Digital parenting in Russia: from ignorance to awareness

Galina Soldatova and Vladimir Shlyapnikov look at how Russian parents’ awareness of online risks is changing, with a focus on communication, technology and content risks. There is, as always, a balance to be had between protection and opportunity. Galina is Professor and Vice-Dean of the Department of Psychology, Moscow State University (Lomonosov) and a Corresponding Fellow at the Russian Academy of Education. Vladimir is Director of Social Projects at the Foundation for Internet Development

Interpersonal relations of Russian adolescents in social networks

Background. In the period of adolescence, friendship plays the key role for developing the adolescent personality, for determining their psychological well-being now and for further living. There is lack of data about the actual size of their online friend zone, adolescent perception of real and virtual friendship, and factual features of their relationships with different categories of users, primarily with virtual friends, who adolescents communicate only in the Internet. Objective. The quantitative research of the online circle of contacts of Russian adolescnts in social media, their perceptions of real and virtual friendship, and regular features of their communication with real friends and acquaintances, and virtual friends. Design. The survey among adolescents from Moscow, Russia, and Moscow region, Russia, was conducted (N=366, aged 13-16 years old) using the questionnaire of 43 questions about their friend list size and number of online followers; youths’ relationship with real friends and acquaintances, and virtual friends; the method of the unfinished sentences with the following content analysis aimed to investigate adolescent perception of real and virtual friendship. For comparison, we also used data of the All-Russian survey Kids Online II (N=604) conducted by the Foundation for Internet Development (2010). Results. The results show that 50% of adolescent contacts (aged 15–16) and 43% aged 13–14 outweighs the lower limit of the Dunbar number (100 social connections). Thus, they are almost equivalent to the quantity of social contact of an adult. Friend zone extension occurs due to real friends and acquaintances, and ‘unknown’ virtual friends (whom the adolescent has not seen in real life), hence raising the issue of such relationships’ quality. The results of the content analysis of adolescent answers about differences between real and virtual friendship show that real friendship is more important to them as it contains Direct interpersonal contact (tactile and visual), Emotional exchange, Trust, Co-Activities, Mutual support. Virtual friendship has been characterized through absence, significant lack and/or negative inversion (e.g. from Trust to Mistrust) of these components. Simultaneously, each second youth has virtual friend, whom he/she trusts enough to share private topics, so that such virtual friends play the role of ‘by chance companions’. Adolescents discuss with them life problems and conflicts with parents (35%), real friends and teachers (51–53%), and also their beloved ones (47%). Conclusion. The number of online social connections among adolescents exceeds the lower limit of the Dunbar range, comparing with similar indicators in adults. Expansion of the virtual circle of communication occurs both at the expense of real friends and acquaintances, and virtual friends unfamiliar to the child in everyday life, which puts the question of the quality of these relations. Virtual friends act in the role of «casual fellow travelers», because with their help adolescents satisfy the needs for intimate contact. This happens even though the children themselves are aware of the disadvantages of online communication compared to offline relationships. The phenomenon of a virtual friend, therefore, occupies one of the key places in the system of interpersonal relations of a modern adolescent and requires further study. On the whole, the phenomena of the ‘unknown friend’ holds one of the key places in the adolescnet system of relationships, thus requiring special research

Brief and screening versions of the Digital Competence Index: verification and application possibilities

Background. Diagnostics of the schoolchildren digital competence is now an important educational task that requires an index applicable to children of the early school age and brief enough for population studies. The Digital Competence Index (DCI) as a component of social competence was proposed for measuring knowledge, skills, motivation and responsibility / security online in each of the following areas: content, communication, consumption, and technologicalsphere. Objective. The development and subsequent verification of a brief and screening versions of DCI, and also the study of DCI in children under 12 years of age. Design. During the first stage based on the first sample of DCI approbation, items with the highest correlation with each subscale were selected. Digital competence was assessed on the basis of the Index as well as the solution of experimental tasks. User activity was assessed using EU-Kids online methodology. During the second stage, the methodwas verified in the sample of children aged 7-11 and parents of children of primary school age. User activity was measured as well. The children also filled measure of Excessive Internet Use from EU-Kids online methodology and the Dembo-Rubinstein scales assessing their general and online self-esteem. Sample. The first study included 1203 adolescents aged 12-17 and 1209 parents. The second sample included 50 children aged 7-11 years old and 100 parents of children aged 5-11 years. Results. In the first study a brief version (32 points) allows to reliably (alpha 0.69-0.85) evaluate the four components and index ensuring the prediction accuracy of more than 90%. The screening version (16 points) makes it possible to reliably (0.71-0.73) estimate the overall index with the prediction accuracy of more than 85%. Both versions reproduced the basic patterns of the differences between correctly and incorrectly solved digital competence tasks by teenagers and parents. According to the second study, brief and screening versions can be used with the primary school age, although the screening version allows to estimate only the general index, but not the components of digital competence. The average digital competence of children 7-11 years old is 30% of the maximum possible, parents take 46%, which demonstrates the improvement of digital competence in the recent five years. Digital competence in both children and parents is associated with greater user activity, and in children – with a more positive self-esteem online and signs of excessive Internet use. In parents correct answers to the digital competence tasks were associated with greater competence, primarily on the components of responsibility/safety and skills. Conclusion. The data support the possibility of using the screening version of the Digital Competence Index to obtain the general indicator in diagnosing adults and children of the primary school age, whereas a brief version of the DCI can be used not only as an overall index but also of its components

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

Features of Media Multitasking in School-Age Children

The paper addresses the phenomenon of media multitasking that is being widely spread among children and adolescents in the context of digital socialization. The previous research has revealed its strong connection with cognitive control, executive functions, and academic performance, yet the specificity and efficacy of media multitasking performance, especially among children while they carry out usual activities, remains insufficiently studied. A quasi-experimental study, including digital tasks of various types on a computer and smartphone, the dots task for executive functions, and a socio-psychological questionnaire, was conducted with the participants of three age groups: 7–10, 11–13, and 14–16 years old (N = 154). The results indicate that media multitasking is connected not with sex, but age; the older the participants are, the more likely they tend to work in a multitasking mode. Furthermore, preference for multitasking has been found to be positively related to higher user activity. Although the total task performance rate is insignificantly lower in the multitasking group as compared to the non-multitasking one, a significant negative effect of media multitasking on total performance time was revealed. The results of the study that indicate a strong connection of media multitasking with the intensity of Internet usage, cognitive functions, and performance time, suggest its considerable role in social and cognitive functioning of children and adolescents

Attitude to privacy and protection of personal data: safety of Russian children and adolescents

The paper examines the existing approaches to privacy in modern psychology. Basic directions of studying privacy and protection of personal data in the online environment through various scientific approaches are analyzed. Protection of personal data being one of privacy kinds is deemed as a relevant issue of safety of today’s children and adolescents, i.e. Internet users. Based on population studies data and content analysis of social networking the ratio of Russian children and adolescents to personal data is analyzed, the problems arising from its misuse, and also parents’ attitudes to this issue and the possibility of their assistance to their children in the protection of personal data are emphasized. The research shows that at least one-third of Russian adolescents make a group of risk and may be affected by the risks posed by careless handling of personal information, because these children do not always respect the principle of confidentiality in respect of passwords; they establish open access to a personal page, allowing access to any registered user; personal profile specifies a set of personal information about themselves to the maximum extent; they are willing to share personal information with strangers; to no one to seek help on issues related to privacy settings in the Network. The results show that not only the childrennbut also their parents greatly underestimate the hidden dangers of careless use and storage of personal data on the Internet. Russian schoolchildren have developed a commonly shared digital generation outlook but they still preserve different look at privacy in general and personal data in particular. Education of children and adolescents safety is emphasized to be a priority for parents and schools within the framework of promoting a culture of Internet use

Models of digital competence and online activity of Russian adolescents

Having established the conception of digital competence consisting of four components (knowledge, skills, motivation and responsibility) implemented in four areas (content, communication, consumption, and the techno-sphere), we propose the idea of models of digital competence as a specific systems of adolescents’ beliefs about their abilities and desires in the online world. These models (1) may be realistic or illusory, (2) their development is mediated by the motivation and online activity and (3) they regulate further online activities as well as the further development of digital competence. On the basis of nationwide study of digital competence (N=1203 Russian adolescents of 12-17 years) using latent class method we revealed 5 models of digital competence corresponding to its lowest level, the average level at high and low motivation, high specific (in the components of skill and safety) and high general level. It has been shown that higher appraisal of their digital competence is related to the opportunity of a more prolonged and self-service access to the Internet as well as the history of independent development of skills online. The illusion of digital competence is associated with a wide but shallow exploration activities online. Motivational component is related to the participation and recognition of the role of others in the development of digital competence, in comparison with others’ online skills and knowledge, as well as subjectively lower «digital divide» with parents. We suggest that the motivational component of the digital competence is developed if adolescent has a successful interaction via Internet, learn from other people and also if the range of her activities and interests online activity involves and requires the development of new skills. Based on digital competence model’s analysis, we have figured out 3 main types of Internet-users: (1) beginners, (2) experienced users, (3) advanced users. All these types fall into different risk groups, determined by variable possibilities of facing content-, communication-, technical- and customers- online-threats

Motivation in the structure of the digital competence of Russian adolescents

In contemporary world, the digital competence of adolescents is not a separate property or capacity any longer, becoming the prerequisite and basis for many types of activities, and the Internet has become a space mediating socialization of children. Russian population study indicated that there is a «gap» in the structure of motivation to improve digital competence: although every four teenagers from five ones declare preparedness for its development, their motivation in relation to specific goals and objectives is extremely low and does not exceed 20 per cent of the maximum possible level. The paper assumes that the «gap» is caused by different contents of general and specific motivation: general motivation describes great awareness of the importance and the declared preparedness, while specific motivation refers to the setting of specific goals. Applying the Digital Competence Index (DCI) in the samples of adolescents 12-17 years old (N=1203) and of parents of adolescents of the same age (N=1208) the relationship between general and specific motivation to improve digital competences and their links to the user’s activity, confidence, emotions, self-image on the Internet and its familiarization are considered. A high level of digital competence and excessive self-confidence in the user’s skills are associated with a less general motivation. A higher level of general and specific motivation is related to the participation of teachers and parents in the development of adolescent skills in the Internet. This extremely low self-confidence and the solution of any online problems by parents are associated with passive motivation, e.g. the desire to explore the Internet spontaneously through other people. Possible methods of developing active motivation to improve digital competence and the prevention of excessive confidence in adolescents are discussed