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Children's experiences on the internet

Karen E. Soeters Katinka van Schaik

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Childrens experiences on the

internet

Childrens
experiences on
the internet

Karen E. Soeters and Katinka van Schaik

Institute for Media and Information Management,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

31

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Abstract
Purpose More and more children have access to the internet. Surfing the web can be a wonderful
experience but also one fraught with danger, and not all parents and educators are aware that children
can be exposed to unsuitable content online. Another question rises, and that is what is disturbing for
children online? Are there gender and age differences and very important what do children do when
they encounter disturbing or harmful information? Aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the positive and negative experiences of
Dutch children on the web. It is based on a survey of 391 children aged eight to 13 years who have
home access to the internet.
Findings Childrens most common positive experiences are playing games, using ICQ or MSN and
chatting. Almost 50 percent of the respondents have had a negative experience on the internet.
Children most frequently reported encountering pornography, followed by violence, computer viruses
and/or their computers crashing. Approximately 80 percent told someone else about their negative
experience, and, although it might be expected that this was a parent or a teacher, 45 percent of the
children shared their experience with a friend.
Practical implications Only by knowing these facts can one start thinking about how one can
make the Internet a safer place for children.
Originality/value The survey also revealed several significant age and/or gender differences in
how children experience the internet.
Keywords Children (age groups), Internet, The Netherlands
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
The internet has become a very popular medium in recent years. In 1999, 24 percent of
Dutch households had access to the internet but by 2003, this had grown to nearly 60
percent (CBS, 2004).
Of parents in the USA with a child at home, 70 percent use the internet, compared to 53
percent of the childless. These parents are more enthusiastic than those without children
about technology and its benefits, and are strong believers that their children need to
master computers and the internet in order to get ahead in life (PEW Research, 2002).
Yet, despite its great popularity, the internet can also be a dangerous environment
for children. Research shows that more than 80 percent of all parents are worried about
what their children may encounter whilst surfing (Blauw Research, 2004). A total of 57
percent of parents worry that strangers will contact their children online, and these
fears are well grounded.
Shorty, aged 13, chats for a few hours almost every day. She prefers chatting with
boys, and once arranged a date with a boy at Amsterdams main train station.
Unfortunately, this boy turned out to be a 40-year-old man with a moustache (Chatbox
vaak schuilplaats voor pedofiel, 2002).

New Library World

Vol. 107 No. 1220/1221, 2006
pp. 31-36
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0307-4803
DOI 10.1108/03074800610639012

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32

A research project conducted in Amsterdam among children in primary school

shows that children treat each other more roughly than a few years ago. One of the
main reasons is that children are being confronted more often with violence especially
via the internet (ANP, 2005).
It also seems that parents are very often not aware how much time children spent
surfing the internet. 62 percent of the children admit to using the computer secretly at
home at school, at friends places or in libraries (De Telegraaf, 2005).
Parents and educators also often believe that they know what children are
experiencing while surfing the web. They install for example the computer in the living
room so that they can observe their child while watching television or doing something
else. Children are, however, very clever in misleading their parents. As a matter of fact
children are the most sophisticated users of the net within the family (BBC News, 2005).
In 1999, Valkenburg and Soeters investigated the experiences of children on the
internet. At that time, hardly any research had been done on this topic. The results
showed that 25 percent of all children reported encountering something unpleasant on
the internet (Valkenburg and Soeters, 2001). Since then, more and more children are
surfing the web, and the authors believe that it is essential to research childrens
experiences again.
This article describes a survey of children between the ages of eight and 12 which
was conducted in the summer of 2004. The survey was based on the research of Blauw
Research, 2004 and had three aims; first, to explore why children use the internet;
second, to understand childrens positive experiences on the internet; and finally to
discover how often children encounter disturbing or harmful content on the internet.
The findings of Valkenburg and Soeters regarding the third aim of the research
were so fascinating that we decided to include extra questions on childrens negative
experiences. We also wanted to know whether they had told anyone about them and, if
not, why not.
Method
Children between the ages of eight and 12 were recruited from five elementary schools
throughout The Netherlands. By selecting these schools the sample consisted of
children with various socioeconomic backgrounds. The children were asked whether
they had home access to the internet and if they had used it more than three times.
Because we were interested in childrens actual experiences with the internet we only
included the children who responded positively to this question. Our final sample
consisted of 391 children: 193 boys and 198 girls.
The children were given questionnaires at school. These contained questions about
the childrens gender and age, the frequency of internet use, their motives for using the
internet, and their enjoyable and disturbing experiences using the medium. We gave
the children an extensive instruction on how to fill out the questionnaire. We wanted to
make sure they would tell us if they have had a disturbing experience. In the past we
found out that children can be very restrained in telling you what they have
experienced because they are afraid of the consequences this might have. It was,
therefore, emphasized that the information they gave us would be treated
confidentially.
The questionnaire took about 15 minutes to complete.

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Results
Childrens motives for using the internet
This research shows that most of the children used the internet to play games, followed
by ICQ or MSN (programs for instant messaging), chatting and downloading music. In
addition, finding information for school and hobbies was mentioned as a motive for
using the internet (see Figure 1).
Age and gender differences in childrens motives for using the internet
Boys and girls both liked gaming; the only difference is that they play different kinds
of games. Boys download game cheats and codes, which make games easier by
providing players with extra lives, more ammunition, more energy, etc. These games
are mostly violent and the main characters often have to fight their way through
different worlds or levels. Girls rarely mention downloading cheats and codes because
they play totally different games. These include solving mysteries or finding treasure.
A popular game is the Barbie Fashion Designer (Valkenburg, 2002). They prefer
games, which are realistic.
Our research also showed that boys download music more than girls, while girls use
chat and e-mail more than boys. This could be explained by the fact that girls find
communicating with other people far more important than boys (Moir and Jessel, 1989).
Chatting via MSN, however, was rated equally important by both boys and girls.
Age plays an important part in childrens motives for using the internet. Younger
children more often play games and search for information than e-mail or chat. This
can be simply explained by the fact that younger children often do not have the skills
required to use an e-mail program or to chat.

Childrens
experiences on
the internet
33

Childrens positive experiences on the internet

A lot of children found it difficult to indicate their positive experiences on the internet,
probably because using it is a significant part of their daily lives. Almost 50 percent of
the respondents used the internet daily.
Some of the children described funny stories or pictures as a response to this part of
the questionnaire. Others commented on the pleasant opportunities provided by the
internet for searching for information on hobbies, communicating with friends or
getting to know new people. However, most children liked the internet because it is fun
to use and especially because of the games they can play.
This corresponds with the motives for using the internet. Finding information for
school was quoted also as a positive experience.

Figure 1.

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Childrens negative experiences on the internet

To investigate childrens negative experiences on the Internet, we asked them to write
down something that they encountered on the Internet that had disturbed them.
Children are often not likely to give you this kind of information because they are
afraid that you will tell a teacher or a parent. We therefore emphasized that the
information they gave us would be treated confidentially.
In 1999, 24.7 percent of the children surveyed were disturbed by something on the
internet, but this had increased to 50 percent by 2004. The most-mentioned experience
was that they had been confronted by pornography, followed by horror, viruses,
threats from a known person (A threats) and threats from an unknown person (B
threats) (see Figure 2).
Valkenburg and Soeters defined three risks posed by the internet: exposure to
inappropriate material; online harassment; and off-line harassment. In 1999, most
children spontaneously mentioned a virus or computer crash as a disturbing
experience, followed by horror and pornography. Online harassment was reported by
2.5 percent of the children. Notably, none of the children mentioned off-line harassment.
Of course, a virus or a computer crash can be highly unpleasant. However, this is
unrelated to the three risks mentioned earlier. We discovered that children are annoyed
not only by viruses. They are also afraid of being blamed by a parent or teacher for any
damage caused and possibly being forbidden to use the internet again. Our results
showed that children in 2004 were more exposed to inappropriate material than in
1999.
Almost 80 percent told someone else about their negative experience; and, although
it might be expected that this was a parent or a teacher, 45 percent of the children
shared their experience with a friend.
Age and gender differences in childrens negative experiences on the internet
More girls than boys reported that they had experienced something unpleasant on the
internet, most often citing exposure to pornography as the cause. Older boys, on the
contrary, experienced exposure to pornography as something exiting. Older girls are
also more often threatened than younger children and boys. This can be explained by
the fact that older girls communicate more often via the internet than boys and
younger children. Another explanation could be that girls experience fear more often
than boys (Valkenburg, 2002).

Figure 2.

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Conclusions and discussion

The safety of children on the Internet has been a topic of discussion ever since children
started using the internet. Protection is, for example, offered by the Childrens Safety
Foundation in The Netherlands, the Childrens Online Protection Act and Cyber Angels
in the USA; much filtering software is also available, mostly supplied by internet
providers who promise a safe online environment for children. Most agree that using
the internet can be a very educative experience for children, but the internet can also be
a place of great danger. Parents know this and install filter software or place the
computer in the living room so that they can keep a close eye on what their children do
whilst online. Despite all these efforts, 50 percent of the interviewed children were still
disturbed by something they experienced using the internet. How is this possible?
Children are taught never to give personal information to people they meet in chat
rooms. They believe that someone they have met more than twice in a chat room
becomes an acquaintance, and it is therefore acceptable to give them personal
information. When parents are asked whether they are aware of the harmful
information children can encounter surfing the web, they almost all answer
affirmatively.
Although software that filters out unsuitable content is available, its effectiveness is
a moot point: net smart children know how to circumnavigate it, and children will
encounter the negative aspects of the internet sooner or later.
In addition, parents firmly believe that the internet is a useful and effective
educational tool. Not only is it a key resource for school, but material found on the web
also teaches children in other ways. For example it helps to establish their likes and
dislikes and provides knowledge on sensitive subjects. The internet is nowadays a
playground for children.
Over the years, more and more children have been given internet access, which in
our opinion is a good thing. However, it is a cause for concern that an increasing
number of children have had a disturbing experience online. In the next four years, the
European Commission will spend e45 million in cooperation with the 25 member
countries to increase education on the risks posed by the internet (Europa, 2004).
The latest proposal of the European Parliament is that all web sites for children
should have the extension.kid instead of, for example,.com. The Parliament hopes to
protect children this way (Consumentenbond, 2005).
Let us hope that most of this budget will not be spent on grants for software
companies to develop or improve filter software to protect children from the dangers
of the internet. We hope that a large portion of this money will be spent on educational
programmes and improving cooperation between governments and other agencies of
the EU member states concerned with the safety of children on the internet.
However, most important in the future is that we continue to research childrens
experiences and behaviour on the web. This will help us try to make the Internet a
safer environment for children.
References
ANP (2005), Groeiende verruwing op Amsterdamse basisscholen, April 26.
BBC News (2005), Children drive home internet rse, May 23.
Blauw Research (2004), Ouders hebben behoefte aan meer informatie over internetopvoeding,
available at: www.blauw.nl/

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the internet
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CBS (2004), ICT en media gebruik naar persoons- en huishoudkenmerken, available at: http://
statline.cbs.nl
Chatbox vaak schuilplaats voor pedofiel (2002), Inmiddels gaat het gesprek richting seks,
op internet durven kinderen te zeggen wat op het schoolplein ondenkbaar, De Volkskrant,
August 6, p. 1.
Consumentenbond (2005), Firewalles en Antivirus, available at: www.consumentenbond.nl
De Telegraaf (2005), Internet bedreigt kinderziel, 9 May, p. 7.
Europa (2004), Wil snel veiliger internet, European Commission, December 7, available at:
http://europa.eu.int/information_society
Moir, A. and Jessel, D. (1989), Brain Sex: The Real Difference between Men and Women, Dell
Publishing, New York, NY.
PEW Research (2002), Parents Online, available at: www.pewinternet.org
Valkenburg, P.M. (2002), Beeldschermkinderen, theorieen over kind en media, Boom, Amsterdam.
Valkenburg, P.M. and Soeters, K.E. (2001), Children and the internet: childrens positive and
negative experiences with the internet, Communication Research, Vol. 28 No. 5, October,
pp. 652-75.
Corresponding author
Karen E. Soeters can be contacted at: k.e.soeters@hva.nl

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