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Abstract
This article analyses practices of online content creation, with a focus on blogging and personal homepages, among Estonian schoolchildren in the comparative context of Europe. The MEDIAPPRO survey of 11–18 year-old pupils, carried out in eight European countries (including Estonia) in Autumn 2005, various sources from the EU Kids Online Data Repository and the data of a questionnaire survey of 11–18 year-old pupils, carried out in comprehensive schools in three cities in Estonia in Autumn 2007 (N = 713), provide the empirical basis for analysing the extent of pupils' engagement in creative online activities. Estonian pupils, although high-ranking in Internet use, are at an average level in content creation. Activeness in producing content online is related to a child's age, computer and Internet skills, and mediation and support by peers.
Acknowledgement
The preparation of this article was supported by the research grants No. 6968 and No. 7162, financed by the Estonian Science Foundation, and the target financed projects No. 0180017s07 and No. 0181774s01.
Notes
1. The MEDIAPPRO research project and the EU Kids Online thematic network were funded by the European Commission's Safer Internet Programme.
2. The MEDIAPPRO study also involved qualitative interviews. However, in the majority of countries no questions about children's online content creation were asked. Thus, the qualitative data were too limited and fragmentary to be included in a cross-national analysis.