ArticlePDF Available

Use of Facebook by Children Aged 10 – 12 . Presence in Social Media Despite the Prohibition

Authors:

Abstract and Figures

Social media, such as Facebook, play an important role in human life. More and more often we can observe them also finding their way into the world of children, who use them to achieve specific benefits. The research sample consisted of children aged 10 – 12, namely those who – due to the restrictions in the Facebook regulations – are not allowed to use it. The purpose of the study was to identify the number of children aged 10 – 12 who use Facebook, as well as how they use this medium. The research findings, obtained in the diagnostic survey and the focus interview, indicate that: the vast majority of the respondents have accounts on Facebook, and the older the child, the greater the probability that he/she has his/her own profile. Girls have more friends and photos on the Facebook profile than boys, and the number of friends grows along with the users' age. The research results presented in the article are the benchmark for educational activities that should be undertaken in order to regulate the usage of Facebook by children under 13 years of age.
Content may be subject to copyright.
Use of Facebook by Children Aged 10 12 .
Presence in Social Media Despite the Prohibition
DOI: 10.15804/tner.2016.46.4.01
Abstract
Social media, such as Facebook, play an important role in human life. More
and more oen we can observe them also finding their way into the world
of children, who use them to achieve specific benefits. e research sample
consisted of children aged 10 12, namely those who – due to the restrictions
in the Facebook regulations – are not allowed to use it. e purpose of the
study was to identify the number of children aged 10 12 who use Facebook,
as well as how they use this medium. e research findings, obtained in the
diagnostic survey and the focus interview, indicate that: the vast majority of
the respondents have accounts on Facebook, and the older the child, the greater
the probability that he/she has his/her own profile. Girls have more friends and
photos on the Facebook profile than boys, and the number of friends grows
along with the users’ age. e research results presented in the article are the
benchmark for educational activities that should be undertaken in order to
regulate the usage of Facebook by children under 13 years of age.
Keywords: children aged 10 12, benefits, Facebook
Introduction – Theoretical Background for Selecting the Subject,
Terminological Findings
At present, new media are apermanent element of social and cultural func-
tioning of children (Huk, 2015). More and more oen, aspecial place in the areas
Tomasz Huk
Poland
18 Tomasz Huk
of use of the new media by children is taken by social networking portals, access
to which is obtained through mobile media, such as smartphones, tablets, and
laptops. Currently, Facebook is the most popular social website, which frequently
makes it an object of scientific research (Wilson, Gosling, Graham, 2012). Due to
the fact that the medium is intended for people over 13, research in this respect
is rarely conducted among the population of children aged 10 12. is problem
was highlighted by Anna Brosch (2016), describing asituation in which children
begin to function on the Internet for the first time. On the other hand, Mirosława
Wawrzak-Chodaczek (2004) emphasises the role of the Internet in fulfilling the
communication needs of teenagers. e author indicates that the Internet users
“manipulate their identity” in order to make other Web participants pay attention
to them. Manipulation is oen related to ascribing certain features thanks to which
the Internet user may be liked by other Internet users. e Polish research con-
ducted in this respect indicates that contemporary teenagers are “forced to literally
construct their identity by creating their profile: selecting photos, specifying pref-
erences, publishing general and casual self-descriptions” (Wójcik, 2013). anks
to the information provided by children and teenagers on such websites, we know
“who became whose friend, who ended their relationship with whom, who posted
pictures, who has alousy day […]”. Unfortunately, such information may be used
by all Web users – regardless of their age and intentions, e.g., for cyberbullying
(Kowalski, Limber, Agatston, 2010). e research conducted in 2010 among the
group of 9 16-year-olds indicates that 71% of the surveyed have aprofile on one
of the web portals. Additionally, on the basis of analyses, Katarzyna Makaruk
(2013) confirms that teenagers aged 14 17 actively participate in Internet com-
munities. Additionally, girls have social media profiles more oen than boys, and
girls devote more time to this kind of activity. e author also demonstrated the
relation between the frequency of using the social media and the dysfunctional
use of the Internet, as well as the psychological and social problems found in those
Internet users. On the other hand, the research findings presented by Magdalena
Wasylewicz (2011) describe agroup of secondary school students, who, as it seems,
did not have ahabit of repeatedly visiting the social media website. It turns out that
34% of the surveyed students visit such websites several times aweek, 29% – once
aday, and 22% – once aweek. We should add that these results may apply to the
period (before 2011) when social networking portals were not as popular as they
are now. In the opinion of Manfred Spitzer (2015), “for children, replacing real
interpersonal contacts with Internet portals [Facebook] may lead in the long run
to reducing the social modules in their brains. erefore, there is ahazard that, in
the future, Facebook and other similar websites may lead to shrinkage of entire
19Use of Facebook by Children Aged 10 12
areas of our brains responsible for social functions.” e basis for the formulated
theses may be the use of Facebook among children aged 10 12 who make it
ahabit to check their profiles within short time intervals, using asmartphone in
every possible place (e.g., at school), adding messages, photos, browsing profiles,
posts, and commenting on those posts on the social media sites. ey begin to
ascribe value to the number of “likes” under their own posts and the number of
friends in their friend lists.
It was expressed to the fullest extent by Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan (2011), who
believe that when we become dependent, e.g., on repeatedly checking for new posts
on Facebook, the executive area of the brain, called the anterior cingulate cortex,
loses control. is area is located in the front part of the brain, responsible for
decision-making and judgment. e authors claim that addiction therapy should
include not only regulating production of dopamine, but also strengthening the
nerve circuits of the anterior cingulate cortex, and thus it is astrictly psychiatric
activity, going beyond pedagogical activities.
An important phenomenon in the context of the use of social media is the lack
of Internet access and the related fear of missing out, called “FoMo”. Spitzer (2016)
points out that “since the beginning of social networks, where millions of people
constantly do something and inform others about it, this fear has greatly inten-
sified”. Young people want to be kept up-to-date with the information published
by their peers on social websites, since they are the topic of conversations held in
the virtual world and in the real one, ensuring aspecific social position among the
group of friends.
Constantly and excessively repeated activities related to the use of digital media,
which give pleasure to the young user and let him or her “detach” from the real
problems, may lead to addiction. erefore, digital media have ahigh addictive
potential that is based on “high unpredictability of events. Additionally, the
emergence of social media, such as Facebook, creates an opportunity for such
asituation to appear among children. “Social networking portals have astrong
influence on young people and force them to almost constantly be on the Internet,
in fear that they would miss some event” (Spitzer, 2015). Despite anumber of
negative aspects, education concerns the use of Facebook in developing attitudes
(Rosen et al., 2013), knowledge and skills among children and teenagers, which
at present seems to be more efficient than using the traditional teaching methods
(Frania, 2014).
20 Tomasz Huk
Research Methodology
e research area Iexplore is acertain section of reality concerning participa-
tion of children aged 10 12 in the Internet social media networks. An example of
this section is Facebook – asocial network, which may be used by people above 13
years of age. e scarce research conducted in this field indicates that such services
are also used by younger children (Makaruk, 2013). erefore, it is important to
undertake studies that would contribute to diagnosing this phenomenon among
children below 13, as well as to expanding the scientific knowledge in this respect.
Iformulated the research problems on the basis of the “uses and gratifications
theory”, pursuant to which “using the media is determined by gaining asense
of satisfaction from them, by the needs, wishes or motives of apotential user”.
e basic needs in this case are: “information, the need for relaxation, company,
entertainment or »escape«” (McQuail, 2008). On the basis of the aforementioned
theory, Iformulated the research problem: Do children aged 10 12 use Facebook,
and if so – how?
e conducted research was quantitative and qualitative. In order to answer
the research problems, Iused: asurvey questionnaire addressed to children aged
10 12, afocus interview with children aged 10 12, an interview with the parents
of the examined pupils, as well as aquantitative analysis of the Facebook profiles
belonging to children aged 10 12. Irandomly selected the sample, in which the
general population consisted of children aged 10 12, attending one of the Polish
schools. e sampling frame constituted the list of children attending the given
school, and thus the results obtained in the study may be generalised only for the
general population of this school or very similar populations. Assuming the level
of significance α=0.05 and the estimate error level e=0.05, Iset the minimum
sample size as 157 children. e questionnaire covered 71 girls and 86 boys. e
focus interview was conducted with 10 children with their own Facebook profiles
and 2 parents of the children from the focus group. Due to the children’s attribute,
namely having aFacebook profile, Iselected the respondents for the interview in
apurposeful manner, on the basis of the data obtained from the questionnaire.
Ianalysed 113 profiles of children aged 10 12, originating from the general pop-
ulation, who had aFacebook account.
e children came from aPolish town with 360 thousand inhabitants. eir
families belong to the middle class. e obtained results underwent statistical
analysis. In order to determine the relation between the age of the children taking
part in the study and the surveyed having aFacebook account, the χ² test was used.
In turn, in order to determine the correlation between the selected variables, Iused
21Use of Facebook by Children Aged 10 12
Pearsons r formula. Ialso calculated the relation between the studied variables. For
statistical calculations, Iused the Statistica program, version 12.
Results
In the study, the pupils were asked to state if they had aFacebook profile
(Table 1). In the examined sample, 71.97% of the pupils admitted that they had
aFacebook profile, including 87.5% of children aged 12. Analysis of the results
in this respect indicates that the number of Facebook profile holders increases
along with age. At this point, it should be emphasised that aprofile on this social
networking site may be held by people who are at least 13 years of age – as stated
in the regulations. erefore, the vast majority of the respondents have aFacebook
account, despite the restrictions of the website’s regulations. We can thus state that,
when setting up the profile, they stated untrue data related to their age. e results
obtained in the diagnostic survey underwent astatistical analysis. An alternative
hypothesis was adopted, indicating that the age of the examined person influences
holding aFacebook profile. Since χ² emp> χ² tab (13.7>7.815), it is determined with
the probability of 0.95 that there are grounds to reject H0. is means that the
older the child, the greater the likelihood of him/her having aFacebook account.
e research did not demonstrate any statistically significant differences between
having aFacebook account by girls (71.83%) and by boys (72.09%).
Table 1. Children having a Facebook account, with breakdown into age N=157
Age 10 years 11 years 12 years Tota l
N%N%N%N%
With aFB account 32 59.26 25 64.10 56 87.5 113 71.97
Without aFB account 22 40.74 14 35.90 8 12.5 44 28.03
Source: the author’s own studies
Analysis of Facebook accounts of the examined children indicates that the
average number of Facebook friends grows along with age (Table 2). 10-year-old
children have on average 108 friends, 11-year-olds – 180, and 12-year-olds – 201
friends. Girls have on average more friends (180) than boys (156). e analysis
also covered the number of photos posted by the user and photos with the user’s
face. e examined children on average have 40 photos on their profiles, including
on average 15 photos containing the face of the examined children. e girls have
22 Tomasz Huk
more photos on their profiles (49) than the boys (33). e photographs of the
examined girls also more oen present their faces (23) than the photographs of the
examined boys (9). e obtained results indicate that the number of photos posted
on Facebook by children increases along with age. is trend persists also in the
case of photographs with the user on them. An important element of Facebooks
functioning is obtaining and leaving “likes”. On average, the respondents receive
180 “likes” under the published photos. is number increases along with the age
of the users; agreat difference can be observed between the “likes” received by
the surveyed girls (245) and by the surveyed boys (90). Ihave observed asimilar
situation in the case of “likes” obtained under posts published by the surveyed.
erefore, the number of obtained “likes” increases along with age, and the average
number of obtained “likes” is greater in the case of the examined girls (349) than
the examined boys (132).
Table 2. Variables concerning the analysed Facebook profiles of children aged
10 – 12, N=113
Age 10
years
11
years
12
years Tot a l
Average number of friends 108 180 201 169
Average number of photos posted by the user 13 43 54 40
Average number of photos posted by the user which include
the user
7 13 20 15
Average number of all “likes” under the user’s photos 53 139 231 160
Average number of “likes” under the user’s posts 79 176 341 230
Average period of the profile’s functioning in months 20 30 32 28
Source: the author’s own studies
Among the drawn sample, almost all the respondents gave their true full name
in their profile. e average time the examined have been present on Facebook is
28 months. 12-year-olds have been present on Facebook the longest. No significant
difference in this respect has been observed between the surveyed girls and boys.
Table 3 presents the use of Facebook by the surveyed children. It turns out
that 70.8% of the surveyed leave “likes” under photos, posts, videos of other users.
e second most oen performed activity on Facebook is “posting photos”
39.82% of the surveyed. e respondents successively indicated: commenting on
posts and photos of other users” – 31.86% of the surveyed, “browsing profiles of
other users” – 26.55%, “publishing posts” – 21.24%, “leaving friend invitations
23Use of Facebook by Children Aged 10 12
– 15.93%, “searching for friends” 13.27%. e respondents most rarely publish
videos – 7.08%. In five out of eight categories, the examined girls performed the
specified activities on Facebook more oen than the boys. On the other hand, the
activities performed on Facebook more oen by the boys than by the girls include:
“browsing profiles of other persons”, “publishing posts, and “publishing videos”.
Table 3. The use of Facebook among children aged 10, 11 and 12, N=113
Age/Gender 10 years 11 years 12 years Girls Boys To t a l
N%N%N%N%N%N%
Ileave “likes”
under photos,
posts, videos of
other people
18 56.25 18 72 44 78.57 39 76.47 41 66.19 80 70.80
Ipublish photos 9 28.13 12 48 24 42.85 23 45.1 22 35.48 45 39.82
Icomment on
posts and photos
of other people
8 25 9 36 19 33.93 17 33.33 19 30.65 36 31.86
Ibrowse other
people’s profiles
5 15.63 6 24 19 33.93 10 19.61 20 32.26 30 26.55
Ipublish my
own posts
6 18.75 6 24 12 21.43 8 15.69 16 25.81 24 21.24
Iinvite people to
the group of my
friends
4 12.5 2 8 12 21.43 10 19.61 8 12.90 18 15.93
Isearch for
friends
5 15.63 3 12 7 12.5 7 13.72 8 12.90 15 13.27
Ipublish videos 3 9.38 1 4 4 7.14 2 3.92 6 9.68 8 7.08
Source: the author’s own studies
e focus interviews conducted with children aged 10, 11 and 12 allowed for
formulating conclusions, which expanded on the questionnaire answers described
above and the analysis of Facebook profiles. e reasons for not having aFace-
book account among the group of 10-year-olds are first of all associated with age
restrictions and prohibitions of their parents. Few answers indicated other reasons.
One of the children said: “Idon’t want to have aFacebook account, because Iam
not 13 years old. Because someone may call us names and hate us. Someone may
call us stupid, ugly and fat. Someone may keep sending us spam. e group of
10-year-olds also includes those with their own profiles. eir answers indicate
24 Tomasz Huk
that they are aware of the prohibition related to the user’s age, which they broke.
ese answers indicate obtaining some benefits related to the use of social media.
A10 year-old girl argues for having aFacebook profile: “Ican contact my friend
through Facebook. Ionly accept those friends Iknow in real life. Ibrowse You-
tubers’ posts. rough Facebook Iaccess Messenger, where Ican talk with my
friends, my mom, my parents, but not with strangers. When Ipublish my photos,
they are not detailed.
e 11- and 12-year-old children who participated in the study in their answers
did not justify their illegal setting-up of aFacebook account, since this medium is
used for communicating with their peers and building friendships.
e group of parents has both opponents and proponents of a10 12-year-old
child having aFacebook account. In the conducted interview, one of the mothers
admitted that she had set up aFacebook account for her 10-year-old daughter
herself, because she did not want her daughter to be rejected by her school peers.
e mother stated that she had full control over her daughter’s account and she
reacted on acurrent basis to any threats created by other users of this website.
On the other hand, the reasoning of the mother who opposed to her daughter
having aFacebook account was justified by protecting the daughter against
unwanted content and vulgar posts and photos published by others. e interview
was attended by parents who were unable to answer whether their children had
aFacebook account, since they had never asked their children about that and had
not talked with them about this topic.
e conducted research also covered astatistical analysis of selected variables
concerning Facebook profiles belonging to the examined children aged 10 12
(Table 4). Using Pearson’s r correlation, assuming p<0.05, it was examined whether
there is astatistically important correlation between the variables. e obtained
results indicate that apositive correlation exists between all variables, and thus
the value of one variable increases along with the value of another variable. e
correlation coefficients occur within the range of aweak correlation to anearly
complete correlation (Guilford, 1964).
e largest coefficient value occurs between the “Number of all »likes« le
on Facebook under the photos of the examined children” and the “Number of
all »likes« le on Facebook under the posts of the examined children. We can
observe anearly complete correlation in this case, which indicates the following
relationship: the examined children, who obtain alot of “likes” under their photos,
also obtain alot of “likes” under their posts. Another nearly complete correlation
can be observed in the case of the following variables: “Number of photos posted
by the user, which include the user” and “Number of all »likes« under the user’s
25Use of Facebook by Children Aged 10 12
posts”. We can assume that the number of photos with the user contributes to the
increase in the number of “likes” le under the Facebook user’s posts. is relation
is not by any means obvious, since we can encounter asituation in which achild
posts alot of photos on his or her Facebook account and publishes many posts,
which do not receive many “likes” due to low popularity of the child among the
Internet friends. Avery high correlation can be also observed in the case of the
following variables: “Number of photos posted by the user, which include the user”
and “Number of all »likes« under the user’s photos”. is correlation indicates that
Facebook friends mainly leave “likes” under photos which include the owner of
agiven profile. According to the research, children aged 10 12 mainly post photos
including their faces, which is indicated by another observed “high correlation
between the “Number of all photos” and the “Number of photos with the profile
owner’s face”. In addition, the “Number of photos posted by the surveyed on Face-
Table 4. Pearson’s r correlation between variables related to Facebook profiles
belonging to children aged 10 12, p < 0.05, N=113
Number of
photos posted
by the user
Number of
photos posted
by the user,
which include
the user
Number of all
“likes” under
the user’s
posts
Period of
the profile’s
functioning
in months
Number of all
“likes” under
the user’s
photos
Number of
friends
0.247347 0.434746 0.553044 0.371667 0.575075
Number of
photos posted by
the user
-0.753011 0.650170 0.294312 0.648129
Number of
photos posted by
the user, which
include the user
- - 0.948246 0.252100 0.918117
Number of all
“likes” under the
user’s posts
---0.230072 0.980232
Period of
the profile’s
functioning in
months
- - - - 0.230360
Source: the author’s own studies.
26 Tomasz Huk
book” positively correlates with the “Number of obtained »likes« under posts and
under those photos”. e more the photos and posts, the more the “likes” obtained.
e statistical analysis indicated that the “Number of Facebook friends” correlates
with the “Number of obtained »likes« under the user’s photos and posts” – it is
ahigh correlation. On the other hand, the “Number of friends” shows an average
correlation with the “Number of photos” with the user and the “Period of the
profile’s functioning. Aweak correlation can be observed between: – “Number
of friends” and “Number of photos posted on Facebook”;“Number of photos,
including photos showing the user” and “Period of the profile’s functioning”;
“Number of obtained »likes«” and “Period of the profile’s functioning”; – “Number
of obtained »likes« under photos” and “Period of the profile’s functioning”.
Conclusions
e conducted research allowed for describing the reality related to the use
of social media by children aged 10 12, despite the commonly prevailing prohi-
bition. is situation creates many problems, which are consciously ignored by
Facebook administrators, and also by parents and teachers. Especially the latter
should have ahigh level of competence concerning the childrens participation
in the cyberspace (Juszczyk, Kim, 2015). e essence of the problem involves
positive benefits gained by children under 13 years of age when using social
media, which they are not allowed to use. Let us not forget that the examined
children aged 10 12 use Facebook because it results from their natural need
to build social interactions with their peers. is thesis is consistent with the
“use and benefits theory”, the assumptions of which are based on the positive
aspect of using the media in order to search for information, build the persons
own identity and social relations and fulfil their needs related to spending free
time. erefore, steps should be taken which would allow for resolving the legal
conflict related to the use of Facebook by children under 13, as well as for devel-
opment of an educational programme, the main objective of which would be
for 10 12-year-old users to gain competences concerning the proper use of the
social media. Such aprogramme should be included in the obligatory educational
content implemented in Polish schools.
27Use of Facebook by Children Aged 10 12
References
BroschA., (2016). When the Child is Born into the Internet : Sharenting as aGrowing
Trend among Parents on Facebook, e New Educational Review, Vol. 43/2016, DOI:
10.15804/tner.2016.43.1.19, pp. 225 – 235.
Frania, M., (2014). New Educational Trends Connected with the Development of Media
and Innovative Technologies – AFew Reflections on the Future Perspectives on Learn-
ing and Teaching, Journal of Educational and Social Research, Vol. 4 No.4, June 2014,
Doi:10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n4p232, pp. 232 – 236.
Guilford J.G., (1964). Fundamental statistics in psychology and education, Warszawa, p. 157.
Huk, T.,(2015). Facebook in creating the image and social behavior among teenagers under
13 years of age, [w:] Siniša Opić, Milan Matijević (red.), Researching Paradigms of
Childhood and Education, Zagrzeb Wydawnictwo Faculty of Teacher Education Uni-
versity of Zagreb, pp. 432 441
Juszczyk, S., Kim, Y., (2015). Social Roles and Competences of the Teacher in aVirtual
Classroom in Poland and Korea, e New Educational Review, Vol. 42/2015, DOI:
10.15804/tner.2015.42.4.213, pp.153 – 164.
Kowalski R.M., Limber S.P., Agatston P.W., (2010). Cyberprzemoc wśród dzieci imłodzieży
(ang. Cyberbullying among children and adolescents). Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu
Jagiellońskiego, Kraków, pp. 61 in.
MakarukK., (2013). Korzystanie zportali społecznościowych przez młodzież. Wyniki
badań EU NET ADB (ang. e use of social networks for youths. e results of the
research EU NET ADB), Dziecko krzywdzone. Teoria, badania, praktyka. (ang. Abused
child. eory, Research, Practice)Vol. 12, nr 1/2013, pp. 69 79.
McQuailD., (2008). Teoria komunikowania masowego (ang. Mass Communictaion eory).
Przeł. M.Bucholc, A.Szulżycka, Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, p. 416.
Rosen L.D., WhalingK., Carrier L.M., Cheever N.A., RokkumJ., (2013). e Media and
Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale: An empirical investigation, Computers in
Human Behavior, 29 (2013), pp. 2501 2511.
SmallG., VorganG., (2011). iMózg. Jak przetrwać technologiczną przemianę współczesnej
umysłowości. (ang. iBRain. Surviving the Technological Alternation of the Modern Mind).
Przeł. Sy Borg, Poznań, Wyd. Vesper, p. 81.
SpitzerM., (2015). Cyfrowa demencja. Wjaki sposób pozbawiamy rozumu siebie iswoje
dzieci. (ang. Digital Demetia: What We and Our Children are Doing to our Minds). Przeł.
Andrzej Lipiński. Wyd. Dobra Literatura, Słupsk, p. 112, p. 235.
SpitzerM., (2016). Cyber choroby. Jak cyfrowe życie rujnuje nasze zdrowie. (ang. Cyber
Sick. How digital life is ruining our health.) Przeł. Małgorzata Guzowska. Wyd. Dobra
Literatura, Słupsk, p. 184.
WasylewiczM., (2011).Portale społecznościowe – wirtualne miejsce spotkań e-pokolenia. W:
Technologie edukacyjne – Tradycja. Współczesność. Przewidywana przyszłość. (ang. Social
networking sites – avirtual meeting place for e-generation. In: Educational Technologies -
Tradition. Present day. Expected future). Red. T.Lewowicki, B.Siemieniecki, Toruń, Wyd.
Adam Marszałek, pp. 103 116.
28 Tomasz Huk
Wawrzak-Chodaczek, M., (2004).Rola Internetu wzaspokajaniu potrzeb komunikacyjnych
młodzieży. (ang.e role of the Internet in meeting the communication needs of youth).
W:Kompetencje medialne społeczeństwa wiedzy (ang. Media literacy of knowledge society)
Red. W.Strykowski, W.Skrzydlewski. Poznań, Wyd. eMPi2, p. 179.
Wilson R.E., (2012). AReview of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences, Perspectives on
Psychological Science May 2012, vol. 7 no. 3, pp. 203 220.
Wójcik, Sz., (2013). Korzystanie zinternetu przez polska młodzież – studium metoda teorii
ugruntowanej. Wyniki badań EU NET ADB, (ang. Use of the Internet by Polish youth
– study method of grounded theory. e results of the research EU NET ADB), Dziecko
krzywdzone. Teoria, badania, praktyka. (ang. Abused child. eory, Research, Practice).
Vol. 12, nr 1/2013,pp. 13 33.
... Moral panics about digital childhoods, grounded or not, play an integral part in shaping discourse surrounding social media use (Thomson et al., 2018). Social media use is significantly under-researched within the tween contingent (Huk, 2016) and much that is known about social media is derived from research conducted with older teenagers and adults (Burnette et al., 2017). In addition, most research documents specific problems associated with usage, such as Facebook depression, cyber bullying, sexting, and negative body image (McDool et al., 2016). ...
... Moreover, for children who have grown up with virtual relationships that are perhaps as important as their real-life social repertoire, the boundary and differentiation between "real" and "virtual" may not be so clear and the distinction between this front and backstage identity blurred. A few participants in this study were aware that you did not have to reveal your true self on social media and this could demonstrate that children may have more awareness of the perceptions of others than thought in other studies (Huk, 2016). Some children did display discernment about the images they portrayed on social media and the comments they made to others, but this is certainly an area that needs investigating more thoroughly. ...
Article
Full-text available
Social media use is changing the experience of socialization for younger children, as they are heavy adopters of these platforms despite the terms of service being 13 years of age. This research recruited eight Year 6 focus groups in four primary schools and employed a range of activities to explore their views surrounding social media. Results indicate that young children are aware of overt dangers, such as catfishing, but may experience negative subjective experiences when interacting on social media. This was particularly apparent in the discussions around Snapchat filters (digital overlays placed over photographs). It is necessary to address emotional resilience in response to this.
... The analysis of the literature on the style of use of new media (including the use of smartphones) by adolescents is currently yielding a number of interesting findings, which are setting new directions for research as well as making it necessary to undertake indepth studies related to digital security (Huk, 2018). Of particular relevance is research on the style of use of smartphones as devices that are used intensively by young people and are a primary tool for obtaining information, communication, entertainment, and accessing what have become the essential e-services of daily life (Cvek & Pšunder, 2021;Huk, 2016;Srinivassin & Sasikala, 2022). The high intensity of smartphone use has a not inconsiderable impact on both the positive aspects associated with new technologies, but also on the generation of individual and social problems (Tomczyk, 2021). ...
Article
Full-text available
Smartphone use by adolescents is increasingly attracting the interest of social scientists, parents, and educational stakeholders (teachers, educators, educational policy makers), generally in a negative context. There are, however, many myths surrounding the issue, resulting from the reproduction of stereotypes about the psychosocial functioning of adolescents in cyberspace, as well as inadequately constructed research tools that measure how new media are used. This text is an attempt to show the phenomenon of problematic Internet use through the prism of screen time measured using real data from smartphones. The research was conducted in first half of 2022 among adolescents aged 13–19 in Bosnia and Herzegovina (N = 1185, mean age = 15.47 with standard deviation = 1.84). The research was implemented using a triangulation of tools such as the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS Scale), Software Installed on the Smartphone (SIS Scale), The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the Screen Time Scale (STS). From the data collected, it was noted that: 1) Screen time correlates weakly with problematic smartphone use and social networking; 2)The average period of smartphone use in the study group is 3 h49 minutes per day, of which 37 min are related to web browsing, while 2 h22 minutes are related to social networking; 3) A quarter of adolescents use a smartphone more than 5.5 h per day, of which more than 2 h15 minutes is screen time related to social media; 4) Approximately half of the respondents use smartphones slightly more than 2 h per day; 5) Girls use smartphones for longer than boys; 6) Place of residence (city or countryside) does not affect screen time; 7) Screen time is related to a medium degree to the type of software installed on the smartphone; 8) There is a need to refine the measurement methodology of screen time and to abandon self-declaration in this area.
... SM offer both opportunities and challenges in the ways that pre-teens communicate and interact in various types of relationships(Lagíňová & Fornálová, 2018). In expatriate family-life, the social groups created through online interaction strengthen complex social and personal ties by transcending geography(Dey et al., 2018;Kizgin et al., 2020).Although children's online behaviour may appear limited compared with the SM engagement of adults(Whiting & Williams, 2013), for many young people, SM interaction brings about desirable cognitions and behaviour, such as self-expression, sharing content, entertainment and enjoyment(Wu & Srite, 2021).Kopecký (2016) identified eight main motivations among Czech children for using Facebook (communicating with others, maintaining contact, peer pressure, playing games, meeting new people, sharing photos, Facebook as 'fashion', Facebook as an environment for developing virtual representation); four of which directly relate to communicating and maintaining contact with peers, in line withHuk's (2016) findings that children use Facebook because it arises from their natural need to build social interaction with peers. Our results complement and extend the findings ofOliveira et al. (2016) who suggest that social identity and the need for a positive relationship with other SM consumers will influence SM engagement for young adultsand ofDutot (2020) who explores how individual and collective identities influence satisfaction for French adults. ...
Article
Full-text available
Social media (SM) platforms are frequently used by pre‐teen (8‐12‐year old) consumers for curating their self‐identity, developing social relationships and for learning. This paper identifies the building blocks that drive pre‐teen SM engagement. We use the Gioia method to analyse interview data collected from 32 pre‐teens and parents, in France. Findings show that the primary building blocks are FoMO (Fear of Missing Out) and social inclusive experience, being noticed online, multiplicity, excessive use (without guidelines) and self‐regulation. Identity constructs (self‐identity and social‐identity) are used to explain SM engagement – and to empirically define core conceptual building blocks (aggregate dimensions) that drive SM engagement. We contribute to consumer theory by developing a holistic research framework to examine pre‐teen SM engagement. Self‐identity and social‐identity theories help explain the factors that drive pre‐teen SM engagement and explain push/pull influences of parents and schools in encouraging or discouraging certain behaviour. We build on current research into SM usage, drawing from the fragmented existing literature, to reveal causes of both excessive screen‐time and SM usage among pre‐teen consumers, which may indicate antecedents of future adult behaviour. Practical and regulatory policy issues are considered and addressed.
... T. Huk (2016) emphasizes that spare time spent by 10-12 year-olds is often uncontrolled. Children are attracted to social networks, as it is their natural need to establish social contacts, interact with peers, find necessary information about them, etc. ...
Article
Full-text available
In the article theoretical and practical aspects of the formation and development of media culture of preschool and primary school children are highlighted. The authors consider the technologies in the broadest sense (radio, television, satellites, mobile phones, landlines, network equipment and software, etc.), through which the child receives the most diverse information. Positive and negative factors of influence of the media environment on its social formation are singled out. Emphasis is placed on the phenomena of cyberbullying that take place in the information environment, and pedagogical cooperation of teachers, parents and the community to combat virtual child violence. The relevance of the formation of the child’s media culture is emphasized and the connection of this definition with such concepts as: media literacy, media competence, media security, media awareness, media immunity, media socialization, media environment and others is determined. A conceptual model of the media’s influence on the child’s social competence and pedagogical recommendations for the practical solution of the outlined problem are presented. The results of an empirical study to study the level of media culture of preschool children by cognitive, emotional and behavioral criteria are presented.
... Teenagers are attracted to social networks, as it is their natural need to establish social contacts, interact with peers, find necessary information about them, etc. 11 . The research results of T. Huk (2016) presented are the benchmark for educational activities that should be undertaken in order to regulate the use of Facebook by children under the age of 13. At the same time, it can be dangerous for students (for example, the appearance of games in the so-called "death groups" in the post-Soviet countries: "Blue Whale", "Quiet House", "Fairy Winx", "Disappearing in 24 hours", etc.). ...
Article
Full-text available
The article highlights the problem of spare time and leisure of pupils in conditions of globalization changes and a new socio-cultural reality. The structure and content of spare time of young people aged 12-15 years living in the Ukrainian and Polish Carpathians have been defined. The study involved 138 Polish (71 girls and 67 boys) and 131 Ukrainian (64 girls and 67 boys) school students. The sociocultural context of leisure activities has been substantiated and general tendencies in the field of spare time of Ukrainian and Polish students have been revealed. The problem of spare time of young people will be presented on the basis of own research conducted among pupils from Myślenice district (Poland) and Ivano-Frankivsk region (Ukraine). Results: in the article the authors presented the results of their research on the evaluation of the lifestyle lead by young people from two countries, including physical activity, personal care and life safety. As a result of the research, the interest of adolescents in passive activities has been revealed: listening to music (one or more times a week): 84.73% of Ukrainian and 89.86% of Polish respondents; watching TV shows – respectively 38.9% and 62.3%; spending spare time in front of a computer screen, in particular in social networks – 72.46% of Polish and 67.2% of Ukrainian teenagers. It has been proved that the organization of meaningful leisure in schoolchildren of both countries is characterized by the dominance of the emotional aspect over the informative. The article stresses the main concepts in terms of protecting and strengthening physical, social, spiritual and psychical health of pupils.
Article
Full-text available
Background: In the digital age, safeguarding children’s mental health (CMH) has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges. The rapid evolution of social media (SM) from a basic networking platform to a multifaceted tool has introduced numerous conveniences. However, it has also posed significant challenges to children’s mental well-being. Methods: Given the intricate relationship between the widespread use of SM and mental health issues in children, this study conducted a systematic scoping review to examine the literature on the impact of SM on CMH from 2014 to 2024. Literature searches were performed across five databases (Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, and APA PsycInfo), and the retrieved studies were screened, extracted, and analyzed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Results: The review identified a complex relationship between SM use and CMH. Different SM platforms exhibited varying effects on children. Frequent SM use was strongly associated with lower self-esteem, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and other mental health challenges in children. Conversely, moderate use of SM facilitated social interactions and emotional expression, which may have a positive influence on mental health. Additionally, factors such as social support from family and school were found to play a critical role in mitigating the negative effects of SM on CMH. Conclusions: To enhance CMH, it is essential to guide children in the appropriate use of SM, promote awareness of privacy protection, and ensure adequate family and social support. Future research should further investigate the specific mechanisms underlying SM use and its differential effects on children across varying age groups and regions.
Article
Social media facilitates a digital presentation of self and a curated identity that may differ from real-life portrayals. Being exposed to others ‘highlight reel’ may influence the way we perceive ourselves. Using collage with an unstructured interview, children’s perceptions of how they portray their identity in digital spaces were explored. This paper focuses on an in-depth exploration of three of these collages and demonstrates that identity portrayal may be more complex than an online/offline binary. Findings demonstrate that children need support from practitioners to develop emotional skills to deal with the complexity of their social media use beyond traditional e-safety lessons.
Article
Full-text available
The urgency of the problem of developing artistic and aesthetic abilities of students in the era of globalization and digital technologies is substantiated in the article. The influence of the educational and mental environment of the country on the development of aesthetic interests of students is characterized. Methods of research: survey (N = 269), methods of pedagogical statistics. The adolescents from Ukraine and Poland on their aesthetic preferences in the proposed categories were involved in the study: choreography, cinematography, theatrical and variety-circus art, literature, song art, drawing and painting, activity in different musical subcultures (emo, hippie, rock, rap etc.), photography (selfie), etc. It was found that the priority aesthetic interests among Ukrainian and Polish students are the following types of art: song art, different types of musical subculture, literature. Adolescents are much less interested in museum art, art photography, theater and fine arts. It was confirmed that the cultural and aesthetic preferences of the respondents are related to various currents and performers of contemporary music, collecting, videos, as well as media (social networking, virtual dating, games, etc.). It was found that gender stereotypes do not have a significant impact on Ukrainian and Polish students in their attitude to art. Usually these artistic and aesthetic interests are similar, which are confirmed by the results of correlation analysis. Emphasis is placed on the need to strengthen the aesthetic orientation of the content of school education for the development of aesthetic culture in students, improving methods and forms of organizing aesthetic development classes in educational establishments of various types, implementation of innovative educational strategies for holistic artistic and aesthetic perception of reality by adolescents.
Article
Full-text available
The article is devoted to the problem of leisure activities of adolescent pupils in the mountainous school of the Ukrainian Carpathians in the conditions of a new socio-cultural reality. The peculiarities of value orientations of young people aged 12-15 in relation to leisure time spending are investigated. The sociocultural context of leisure activities is substantiated and general tendencies in teenagers leisure activities in the mountain region are revealed in the article. The results of the experimental study of the interests of adolescents and the specifics of leisure time in the mountain educational environment are presented in the paper. The study found that most students at leisure prefer passive activities (listening to music, spending time on the Internet environment, watching TV shows, etc). A significant proportion of respondents prefer to have an active rest with friends outside the housee, usually in the natural environment. The absence of purposefulness and domination of the emotional aspect in organizing meaningful leisure is revealed by the author. Key words: mountain school, leisure, cultural and leisure activities, educational environment, Ukrainian Carpathians, pupils in their teens.
Article
Full-text available
Parents actively share information about their children on Facebook, but little research has explored the extent of this issue. The goal of this paper is to theorize a new type of parents’ online activities concerning their children, especially the problem of sharenting, which is increasingly common in contexts where social media such as Facebook play a significant role in relationships and interactions. This paper explores what kind of baby pictures parents share on Facebook and what are the likely causes of doing it. The presented research was conducted with the use of social media ethnography among 168 Polish parents using Facebook. The findings have shown that the phenomenon of sharenting is common practice among parents.
Article
Full-text available
The article traverses the new trends, selected methods and directions that are present in school and out of school education. The author analyzes the Polish examples and tries to relate them to the reality of the world education. Today's society is called 'information society', 'knowledge society' and but also 'network society'. The development of the media and new technologies has caused that today's teacher and student of all ages can enjoy a variety of tools to improve communication, gathering information and learning. The purpose of reflection is to identify what are the coming major trends in e-learning and education generally that will make an impact upon education in Poland (key issues: mobile learning; use of transmedia storytelling and WebQuest in education; gamification; new assessment tools such as e-portfolios and badges; blended learning as a method of learning; TED and Khan Academy as an educational sources; MOOC; OER; flipped classroom; The Learning Analitics).
Article
Full-text available
Current approaches to measuring people's everyday usage of technology-based media and other computer-related activities have proved to be problematic as they use varied outcome measures, fail to measure behavior in a broad range of technology-related domains and do not take into account recently developed types of technology including smartphones. In the present study, a wide variety of items, covering a range of up-to-date technology and media usage behaviors. Sixty-six items concerning technology and media usage, along with 18 additional items assessing attitudes toward technology, were administered to two independent samples of individuals, comprising 942 participants. Factor analyses were used to create 11 usage subscales representing smartphone usage, general social media usage, Internet searching, e-mailing, media sharing, text messaging, video gaming, online friendships, Facebook friendships, phone calling, and watching television in addition to four attitude-based subscales: positive attitudes, negative attitudes, technological anxiety/dependence, and attitudes toward task-switching. All subscales showed strong reliabilities and relationships between the subscales and pre-existing measures of daily media usage and Internet addiction were as predicted. Given the reliability and validity results, the new Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale was suggested as a method of measuring media and technology involvement across a variety of types of research studies either as a single 60-item scale or any subset of the 15 subscales.
Article
Full-text available
With over 800 million active users, Facebook is changing the way hundreds of millions of people relate to one another and share information. A rapidly growing body of research has accompanied the meteoric rise of Facebook as social scientists assess the impact of Facebook on social life. In addition, researchers have recognized the utility of Facebook as a novel tool to observe behavior in a naturalistic setting, test hypotheses, and recruit participants. However, research on Facebook emanates from a wide variety of disciplines, with results being published in a broad range of journals and conference proceedings, making it difficult to keep track of various findings. And because Facebook is a relatively recent phenomenon, uncertainty still exists about the most effective ways to do Facebook research. To address these issues, the authors conducted a comprehensive literature search, identifying 412 relevant articles, which were sorted into 5 categories: descriptive analysis of users, motivations for using Facebook, identity presentation, the role of Facebook in social interactions, and privacy and information disclosure. The literature review serves as the foundation from which to assess current findings and offer recommendations to the field for future research on Facebook and online social networks more broadly. © The Author(s) 2012.
Article
"Some suggested aids in learning statistics": p.11-12
Rola Internetu w zaspokajaniu potrzeb komunikacyjnych młodzieży. (ang.The role of the Internet in meeting the communication needs of youth)
  • M Wawrzak-Chodaczek
Wawrzak-Chodaczek, M., (2004).Rola Internetu w zaspokajaniu potrzeb komunikacyjnych młodzieży. (ang.The role of the Internet in meeting the communication needs of youth).
Facebook in creating the image and social behavior among teenagers under 13 years of age, [w:] Siniša Opić Researching Paradigms of Childhood and Education
  • T Huk
Huk, T.,(2015). Facebook in creating the image and social behavior among teenagers under 13 years of age, [w:] Siniša Opić, Milan Matijević (red.), Researching Paradigms of Childhood and Education, Zagrzeb Wydawnictwo Faculty of Teacher Education University of Zagreb, pp. 432 – 441
Korzystanie z internetu przez polska młodzież – studium metoda teorii ugruntowanej Wyniki badań EU NET ADB, (ang. Use of the Internet by Polish youth – study method of grounded theory. The results of the research EU NET ADB), Dziecko krzywdzone. Teoria, badania, praktyka. (ang
  • Sz Wójcik
Wójcik, Sz., (2013). Korzystanie z internetu przez polska młodzież – studium metoda teorii ugruntowanej. Wyniki badań EU NET ADB, (ang. Use of the Internet by Polish youth – study method of grounded theory. The results of the research EU NET ADB), Dziecko krzywdzone. Teoria, badania, praktyka. (ang. Abused child. Theory, Research, Practice).
Cyberprzemoc wśród dzieci i młodzieży (ang. Cyberbullying among children and adolescents)
  • R M Kowalski
  • S P Limber
  • P W Agatston
Kowalski R.M., Limber S.P., Agatston P.W., (2010). Cyberprzemoc wśród dzieci i młodzieży (ang. Cyberbullying among children and adolescents). Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków, pp. 61 i n.
iMózg. Jak przetrwać technologiczną przemianę współczesnej umysłowości. (ang. iBRain. Surviving the Technological Alternation of the Modern Mind
  • G Small
  • G Vorgan
Small G., Vorgan G., (2011). iMózg. Jak przetrwać technologiczną przemianę współczesnej umysłowości. (ang. iBRain. Surviving the Technological Alternation of the Modern Mind).