giving a higher profile to media education, which the study concludes "should be recognised and resourced as a core element of school curricula." The report recommends schools make greater use of peer teaching in encouraging a broader use of online technology.
In considering the risks involved for children in using the internet after reviewing the evidence from across the member states the report argues that risks and opportunities need to be addressed together and that again schools are best placed to provide this.
Following the completion of the three year research study in June 2009, a second phase of research is underway: EU Kids Online2 is researching parental views of children's use of the internet across the same 21 countries.
To read the report in full: Livingstone, S, and Haddon, L (2009)EU Kids Online: Final report. LSE, London: EU Kids Online. (EC Safer Internet Plus Programme Deliverable D6.5)