ISPCC Study

CHAPTER 3: ADOLESCENT USAGE OF INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

3.6 ISPCC Study

Whilst the EU Kids Online (2011) study provides the most comprehensive examination of Internet usage and experiences that is currently available, another large-scale study of Irish young people’s media usage is worthy of note. The 2011 study conducted on behalf of the ISPCC canvassed the views of more than 18,000 children and teenagers in Ireland. The sample was split into two groups – primary students, who were mainly aged 11, and secondary students and members of youth groups. The results showed that 46% of the primary group and 49% of the secondary group spend 1-3 hours online per day (p.16), with many doing so from their bedrooms, without parental supervision. For the teenagers, the majority (56%) go online from the family kitchen or sitting room, but 44% said that they accessed the Internet from their bedrooms. Among the primary group, 23% used the Internet in their bedrooms while slightly more than half the sample said that they used it from the kitchen or sitting room (p.17). Different usage patterns were recorded between the two groups, with a strong social media and communications bias among the older group. For example, of the primary youth group (less than 12 years of age), 13% use social networking sites, 11% chat to friends and 9% check emails. This compares to 75% of the secondary youth group using social networking sites, 54% who use Internet to chat to friends and 38% check email (p.19). The survey results indicate serious privacy concerns. For example, nearly a quarter (24%) of the older group indicated that they did not use privacy settings; while over a third (36%) of the younger group (primary) stated that they did not know how to keep their social network accounts private (p.21).

In summary, it would appear that Irish children and adolescents are quickly narrowing the gap that previously existed between them and their EU counterparts in terms of Internet usage. That trend is likely to continue and to embrace new Internet-enabled devices such as smartphones, iPads and tablets. With the increased mobility afforded by these devices, the location of usage is likely to diversify. The amount of time spent online without parental supervision is therefore likely to increase as these devices enable location independent access to the Internet and social networking sites. It is therefore of considerable concern that children and adolescent Internet access is not paralleled by an equivalent dearth of skills relating to protection of personal information, particularly given that a vast majority of Irish youth are either not using or unable to use privacy settings on their social network profile web pages. Moreover, it is particularly disturbing that over a quarter of Irish children state they have suffered negative online experiences in the past twelve months including having been sent nasty messages over the Internet. These figures are summarised in Table 3.5.

Table 3.1. Children & Adolescents’ Internet Usage in Ireland. Source: ISPCC, Children and the Internet: “This will come back to bite us in the butt.” Published Oct 2011

USAGE ISSUE FINDING SOURCE

Use of Social Media

43% of females have an online account Amarach Consulting 2009 survey

Smartphone usage: Age

37% of respondents aged 15-24 owned a smartphone

Amarach Consulting 2011

Smartphone usage: Gender

Stronger smartphone adoption among males (45%) compared with females (29%).