2 results
nine - Experimenting with the self online: a risky opportunity
- Edited by Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics and Political Science, Leslie Haddon, London School of Economics and Political Science, Anke Görzig, London School of Economics and Political Science
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- Book:
- Children, Risk and Safety on the Internet
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 07 September 2022
- Print publication:
- 18 July 2012, pp 113-126
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- Chapter
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Summary
Introduction
Developmental theories assume that at the beginning stages of adolescence, young people's developmental tasks and the instability of their ‘selves’ motivate them to experiment with their identities and self-presentation. There is growing evidence that adolescents use the internet to experiment in this way, especially on social networking sites (SNS) (Calvert et al, 2003; Valkenburg et al, 2005; Williams and Merten, 2008). This experimentation should gradually decrease as children get older and fulfil their developmental tasks, that is, younger children should experiment more than older ones (Valkenburg et al, 2005; Livingstone, 2008) – the closer to the goal, that is, being adult, an adolescent is, the stronger should be his/her motivation to complete a developmental task.
Experimenting with the self is considered here as experimenting with self-presentation online. It is defined as pretending to be someone else, of another gender, practised more often by boys than girls, or, more commonly, of a different age (Calvert et al, 2003; Valkenburg et al, 2005; Valkenburg and Peter, 2008; Williams and Merten, 2008). For example, some girls want to be perceived as younger and nicer while others want to present themselves as older or attractive (Calvert et al, 2003; Valkenburg et al, 2005). Of course, teenagers are working out who they really are. Experimentation is about necessary and constructive exploration and discovery rather than deceit. Motivations of experimentation include social compensation (i.e. to overcome shyness, communication difficulty or other weaknesses), self-exploration (i.e. taking various personality features or identities to investigate how others react on an adolescent), and social facilitation (to facilitate dating, making friends and relationship formation).
Research aims and methods
The first part of the chapter explores the hypothesis that this experimentation is common. We also hypothesise that age matters substantially, being less prevalent among older children. Our third hypothesis predicts that experimenting with self-presentation online is more common among boys for two reasons: boys are developmentally further from adulthood than girls of the same age (Allison and Shultz, 2001; Lerner and Steinberg, 2004; Sax, 2007), thus they feel more pressure to pass through consecutive developmental stages; and boys undertake more online activities measured in terms of variety, frequency and length of time ( Jackson, 2008; Gui and Argentin, 2011), so they are also more likely to experiment online.
eleven - Inappropriate content
- Edited by Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics and Political Science, Leslie Haddon, London School of Economics and Political Science
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- Book:
- Kids Online
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 15 July 2022
- Print publication:
- 30 September 2009, pp 135-146
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- Chapter
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Summary
Introduction
Use of the internet and its associated services is becoming an increasingly popular pastime, particularly among children and young people, but despite the many benefits offered there are also risks which they must be made aware of. The possibility that children could encounter inappropriate content online receives less public attention than the risk that they may make risky contact with people met online, and the range of content that is of potential concern is vast, including pornography, racist material, violent and gruesome content, self-harm sites (including pro-anorexia and pro-suicide sites), commercially exploitative material and more. The European Commission (EC) supports Safer Internet hotlines throughout Europe where people can anonymously report what they perceive as illegal or disturbing content (EC, 2009). Thirty-four hotlines across the globe are members of the International Association of Internet Hotlines see (www.inhope.org).
This chapter focuses on children and young people's access to inappropriate content online. The term ‘inappropriate content’ is not a well-defined term and one can find variations across generations and across countries and cultures. Content that seems inappropriate from an adult's perspective may not be perceived in the same way by children and young people. Furthermore, cultural differences may influence how we understand and categorise different types of content. This blurry middle ground can contain sexual content, for example, as it is hard to achieve consensus on what is pornography and what is sexual information or portrayal. On the other hand, certain content is universally classified as inappropriate for children in all cultures – for example the depiction of graphic violence or sexual abuse, and encouragement to harm one's self or others. Furthermore, some content can be classified as illegal (thus inappropriate), such as violent or sexual acts against children, and the promotion of racism and xenophobia.
The EU Kids Online network categorised the different types of inappropriate content and risks that children can encounter online (Hasebrink et al, 2009), as presented in Chapter One (this volume). The classification is based on the role of the child (as recipient, as participant or as actor) and the motives of the provider (commercial, aggressive, sexual and values-related). The aim of this chapter is to provide a description of the empirical evidence available within the EU Kids Online network, and where appropriate within the wider literature, regarding inappropriate material encountered by children online.