What Do They Know? An Exploration of Adult Perception of Children's Internet Use
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Authors
Cirulli, Vanessa A.
Issue Date
2014
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
"Cyberbullying”,“Caregivers”,“Parent","Education","Bullying”,“Internet”
Alternative Title
Abstract
This dissertation investigates caregiver perceptions of children's Internet use and exposure to cyberbullying. The purpose of this project is to assess caregivers' knowledge of their children's internet use in the home across contextual variables and to clarify gaps in knowledge that need to be identified and targeted for further education in the prevention of cyberbullying and online aggression. More than half of children and adolescents are bullied online each year, more than one-third of young people experience cyber threats online, and well over half of young people do not tell a caregiver or adult when cyberbullying occurs. Caregivers are struggling to keep up with the changing Internet and are left behind when it comes to knowing and understanding what their children are doing online. This lack of knowledge further abandons children in a complex environment in which they need adult guidance. In the absence of this guidance on the Internet, children are struggling with how to solve challenging social problems and often suffering tragic consequences. There is little research about what parents do and don't know about what happens in their child's digital life. This study provided the field of psychology a descriptive statistical analysis of what caregivers know, how caregivers monitor what their children are doing on the internet, and how caregivers communicate with their children about their rights and responsibilities as a digital citizen. Results of the research found that the majority of caregivers are not knowledgeable about specific types of cyberbullying or what their children are doing online and are looking for further education. The implications of this research are that parents are not being educated about the changing Internet and are not having open dialogues about what their children are doing online. This research contributes to determining the best course of action to encourage caregiver involvement in the prevention and intervention of cyberbullying and guidance in raising children in the digital age.