Adolescent Safety on the Internet

Abstract

The article examines the opportunities and limitations of the coping behavior of children and teenagers on the Internet and the assistance that they receive from significant adults (parental mediation) in the context of the new developmental social situation, which is mediated by modern information and communication technologies, and in particular the Internet. The study was conducted on the basis of the EUKidsOnline II methodology in 11 regions in seven Russian federal districts (1,025 “parent–child” pairs). The study discovered that the most common risks include sexual and negative content, fraud and theft of personal information, as well as meetings with online acquaintances. The features of experiences and mechanisms used to cope with online risks depend on the predominant activity that a particular teenager pursues online, so that if children are focused on their studies online, they are less exposed to this risk. However, they are more deeply disturbed by such situations and remain so for longer periods of time, and they more frequently employ passive strategies to cope with them. So-called “content consumers” are at the greatest risk of encountering sexual content on the network. These users actively pursue various activities online, including search engines. They experience fewer negative emotions, and they often actively try to cope with the problem while rarely using offline support. There are few opportunities for parental mediation; these include blocking content and reducing the probability that children, and in particular the teenagers that are focused on their studies, will encounter risks. The strategy of explanation and encouragement is effective for teens who pursue various activities on the Internet, and is associated with a more realistic assessment of risk and young people's active use of coping and social support strategies. For the modern teenager, the Internet is a complex psychological “tool,” which he appropriates by probing its capabilities and opportunities for self-regulation, including coping with difficult life situations.

Notes

English translation © 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, from the Russian text © 2014 “Natsional'nyi psikhologicheskii zhurnal.” “Bezopasnost’ podrostkov v Internete: riski, sovladanie i roditel'skaia mediatsiia,” Natsional'nyi psikhologicheskii zhurnal, 2014, no. 3(15), pp. 36–48. Galina Urtanbekovna Soldatova, doctor of psychological sciences, is a professor, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education, deputy head of the Department of Personality Psychology, and coordinator of the Faculty of Psychology at Moscow State University for Public Relations and Media; E-mail: [email protected]. Elena Igorevna Rasskazova, candidate of psychological sciences, is an associate professor in the Department of Neuro- and Abnormal Psychology of the Faculty of Psychology at Moscow State University; E-mail: [email protected]. Translated by Kenneth Cargill.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for the Humanities, project 14-06-00730.