Norwegian adolescents and their sexual communication online: findings from the EU kids online project

There are many concerns surrounding young people’s sexual communication online (or sexting), most of them coming from a protectionist position. Some concerns relate to the appropriateness of sexual communication for minors, others stemming from worries about privacy risks. But what is the actual extent of the risks and does sexting lead to harm for children and young people? For www.parenting.digital, Monica Barbovschi discusses the Norwegian findings from the EU Kids Online project (2017-19) offering insights into the way children’s practices of sexting have changed over the past decade and how individual and social factors can act as protective or risk factors for children’s exposure to unwanted sexual communication. Why are children with better digital skills at a higher risk of experiencing unwanted sexual communication? Can a positive family and school environment protect children

EU kids online 2020 : survey results from 19 countries

EU Kids Online 2020: Survey results from 19 countries. This report maps the internet access, online practices, skills, online risks and opportunities for children aged 9–16 in Europe. Teams of the EU Kids Online network collaborated between autumn 2017 and summer 2019 to conduct a major survey of 25,101 children in 19 European countries.peer-reviewe

Zero to eight : young children and their internet use

EU Kids Online has spent seven years investigating 9-16 year olds’ engagement with the internet, focusing on the benefits and risks of children’s internet use. While this meant examining the experiences of much younger children than had been researched before EU Kids Online began its work in 2006, there is now a critical need for information about the internet-related behaviours of 0-8 year olds. EU Kids Online’s research shows that children are now going online at a younger and younger age, and that young children’s “lack of technical, critical and social skills may pose [a greater] risk” (Livingstone et al, 2011, p. 3).peer-reviewe

Meet the "E-Strangers". Predictors of Teenagers' Online-Offline Encounters

The purpose of this study is to investigate several factors associated with adolescents’ online-offline dating behavior (On-Off Dating), i.e. romantic encounters initiated online and transferred offline at a certain point. Due to the novelty of the topic in the Romanian context, multiple dimensions were taken into consideration. In order to move beyond the victimization perspective, this article relies mostly on the social agency theory that envisions teenagers as skilled and informed actors, who possess the technological, social and communicative competencies which enable them to distinguish between safe and unsafe situations (both online and offline). The sample consisted of 1806 subjects aged 10 to 19 who completed a self-report questionnaire administered in 101 classrooms from secondary schools and high schools in Cluj- Napoca, Romania, in November 2007. Results of the analyses indicate a series of factors significantly associated with this particular practice, with some differences for boys and girls, e.g. parental monitoring, identity management (disclosure and dissimulation), exposure to unsolicited (and deliberate) sexual material and unwanted solicitations online, use of Social Networking Sites (SNS), and several psychosocial factors. Among the most important predictors, e.g. use of Instant Messaging (IM), the amount of time spent online, and positive social self-concept appear to influence both boys’ and girls’ decision for online-offline dating. Other items, like parental monitoring and exposure to sexually explicit content, showed ambivalent relation to the investigated behavior

Dealing with problematic situations online: preventive measures and coping

no isbnstatus: publishe

The experiences of Norwegian adolescents with online sexual messages

Summary This report presents the findings about Norwegian adolescents’ experiences with sexual messages, including sending/ receiving such messages, and their feelings about those experiences, drawing on data collected in 2018 in the EU Kids Online project, with 1001 children aged 9 to 17. Only adolescents 11 to 17 were asked questions about sexual messages (n=790). Although the overall percentage of adolescents who receive sexual messages has increased (32% compared to 20% in 2010), a relatively low number of younger adolescents engage in sexual communication (7% for 11-12 year olds, no increase from 2010). Part of the sexual communication Norwegian adolescents experience is consensual and part of their exploration and sexual development; however, some of it is not. Almost 25% were upset about receiving sexual messages, most of them girls. Moreover, about the same percentage were asked to send sexual information about themselves when they did not want to. Several factors were put in connection with adolescents experiencing unwanted sexual solicitations, among which: digital skills, parental mediation, (adolescents’ perceptions of a supportive) family and school environment, and cyberbullying. The results show that different adolescents are impacted differently by different factors. Experiencing online aggression (cyberbullying) has the greatest impact on adolescents experiencing unwanted sexual communication, which indicates a pattern of vulnerability which migrates across different risks. Moreover, gender differences were apparent as well, with girls experiencing more protective effects from family and school environments, as well as due to increased digital skills (only older girls). However, the same factors were not relevant for boys in terms of experiencing fewer unwanted requests. In terms of practical implications, addressing toxic peer cultures which perpetuate bullying and victimisation is needed for children to experience positive environments both online and offline. Encouraging a supportive family environment, while important for all children, is particularly relevant for boys to be able to talk about their negative experiences

The experiences of Norwegian youth (aged 9 to 17) with sexual content online

Summary This report presents the findings about Norwegian adolescents’ experiences with sexual content, including how many saw sexual content, what they consider to be sexual content, where they saw it, how they felt about it and whether their experience was intentional or not. The results are based on data collected in 2018 in the EU Kids Online project, with a representative sample of 1001 children aged 9 to 17. The findings show how the overall percentage of young people who reported seeing sexual content has decreased (40% compared to 46% in 2010), the highest decrease being noticed for the younger children (8% in 2018 compared to 20% in 2010 for 9-10 year olds, and 12% for 11-12 year olds, compared to 26% in 2010). Young people’s perceptions of what ‘counts as’ sexual content vary - some include sexual content that shows people having sex (i.e. pornography), but also images and drawings of naked people (i.e. erotic art). Norwegian children report seeing sexual content via devices connected to the internet, but also on TV, accidental pop-ups, online sharing platforms, or pornographic websites. On average, boys declared having looked intentionally at sexual content more than girls. Of those who saw sexual content, more than half declared they felt nothing special, while girls report being more upset than boys about seeing sexual content (44% versus 18%). More than half of the 9-12 year olds declare they do not know what they felt about seeing sexual content, indicating that younger children need help in discerning what feels OK and what does not feel OK for them. Several factors were investigated to understand more which children feel bothered. Girls who have lower digital skills and who report more restrictive parental mediation tend to be more upset. However, the most significant predictors of girls reporting being upset were having been cyberbullied in the past year and having seen harmful user-generated content online (i.e. ways to be very thin, ways to do self-harm). In terms of practical implications, creating spaces where conversations about sexual content and young people’s sexuality can happen is paramount for them developing positive attitudes towards sexuality and resilience in dealing with unwanted experiences. Finally, addressing poly-victimisation (i.e. the same children experiencing a range of bothersome, risky or harmful things) is needed in order to protect the most vulnerable children

Young Norwegians’ experiences with aggression and bullying: roles, vulnerabilities and connected factors

This report presents research about Norwegian adolescents’ experiences with online aggression. We examine three different roles that children and young people can experience in these contexts, namely as victim, perpetrator and/or as bystander. In 2018, 25% of Norwegian children aged 9 to 17 reported that they were treated in a mean or hurtful way online or offline, while 12% said they did this to other children (Staksrud & Ólafsson, 2019). Significantly more older girls reported being victimized, while older boys reported victimizing others more often. Boys of younger ages reported witnessing online aggression to a higher degree, while older girls reported that they tended to help victims of online aggression more often. Our findings show that there is a significant overlap between online victimization and perpetration. Almost half of the girls and 67% of the boys report being both a victim and a perpetrator. The findings show that perpetrators may justify the use of violence for power. We also find that social factors, such as the quality of the family and school environments and peer support were relevant for all types of participants in cyber-aggression. Lower quality and support increased the probability of being involved in aggression. Feeling safe online was also a significant variable in all types of involvement. Lower feelings of safety online increased the probability of involvement in online aggression. Being a victim of online aggression increases the chances of seeing negative user-generated content (NUGC), especially seeing sites showing suicide-related content and ways to engage in self-harming behaviors. All main roles in online aggression, i.e. victim, perpetrator, and bystander, also reported higher scores for symptoms of emotional stress. The results show that when examining online aggression, individual and social factors that influence young people’s well-being offline should also be considered. This report includes a final section with recommendations for policy and practice for addressing and preventing online aggression and bullying among young people. The complexity of peer-to-peer online aggression, particularly with regard to the overlap between victimization and perpetration, necessitates a move from individualistic to systemic and socially oriented solutions