Classification of online problematic situations in the context of youths’ development

Abstract Previous research on youths’ online risky experiences has mostly utilized quantitative designs. However, some of this research does not account for youths’ views and perceptions. This qualitative study fills this gap by describing online problematic situations from the perspectives of European youths, focuses on classifying online problematic situations based on youths’ perspectives and interrelates these with their developmental contexts. As a theoretical framework, the co-construction model was adopted, which proposes that youths’ online and offline worlds are interconnected. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with youths between the ages of 9 and 16 from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Youths’ responses reflected the complexity of the various problematic situations online they encountered or indirectly experienced, and how such experiences were interconnected with the developmental contexts of peer relationships, parent-child relationships, romantic relationships, school, sexuality, identity, health, and morality. We recommend the development of complex educational programs focused on youths about problematic situations online, which discuss the possible situations they may encounter and how to deal with them.

[1]  J. Davila,et al.  Assessing romantic competence among older adolescents. , 2011, Journal of adolescence.

[2]  Jonas Nagel,et al.  Moral Judgment , 1921 .

[3]  K. Subrahmanyam,et al.  Digital Youth: The Role of Media in Development , 2010 .

[4]  E. Sorbring,et al.  Adolescent girls' and boys' well-being in relation to online and offline sexual and romantic activity , 2014 .

[5]  Amanda Levendowski.  Using Copyright to Combat Revenge Porn , 2014 .

[6]  R. Parke,et al.  Socialization in the Family: Ethnic and Ecological Perspectives , 2007 .

[7]  D. Rennie,et al.  Grounded theory: A promising approach to conceptualization in psychology? , 1988 .

[8]  Janis Wolak,et al.  Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement. , 2003 .

[9]  Kenneth H. Rubin,et al.  Peer Relationships, Child Development, and Adjustment: A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective , 2015 .

[10]  Louis Leung,et al.  Instant Messaging Addiction among Teenagers in China: Shyness, Alienation, and Academic Performance Decrement , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[11]  Kanwal Nalwa,et al.  Internet Addiction in Students: A Cause of Concern , 2003, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[12]  D. Tolman,et al.  Normative Sexuality Development in Adolescence: A Decade in Review, 2000–2009 , 2011 .

[13]  J. Eccles,et al.  The development of children ages 6 to 14. , 1999, The Future of children.

[14]  M. Rabin,et al.  Healthy habits: some thoughts on the role of public policy in healthful eating and exercise under limited rationality , 2013 .

[15]  A. Siibak.  Constructing the Self through the Photo selection - Visual Impression Management on Social Networking Websites , 2009 .

[16]  In their own words: what bothers children online? with the EU Kids Online Network , 2013 .

[17]  Patricia M. Greenfield,et al.  Mind and Media , 2014 .

[18]  E. Elias,et al.  Sexuality of Children and Adolescents With Developmental Disabilities , 2006, Pediatrics.

[19]  A. Lenhart,et al.  Teens, privacy and online social networks: How teens manage their online identities and personal information in the age of MySpace , 2007 .

[20]  K. Holyoak,et al.  The Oxford handbook of thinking and reasoning , 2012 .

[21]  David Finkelhor,et al.  Trends in youth internet victimization: findings from three youth internet safety surveys 2000-2010. , 2012, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[22]  P. Greenfield,et al.  Connecting developmental constructions to the internet: identity presentation and sexual exploration in online teen chat rooms. , 2006, Developmental psychology.

[23]  L D Cohn,et al.  Risk-perception: differences between adolescents and adults. , 1995, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[24]  Chien Chou,et al.  Internet addiction, usage, gratification, and pleasure experience: the Taiwan college students' case , 2000, Comput. Educ..

[25]  Jennifer D. Shapka,et al.  To control or not to control? Parenting behaviours and adolescent online aggression , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[26]  Leslie Haddon,et al.  Comparing children’s online opportunities and risks across Europe: cross-national comparisons for EU Kids Online , 2008 .

[27]  J. Wolak,et al.  Trends in youth reports of sexual solicitations, harassment and unwanted exposure to pornography on the Internet. , 2007, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[28]  Gustavo S. Mesch,et al.  Family characteristics and intergenerational conflicts over the Internet , 2006 .

[29]  J. Fereday,et al.  Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development , 2006 .

[30]  Robert J. Moore,et al.  The life and death of online gaming communities: a look at guilds in world of warcraft , 2007, CHI.

[31]  Petros Panaou,et al.  Kids and credibility: an empirical examination of youth, digital media use, and information credibility , 2012 .

[32]  Zheng Yan.  What influences children's and adolescents' understanding of the complexity of the Internet? , 2006, Developmental psychology.

[33]  Catarina Katzer.  Cyberbullying in Germany: What has been done and what is going on. , 2009 .

[34]  Kimberly J. Mitchell,et al.  Index of Problematic Online Experiences: Item Characteristics and Correlation with Negative Symptomatology , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[35]  J. Eccles,et al.  SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY INFLUENCES ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT , 1999 .

[36]  P. Valkenburg,et al.  Preadolescents' and adolescents' online communication and their closeness to friends. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

[37]  Sonia Livingstone,et al.  Risks and safety on the internet: the perspective of European children: full findings and policy implications from the EU Kids Online survey of 9-16 year olds and their parents in 25 countries , 2011 .

[38]  Jiwon Shin,et al.  Morality and Internet Behavior: A study of the Internet Troll and its relation with morality on the Internet , 2008 .

[39]  Ellen Helsper,et al.  Country classification: opportunities, risks, harm and parental mediation , 2013 .

[40]  Amanda J. Rose,et al.  The Role of Reciprocity in Romantic Relationships in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence , 2007 .