Razpravljalni forum in širitev javega prostora: rezultati evropskega raziskovalnega projekta

This paper has focused on online political forums as newly emerged public spaces that contribute to the enhancement of public deliberation. Its aim has been to study the deliberative feature of the Internet and assess the extent to which ordinary citizens contribute to the political process through public debate online. The main research question is concerned with the way in which the Internet facilitates participation in politics, enables democratic deliberation, and provides a forum for reasoned argumentation. The extent to which this occurs has been studied through the content analysis of open publicforums in Greece, the Netherlands and Britain. Research findings show a high level of interactive communication, high degree of search for information, diversity of opinions and publics and a moderate degree of substantiated argumentation- indicating an enlargement of public space in principle. However, the analysis stresses that unless netizens test their opinions in public systematically, the notion of the Internet as a tool for democratic deliberation is seriously undermined and runs the risk of being replaced by a push-button democracy. In that respect, cyberspace resembles the familiar world of everyday politics as an arena for the ongoing struggle for power and influence, despite the hype surrounding it.Članek obravnava online politične forume kot nove oblike javnega prostora, ki prispevajo k širitvi javnega posvetovanja. Temeljno raziskovalno vprašanje zadeva načine, na katere internet olajšuje participacijo v politiki, omogoča javno posvetovanje in predstavlja forum za racionalno argumentacijo. Predmet analize so bili javni forumi v Grčiji, na Nizozemskem in v Veliki Britaniji. Rezultati kažejo visoko raven interaktivnega komuniciranja, visoko stopnjo iskanja informacij, raznovrstnost mnenj in javnosti in skromno stopnjo argumentiranja, kar v celoti kaže na razširjanje javnega prostora. Avtorica hkrati poudarja, da je ideja interneta kot orodja demokratičnega posvetovanja lahko močno problematična in se približuje demokraciji "pritiskanja na gumbe",če "internetni državljani" sistematično ne preskušajo svojih mnenj. V tem pogledu kibernetski prostor spominja na običajni svet vsakodnevne politike kot arene, v kateri poteka boj za moč in vpliv

Electronic citizenship and global social movements

This paper is an attempt at a more systematic study of the impact of new social movements on participatory politics and citizenship at a European level. It presents the empirical findings from my work on ecological NGOs and addresses the following questions: * In what ways is the Internet conducive to discursive democracy when used by grassroots organizations, and more specifically by environmental groups in Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain and Greece? * What kind of information is offered on the Web sites of some environmental organizations in the five countries? * How is this related with the level of Internet development in these countries? It concludes that ecological organizations use the Internet for publicity purposes and for diffusion of information mainly, while the dimensions of discursive, interactive communication and the establishment of 'nexuses of global action' are still underplayed

Rethinking the pornography debate in Greece: A country-specific reading of an 'old' argument

Given the widely circulated anxieties about the consumption of pornography and its presumed effects on adults and youngsters, as well as the intensification of moral, social and feminist campaigns to counter its spread, especially through online technologies, this article wishes to offer a country-specific contextualization of the pornography debate in Greece. Taking into account the pro-effects reading of the culture of pornography that permeates the Greek context, and a media agenda that mainly concentrates public discussion on children who are 'at risk' from the consumption of porn, we wish to argue that it is the legacy of the Greek erotic cinema of the mid-seventies and the particular way the feminist movement developed in the country which account for the public debate on pornography in Greece

Young people’s experiences with sexual messages online: Prevalence, types of sexting and emotional responses

This report presents findings from the latest EU Kids Online survey conducted in 19 countries between 2017 and 2019 (Smahel et al., 2020). 14,598 adolescents aged 12 to 17 answered questions related to online sexual messages. An average of 22% of all young people report receiving sexual messages in the past year, while 6% report sending or posting sexts themselves. Almost 4% requested sexual information from others. 13% were asked for sexual information about themselves but did not want to answer. Results show that youth who engage in active sexting (i.e., exchanges where young people initiate the communication, by sending, requesting, or posting sexts online) live in less positive home and school environments, but tend to find online spaces safer for connection and expression (including sexual communication). Research to date has primarily investigated sending and posting sexual messages and images as feminine behaviour (or being ”a girl thing”). However, we find that boys were more likely than girls to send, post, and request sexual messages in the countries included in our survey. Girls at all ages tend to be significantly more upset about receiving sexual messages than boys. Recipients of unwanted sexual messages tend to be girls, older, and display a preference for online communication. They are also more likely to experience cyber-victimisation, report more sensation-seeking, feel less safe in their homes and online, and have more emotional symptoms. Our findings suggest that receiving these requests is not an isolated online problem and may be associated with an increased risk of exposure to other forms of victimization. Practitioners working with adolescents should therefore be aware of the need to acknowledge unwanted sexual requests. They should also understand the need to probe a possible cooccurrence of negative experiences with online interaction, and, if needed, to develop plans for reducing adolescents´ vulnerability and tendency to become targets of disrespectful behaviour online. Relevant sexual education is needed to ensure that young people develop skills including critical and informed responses to sexualized digital communication. We recommend steering away from education about sexting that is grounded in fear. School-based sexual education should instead be expanded to include issues of sexuality, privacy and consent related to existing practices of sexting

Online on the mobile: Internet use on smartphones and associated risks among youth in Europe

1. This report analyses how children aged 9-16 changed their internet use between 2010, when most children used fixed computers and laptops, and 2013, with over one-quarter (c. 28%) of 9-12 year olds, and three-fifths (c. 60%) of 13-16 year olds, accessing the internet via a smartphone. 2. Children experience slightly increased risk when accessing the internet via a smartphone or tablet. Historically, such children came from richer, more privileged backgrounds, and spent more time online: all linked with risk exposure. Now that most 13-16 year olds have smartphones, they are no longer an elite. Along with extra risk, children with smartphones access the internet more often, engage in a greater range of activities, and have a higher number of skills. 3. The likelihood of children experiencing three or more risks has not changed greatly between 2010 and 2013, except for a rise in the 9-10 age group (from 1% on 2010 to 4% in 2013), and a rise among girls (14% in 2010, 17% in 2013). Among 9-10s, 19% encountered one or more risks online in 2010, while this rose to 24% in 2013. 4. While younger children are less likely than older children to encounter online risks, they are more likely to be affected by the risks they experience. Parents of younger children with smartphones should be encouraged to actively regulate their child’s internet use. The younger the child, the more their parents should involve themselves. 5. For six of the seven risks investigated in 2010 and 2013, the proportion of children experiencing the risk has risen. Fewer children (aged 11-16) had received sexual messages: this had declined from 14% in 2010 to 11% in 2013. 6. 2010 data indicate that parents whose children had smart handheld devices were less likely to lay down rules around their child’s internet activities. Although this group of children were comparatively privileged, and older, and more likely to encounter risk, parents seem to have trusted their child to make good choices. Given that mobile internet access is associated with fewer parental restrictions, this 2010 data raises concern in 2013, now that so many more children have smartphones. 7. In 2010, parents of children with smart handheld devices were also less likely to use technology filters to keep their child safe. This may reflect the difficulties parents experienced in finding consistent, easy-to-use, handset controls to support their child’s safe mobile internet use. In 2013, many more parents are allowing children to use smartphones, but we do not know much about their strategies for keeping children safe. 8. Children’s risk experiences vary with gender and age, and this is clear from both the 2010 and the 2013 data. Smart media introduce new risks such as geo-locational data and apps which connect mobile users with co-present strangers. Such risks to children’s safety have yet to be investigated. 9. National differences are important but the overall picture is one of “more and more”: more access, more often, using more devices, with more risk. As Livingstone et al say (2011: 142) “children’s experiences of online opportunities and risks go hand in hand – the more of one tends to mean the more of the other”. Major recommendations 1. Industry stakeholders – software developers, technology companies, service providers – should prioritise the development of a suite of consistent, easy-to-use, handset controls which parents can use to support and monitor their children’s safe mobile internet use. 2. Smartphones pose new risks for children, requiring new research