Naslov
Young children (0-8) and digital technology. A qualitative exploratory study, national report - Croatia

Autori
Kotrla Topić, Marina ; Perković Kovačević, Marina

Izvornik
Osijek

Vrsta, podvrsta
Ostale vrste radova, izvještaj

Godina
2016

Ključne riječi
young children; digital technology; qualitative study

Sažetak
Ten Croatian families from Osijek and surroundings, with at least one child aged 6 to 7 were recruited to examine young children and their families' experiences with new technologies. We wanted to find out what devices children at this age use, what they use it for, what they think and how they feel about using these devices and why this is so. Furthermore, we wanted to find out what their parents think about their engagement with digital technology – what are their perceptions of risks and opportunities, how much they allow their children to use the devices, for what purpose and why this is so. To achieve this goal we found 10 families with at least one child aged 6 to 7 years – the target child, we visited them in their home and basically asked them all the question we were interested in. The target children differ in how often they use digital devices during a typical week, so we have children who represent “low users” (uses a digital device at least once a week), “medium users” (uses a digital device at least two or three times a week) and “high users” (uses a digital device at least once a day). The families also differ in regard to family income and family composition (target children’s younger or older sibling). By including a diverse set of families in the sample we wanted to make sure the answers given to our questions are not uniformed and caused by a single common factor. Most of the data collected from the parents is based on their answering the questions from the Protocol of observation during the interview. The data collected from the children is mostly based on observations and the interviews conducted with the help of a card game and an activity book. The interviews took place from July to October 2015. The result of this study provided us with insight into younger children and their families' everyday life and how in this context they engage with new (online) technologies. Results show that digital technology is an integral part of lives of families included in the sample, but it doesn’t dominate their daily routines. Children enjoy using digital technology and would probably gladly welcome more screen time if they were allowed, but at the same time they also enjoy doing a lot of outdoor activities or playing with their toys. Children use a limited range of digital devices, which often include a computer and smart phones or tablets. Also when we asked them what devices they personally own three children have their own tablets, one has his personal computer, and four children have mobile phones but not always including a SIM card. For Croatian families in the sample, when compared to previously mentioned devices, the most dominant form of interaction with digital technology involves watching television. Every family owns a television, and in every family children are allowed to watch it at least on some occasions. Also, when we asked families what they do together that involves a digital device, the only thing they all reported is watching television together. As for the content that children access using digital devices, most of them use those devices to watch cartoons on television or a computer, or to play simple free games and watch video clips on You Tube, using a computer, a smart phone or a tablet. Children have a wage understanding of the difference between on-line and off-line activities, and are in this regard very vulnerable. When it comes to digital skills, they are on basic user level at most and they obtained these skills mostly through observation and limited instruction. Children can play a game that has been downloaded for them, or in some cases download it and install it by themselves. Some of them can look for interesting video clips on the Internet, but only if they have simple names because of their limited reading and writing skills. Most of them can take pictures with smart phones, but none of them know how to edit or share those pictures on purpose. However, since they have wage understanding of on-line and off-line activities, there is a possibility for example that if the device has some accounts for sharing pictures and the owner of the device (parents or older siblings) is logged in the account, there is a chance that a child can accidently share some content. Children prefer to use digital devices on individual basis and for the purpose to have fun, to relax and enjoy. So for them to choose some game, video clip or application it needs to be fun, or at least they need to assume it is fun when they chose a new activity. As for risks and opportunities of digital technology, children in the sample are only beginning to get a grasp of them. Parents usually first emphasize the negative effects of digital technology: addictive behavior, aggressive behavior, consequences for the eye sight and posture and that other areas of life might get neglected if children have too much screen time. As positive implications parents mention acquiring digital literacy skills and the help of digital technology in acquiring various other skills. Their mediation strategies differ regarding time and content, with most children having strict time limitations and more freedom when it comes to content they watch. It is our opinion that parents do not fully understand the scope of digital literacy skills and that, while it may not pose a problem at the time, as their children get older hey will need a lot more support in finding the relevant information about positive and negative sides of children’s engagement with digital technology, in order to set reasonable boundaries for time and content. We recommend that Policy-makers make sure there are such information available, and that parents can easily access them when needed. This is especially important since in Croatia there is no special attention being allocated to digital literacy skills in the kindergarten curriculum. So the parents are the only providers of education in this area before children start school, and if they themselves report they feel they do not have adequate knowledge, then children are often let to find the answers themselves, and this might be dangerous for many reasons. From the perspective of Industries it is interesting that all the parents in the sample allow their children to use only free games and applications – none of the parents ever bought something on purpose.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Informacijske i komunikacijske znanosti, Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA