Changes in Safer Internet Use of Children in Turkey between 2010-2015 and Impact of Contextual Issues*

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal the changes that occurred between 2010 and 2015 in the Internet activities performed, Internet use skills, online risks, and coping strategies related to such risks of children between the ages of nine and 16 in Turkey as well as the impact of the contextual issues on such changes. An explanatory design using mixed research methods was used for this study. In the quantitative part of the study, the data were collected from 784 children between the ages of nine to 16 who were selected, via a survey, from 12 regions in Turkey in 2015. The data were compared to 2010 data which used similar sampling method and instruments and which collected from 1018 children. In the qualitative part of the study, 84 participants were interviewed, including two children, two parents, two teachers, and a school administrator from each of the 12 regions. The results showed that the Internet access age for children has gradually decreased and that children's Internet access time has increased. An increase has also occurred in regard in the activities performed by children online, such as social networking and watching online movies or video clips, which adds up to an increase in the entertainment factor related to the Internet for children. A significant increase has also occurred in the number of children who feel uncomfortable when they are not online, seek new friends online, and receive general sexually explicit messages over the Internet due to the long hours that they spend online.

Information literacy: a desideratum of the 21st century

“…Students with low information literacy tend to accept information that is not factual. The work of Aslan and Yilmaz (2021), Aharony and Gazit (2020), Reddy et al (2020c) and Coklar et al (2017) prove that the digital natives who are assumed to possess information literacy have low digital literacy or information literacy skills. Moreover, low information literacy amongst students affects their self-efficacy to learn and their overall performance (Aharony and Gazit, 2020).…”

“…The educational institutes around the globe are actively advocating information literacy to individuals of the 21st century. The institutes in the following countries have already begun using suitable information literacy frameworks:Hong Kong (Fan, 2021; Reichert et al , 2020);Turkey (Aslan and Yilmaz, 2021; Suna et al , 2020),Australia (Hanbidge et al , 2018; Hudges et al , 2017),Greek (Perifanou and Economides, 2020; Sideri et al , 2019);Iran (Baji et al , 2018), Singapore (Shaheen et al , 2016),India (Hanchinal and Hanchinal, 2018),The US (Bausman and Ward, 2016),New Zealand (Suhasini et al , 2020),United Kingdom (Zdanevych et al , 2020),Fiji (Reddy et al , 2020c; Alenzuela et al , 2019). …”

“…Information literacy improves students' ability to inquire, discuss, and improve their critical thinking; thus, they tend to learn independently. Various information literacy frameworks have also been developed and piloted in the education sector (Aslan and Yilmaz, 2021; Dolnicar et al , 2020; Hanbidge et al , 2018; Parsazadeha et al , 2018; Pinto et al , 2018).…”

Determination of Technological Tool Use in School Children (6-10 Years Old) in Covid-19 Pandemic

“…araştırmalarda, ebeveynlerin çocuklara internet ve internet uygulamalarını kullanma konusunda sınırlama getirdiği ancak bu sınırlamaya çoğunlukla uyulmadığı tespit edilmiştir. [15][16][17][18][19] Bu araştırmada ise, çocukların %69,3'ünün pandemi sürecinde teknoloji kullanımına ilişkin süre kısıtlamasına uymadığı belirlenmiştir. Çocuklarda teknolojik araç kullanımı sosyal beceri, oyun becerisi, dil gelişimi gibi alanları olumsuz yönde etkileyebilmektedir.…”

Recommendations for cyberbullying prevention and intervention: A Western Canadian perspective from key stakeholders

“…The explosion of mobile technology and ubiquitous access to the Internet has allowed for greater online connection and communication than ever before. Children as young as the age of two are now using internet-based communication technologies ( Aslan, 2016 ). American statistics suggest that almost all United States teens aged 13–17 (95%) have access to a smartphone, almost half reported being online on a ‘near-constant basis’ ( Anderson and Jiang, 2018 ), and 90% use social media ( AACAP, 2018 ).…”