use of the Internet are discussed, but at the time of review, no studies that ... did not list this as an interest, and that girls named finding information as an ...... Product orcharacter branding: Images of current movie and book characters shown. ..... (2EGM0731,www.simpsons.com), and "because it shows me yo-gi-oh [sic] cards ...
Preadolescents' Internet Usage: Psychosocial Implications
Dawn
E. Pollon (B.A. Hons, B.A.)
Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
Submitted
in partial fulfilment of the
Education
requirements for the degree of
Master of Education Faculty of Education, Brock University
St.
in
Catharines, Ontario
©June, 2003
Abstract
Preadolescent Internet usage
is
prevalent today. This thesis
preadolescents use the Internet, what they do
when they
examined how Canadian
are on the Internet,
and
why
preadolescents are fascinated with the Internet. Eight quahtative categories were derived
from the
data.
The
Virtual Nurturing,
distilling
categories are Downloading, Information Hunting,
Consumerism,
Gaming, Expressions of Violence, Chatting, and Music.
By critically
and analyzing preadolescent Internet behaviour through the lens of behavioural
and cognitive psychology, and explicating the amount of psychological, cognitive, and social learning that preadolescents
that is cumulatively a
made
may be exposed
to
on the
Internet,
and the
attraction
profound draw for a preadolescent audience, an argument will be
that Internet usage in preadolescents
may
impair their cognitive, social, and
psychological development because of the impulse seeking and gratification priming that
has been reinforced during the formative period of preadolescence.
n
Acknowledgements would
I
first
like to
thank Dr.
moment I saw her
work with
her.
Thank you to Dr.
I
like to
To my hero
I
Elliott for
knew
that
I
being a pivotal
would be blessed
woman in my life. From the if I
had an opportunity to
am. Thank you Anne.
I
Nancy Murray who
who
Merle Richards
would
speak,
Blessed to Dr.
Anne
taught
taught
me why what we do matters. Thank you
me that quiet wisdom will always be heard.
thank the participants
who made this
study possible.
my Dad - 1 love you and have the utmost respect for you.
your support. Thank you
Thank you
for
Myma for loving my Dad and our family. Thank you to my
Grandma and Grandpa - the
loves of my
life
- who kept me
cool,
on the road, and
feeling
loved and cared for every day in spite of distance.
Thank you the morning"
to Kelly
seemed so
Terry and Milaine,
Wenzel, all
gave
Powick who has been a remarkable gut-splittingly hilarious.
Dawn
friend;
Thank you
to
never has "bacon in
my friends Cathy Rhodes,
Coopsie, Karen and Andy, Aunty Barb, Amanda, Leslie
my Aunty Betty and my brother Chris (for his gratis accounting services), who me
support and
McGinn who
me writing,
whom I love and admire deeply. Thank you to Dr.
Michelle
has been a great mentor. Thank you to Terry and Dr. C. Zuliani
and Denise for your
much
appreciated editing.
Thank you
Marshall, the entire Marshall family, and especially Ria and Niki
to Dr.
who
and Mrs.
who were profound role
models during a formative time.
Thank you
to the
Thank you
to
One who
guides
me always.
my love, Paul, whose
perennial as the grass.
ui
kept
friendship, support, laughter
and love
is
as
Table of Contents Abstract
ii
Acknowledgements
iii
List of Tables
vi
CHAPTER ONE: THE PROBLEM
1
Overview
1
Purpose of the Study Questions to be Answered
2
Definitions of Terms
4
Theoretical
3
Framework
5
Importance of the Study
7
Scope and Limitations of the Study
8
SSHRC Explanation
9
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
11
The Demographics
12
Why Children
12
use the Internet
Internet Safety and Privacy Issues
16
Developmental Issues
21
Summary of the Review
29
of Literature
CHAPTER THREE: METHDOLOGY AND PROCEURES
31
Description of Operational Procedures/Method Research Design Privacy and Confidentiality
31 31
33
Participants
33
Instrumentation
35 35
Data Collection and Recording Data Processing and Analysis Educational Importance Free and Informed Consent Philosophical Traditions of Methodology Rhetorical Assumptions Epistemological Assumptions
36 38 39 39 39
Establishing Credibility
40 40
Ontological Assumptions
41
Axiological Assumptions
42 43
Summary of Chapter
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTS, THEMES AND OUTLIERS Coding: Identmcation of Concepts and Themes
44
45
Longitudinal Analysis of Participants' Choices: Developmental Shifts or Merely
47
Preference?
The "What": Content Analysis of the Five Most Frequently Named
IV
Sites
50
MSN.com
HarrvPotter.com
54 54 55 56 57
FreeArcade.com
57
Neopets.com Funbrain.com
Yahoo.com
Bonus.com Hotmail.com Newgrounds.com Microanalysis of Eight Main Categores
58
59 59 61
Downloading: Evidence of Preadolescent Digital Sophistication
62
A Portal to "Cool Hunting," Expressions of Autonomy and the Value of Information Internet Consumerism: Preadolescent Desires Virtual Nurturing, Neopets and the Language of Realitv for Preadolescent Females Info Hunting:
Plaving
Games
in the Internet:
New 63
66 68
The Universal Preadolescent Pastime
72
Expressions of violence
76 78
Internet Chatting: Strangers are Friends
Preadolescents and Music on the Internet: Expressions of Loving, Learning and Listening
80 82
Self-studv Thursday June 26: 15 minute break
CHAPTER FIVE; SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 86 Skinner, Behaviourism, Bandura. Social Learning, and the Internet, the Opiate of all
Media
87
Observations of Participant Computer Usage
Behavioural Priming Through Internet Usage:
88
A Skinner Box
in
Every
Household?
89
Bandura, Social Learning Theory, Schema Theory and Acculturation in a NonVeridical Reality
94 Usage and Recent Research in Cognitive Priming and Schema Theory 97 Examples of Cognitive Scripts From the Data 98 Internet
.
Acculturation in a Non-Veridical Realitv Identity Experimentation with Possible Selves
Media Convergence Leads
to a Potent
Medium
Impulse Seeking and Impulse Gratification on the Web Summary: Phase One trials and New Directions for Research
99 99 101
103
106
References
108
Appendix A - Copy of the complete Reading and Viewing Questionnaire Appendix B - Copy of Internet Usage Section Appendix C - Informed Consent Form Appendix D - Internet Reference sites for Preadolescent Internet Usage Appendix E - Ethics/Risk Appendix F - SPSS Output
121
155
159
164 165
167
List of Tables
Table
1
Content Analysis of 5 Most
Named Web
VI
Sites
53
CHAPTER ONE: THE PROBLEM
This longitudinal study examined the psychoeducational outcomes of 64
Grade 6 preadolescents' Internet media habits over a period of 2 years.
Overview Preadolescent Internet usage
is
prevalent today. This study specifically examined
preadolescents use the Internet, what they do
when they
are
on the
Internet,
how
and why
preadolescents are fascinated with the Internet.
It is
acknowledged
that the term
to historical, technological
and
preadolescence
is
a
modem
construct which adapts
advances (Bosma, Graafsma, Grotevant,
societal
& de
Levita, 1994). For the purposes of this study, the term preadolescence describes children
from the ages of 10-12, and the term adolescence describes youth from the ages of 13-18.
However,
it
must be acknowledged
that
much
uses the term children in a generic sense, and to an age
of the literature discussed in this thesis
at
times
may
use the term children to refer
group spanning from 3-12 years of age (Byrnes, 2001; Donnerstein
2001; Horgen, Choate,
& Smith,
& Brownell, 2001; Singer & Singer, 2001; Tarpley, 2001; Winn,
1985, 2002). In a
March 2001 survey conducted by
revealed that
79%
99%
the
Media Awareness Network,
results
of Canadian children have used the Internet (A. Taylor, 2001) and that
of children have online access at
seem
inflated, the sentiment
What
is
yet to be discerned
home
around them
is
how
this
is
(Biehn, 2002). While these statistics
may
relevant. Digital technology is here to stay.
technology will change, in pedagogical and
developmental terms, the experience and meaning of preadolescence.
This study examined the Internet-based behaviours of 64 Grade 6 students over a 2year period.
(Elliott,
By means
Woloshyn,
of a survey entitled the Reading
and Viewing Questionnaire
& Bosacki, 2000; Elliott, Woloshyn, Bosacki, Richards, & Murray,
2001), this study explored preadolescents' Internet media habits, preadolescents'
understanding of their
own
Internet usage, and, guided
by Social Learning Theory and
developmental psychology, explored the psychoeducational and psychosocial questions that arise
when
a critical lens
is
applied to preadolescents' Internet media habits.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study
is
threefold. First, as outlined in the
the primary focus of research on children
Review of Literature,
and the Internet has been on the dangers
threaten children on the Internet (Freeman-Longo, 2000; Hansen, 1998;
2001; Krausz, 2001; Skurzynski, 1999; Tarozzi
Second,
much
that
Kemer et al.,
& Bertolini, 2000; A. Taylor, 2001).
of this research has been conducted in the United States and Britain. Thus,
due to the narrow scope of the current research, there
and why Canadian preadolescents use the
is
a need to examine how, what,
Internet, as they are a
unique and distinct
population (Adams, 2003). Statistical data revealing types
of Internet behaviour will disclose
use the Internet, while a content analysis (Funk, Geysa, Buchman,
Horgen
et al.,
mentioned
2001; Wartella, O'Keefe,
sites will
be conducted
how
preadolescents
& Germann,
1999;
& Scantlin, 2000) of specific, frequently
in order to discern
why preadolescents
are attracted to
these specific sites. This analysis will lead to the third purpose of the study, which
inform educators, parents, and policymakers as to what the relevant issues
are,
is to
and the
questions that
new
may be
raised
when preadolescents
are exposed to
and make use of the
digital technology.
Questions to be Answered
While conducting
the
Review of Literature,
it
became evident
that research
the topic of preadolescents and the Internet has occurred within limited domains.
few surveys have examined preadolescents' general preferences as Internet (downloading music, chat-rooms, emailing,
A. Taylor, 2001), there has not been enough
to
on
While a
what they do on the
and playing games; Ferguson, 2000;
critically
conducted research to draw
conclusive understandings about the meaning and developmental implications of this behaviour. Further, most academic studies of preadolescent Internet usage have occurred outside of Canada. Thus,
we
cannot conclude that these findings are generalizable to a
Canadian preadolescent population, as Canadians have a
mores (Adams, 2003). Issues and questions •
Are there gender differences
What
are the
•
Do children
•
What
Due to the
most frequent
in
that
distinct culture, values,
and
have yet to be addressed include:
what preadolescents choose
sites visited?
What
is
to
do on the
Web?
the content of these sites?
report being supervised while online?
attitudes contribute to a presence or lack of parental control?
nature of participant self-reporting, and the limited scope of the study, the
outcomes of this study
are descriptive in nature.
However, the study contains a
critical
content analysis of the descriptive findings, and asks further theoretical and conceptual questions in chapter 5 regarding the value of the Internet in light of the findings.
Definitions of
The following terms
Terms
are explained as used in a socially constructed, popular context.
Adolescents: Descriptive term for youth from 13-18 years of age.
A/S/L (Age/Sex/Live): An introductory question or
room
participant in a chat
is
- how old they
salutation used to assess
are, their gender,
and where they
Children: Descriptive term for children from the ages 3-9; also, reference to other research studies,
is
who
a
live.
when used
in
a generic descriptive term for children from the
ages of 3-13.
Chat/IM: Instant Messaging; when 2 or more people have a real-time written conversation that
typed out on the keyboard and broadcast on the computer screen.
is
Emoticons: Icons employed within an email or chat message
symbols
that serve as shorthand
to express emotions.
MUD: Multi-user domain role-playing game. Role-playing games wherein the player creates his/her
own
character and reality, and plays at living
life
with others
who
abide by
said created reality.
PC:
Personal Computer.
Preadolescents: Descriptive term for the participants in this study, from the ages of 10-12.
RL: Real
life.
Interactions and activities conducted in the presence of other people,
not interfaced by a computer (Turkic, 1997), veridical reality.
SUSint: Simulated activities
conducted
in
life.
Activities conducted
everyday "Real Life";
other people, but interfaced
by
on the
activities
Web that may resemble or mirror
conducted not in the presence of
a computer (Turkic, 1997).
The Internet/Internet/World Wide Web/Web/the Net: An network
that connects
electronic
computer networks and organizational computer
communications
facilities
around
the world (Merriam-Webster, 2002).
Theoretical
There are many theories theory to be considered
is
that
Framework
inform a study of preadolescent Internet usage. The
first
Social Learning Theory by Albert Bandura (Allen, 1997;
Bandura, 1977, 1989, 1994a, 2000, 2002). Through much research Bandura has proven that the learning of
new behaviours and
the resulting attitudes towards said behaviours
are acquired through either direct experience or indirectly
by means of observing
behaviour modelled (Allen, 1997; Bandura, 1977, 1989, 1994a; Berkowitz 1986; Donnerstein
the
& Rogers,
& Smith, 2001). Research informed by this theory indicates that
children acquire novel behaviours
by observing models (Allen, 1997; Donnerstein
Smith, 2001). While children's Internet usage that the Internet is a pure
is
medium of behaviour
a
new
area of research,
modelling, and thus
it
will
may have
&
be argued a profound
influence on children acquiring novel behaviour and attitudes (Bandura, 1977, 1994a,
2002; Berkowitz
& Rogers,
1986; Donnerstein
& Smith, 2001).
A second theory that informs an analysis of preadolescent Internet usage is that of cognitive psychology. Proponents of cognitive psychology argue that Social Learning
Theory cannot account
for the lasting effects of acquiring a
new behaviour or
attitude.
Cognitive psychologists argue that upon observing a certain behaviour, neural networks
begin to create related areas of knowledge called schemas (Berkowitz
Upon
& Rogers,
1986).
activation (by observation) these schemas, or as they are often called, neural
networks, set up a "priming effect" that intrinsically predisposes the observer to
continually activate already established schemas, while simultaneously enlarging associated schemas and neural networks (Berkowitz
views for instance, violence
in a Internet
associations in the neural net "violence"
all
the neural net associations in the
& Rogers,
1986). Thus, as the child
game, the schema "violence" and
become
associated to the
all
the
schema "games" and
schema "game" (Byrnes, 2001; Donnerstein
&
Smith, 2001; Mayer, 1999, 2003). Thus, the theory of cognitive psychology provides
ample justification
may have on
to undertake serious content analysis of the Internet
and the effect
it
preadolescent psychosocial and psychoeducational development.
Another theory
that will
inform the data analysis
is
a specific theory of adolescent
development by Erik Erikson (Abbott, 2001; Erikson, 1963, 1985; Turkic, 1997). Erikson called one element of his theory of adolescent identity development.
The Psychosocial
Moratorium. While Erik Erikson works from a psychoanalytic tradition,
much
of his
theory of the moratorium of self has relevant, contemporary applications.
Erikson thought that adolescence and, arguably in today's contemporary society, preadolescence,
was
a time of powerful experimentation
and interaction with people and
ideas (Abbott, 2001; Erikson, 1950; Turkic, 1997). Experimentation
for
many
may be
a possibility
of today's preadolescents as they appear to be as mature as their adolescent
peers. This
change
in the perceived level of maturity of preadolescents
may have
arisen
due to the perceived phenomenon of early onset-adolescence. Early onset-adolescence the culturally observable occurrence wherein preadolescents are allowed to pursue the
same
interests
and make the same sophisticated decisions that their more mature
adolescent peers make.
is
Hence, before Internet access was prevalent, experimentation with people and ideas, otherwise
known
as teenage socializing, often required the adolescent to leave the
confines of his or her home, thrusting the adolescent out into the world, the "real," objective, veridical world. Thus, traditionally, adolescence
adolescence was often restricted to those of a certain age
and the experience of
who had shed the identity of
childhood and adopted multiple and often vastly different identities during
phase of experimentation (Abbott, 2001;
However,
this
et al.,
1994; Erikson, 1963).
has changed with the advent of Internet access in the home, and by the
fact that preadolescents,
are
Bosma
this intense
by
virtue of their
some of the most frequent
new
status as
being sophisticated consumers,
users of this technology. Since the Internet allows
preadolescents to interact with others without leaving the
home environment,
has
this
provided parents and guardians a potentially false sense of comfort due to the fact that the child
many
is
physically in the
home
(Biehn, 2002).
As
a result of this false sense of security,
parents do not always monitor their children's Internet activity (Biehn, 2002;
Cay wood, 2001; Goodale, 2001; A. attention, preadolescents
to a degree
may now
Taylor, 2001), and thus as a result of this lapse in
be enjoying and experimenting with people and ideas
once reserved for adolescents.
Importance of the Study While
there has been a recent survey conducted on
by the Media Awareness Network Survey on
How
entitled.
Canadian youth's Internet usage
Young Canadians In
A
and
A New
Canadian Kids Are Using the Internet (A. Taylor, 2001), the method and
the theories informing this survey have been difficult to ascertain
availability
Wired World:
detail in the released reports. Also, the
due to a lack of
Media Awareness Network
is
a
not-for-profit
group sponsored by major Canadian corporations such as BCE, CTV,
Chum Television, Bell
AOL Canada.
Canada, Can West Global, Rogers@Home, and
Since these corporate alliances fund the Media Awareness Network's research, and result of this relationship,
outcomes,
it is
may put
implicit pressure
on the researchers
crucial that in order to obtain an independent
Canadian preadolescent's media
habits, further objective,
as, a
to find certain
and rigorous explication of
academic study
is
undertaken.
Scope and Limitations of the Study This study has collected and disseminates research findings regarding Canadian preadolescents' Internet habits. Limitations of this study include the limited sample from
which data were
collected.
While
this
study purports to be a Canadian study, the data
were collected from four diverse elementary schools across Ontario. Thus,
this
study
cannot speak to preadolescents' Internet usage in unique locations such as newly formed
Nunavut, or distinctive economically disadvantaged locales such as Newfoundland, or isolated locales such as Northern
Columbia. However, with
much
it is
Saskatchewan or the Queen Charlotte Islands
my contention
that the various data collection sites
in British
were chosen
consideration in terms of sampling from diverse locales and populations.
Thus, the diversity represented
in this study accurately reflects the
representational diversity found within the
average
more populated urban and
rural areas of
Canada.
Another limitation of the study involves the nature of self-reporting with young participants. Specifically, childrens' self-reporting of time increments
at best.
However,
I
can seem dubious
believe that these self-reports are in essence accurate;
participant reports spending "2 or
more hours per day" on
the Internet,
when
a
young
what they are
reporting
Internet.
in a
is
that
Thus,
it is
their perception that they are
if it is
young person's
spending a great amount of time on the
the researcher's goal to ascertain the importance of a certain activity
life,
and the participant reports having the perception
takes up a large portion of time, then the self-report
is relatively
that the activity
accurate.
A further limitation is in reference to the Media Awareness Network's Canadians In A Wired World:
A New Survey on How
Internet (A. Taylor, 2001) survey. At
first
Young
Canadian Kids Are Using the
glance, the research that arises out of
my thesis
appears very similar to the style of study conducted by the
Media Awareness Network.
However, upon detailed analysis the findings are radically
different.
This difference in
findings will provide ample points of comparison and contrast and allow for
much
speculation and critical analysis as to the origins of the differing outcomes.
One
last limitation
of this research
limited to the depth and scope of
made
at
is
that the interpretation
my personal
and analysis of the data
lens, as researcher.
While every attempt
is
is
achieving objectivity, none of the data are without the researcher's ontological
and epistemological understanding and imprint.
SSHRC Explanation The purpose of this
thesis is to
examine and explore the various psychosocial and
psychoeducational issues that arise out of preadolescents' Internet usage. Specifically, this thesis will utilize Social
theoretical lens for
Learning Theory and developmental psychology as a
viewing preadolescents' Internet habits and patterns of behaviour. The
data for this thesis were collected under an umbrella Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council (SSHRC) project headed by Dr. Anne Elliott of Brock University, Faculty of Education. The project, entitled Children's Stories as Cultural Mirrors: Self-
10
Concepts and Worldviews,
is
a 3-year longitudinal study
which aims
elementary school children's media and literary preferences, and
may differ
as a function of age,
Children from Grades
1,
4,
how
and ethnic or cultural background
and 6 are
in the
to understand
these preferences
(Elliott et al., 2001).
process of being followed as they progress
over the 3 years of the study, so that the study covers the entire primary, junior and intermediate school years (Elliott et
al.,
2001). Thirteen different schools are involved,
including the Catholic School Board, private schools, public schools, and 2 First Nations' schools. This present study of preadolescents' Internet habits consists of a selected sample
of Grade 6 students, aged 10-12, from four diverse schools,
who were
followed for 2
years.
One
of the primary instruments through which the
entitled the
SSHRC
its
data
is
Reading and Viewing Questionnaire. Within the 24-page Reading and
Viewing Questionnaire
is
a section on Internet usage,
which
will serve as the
data collection instrument for this thesis. Please see Appendix
complete
study collects
SSHRC questionnaire, and Appendix B
questionnaire.
primary
A for a copy of the
for the Internet
Usage
section of the
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Within the within
last
decade, the emerging presence of computer-mediated communication
homes and schools
is
a remarkable and unique technological advancement, one
that is historically unprecedented
(Bellamy
& Hanewicz, 2001; Ward, 2002). The
subsequent normalization process of personal computers (PCs) and the Internet as a
communication and information medium creates a need for researchers analyze the psychoeducational outcomes and the inherent issues that
to study
lie
and
within childrens'
choice and use of the Internet.
Due
to the dearth of literature
which deals
directly with the psychoeducational
outcomes of preadolescents' Internet usage, the review of related journal, magazine,
literature included
newspaper and electronic sources around the issues of frequency of
Internet usage, socioeconomic factors of Internet access, the Internet as
medium,
book,
communication
Internet safety issues, the Internet as information source, and the
of parental control. The scope of the literature review
is
vast in that
it
phenomenon
utilizes
popular
sources as a means of drawing out the most timely and relevant information on a current
and rapidly expanding issue such as the use of the Internet are discussed, but
Internet.
at the
Various issues surrounding childrens'
time of review, no studies that specifically
examined the psychoeducational outcomes of childrens' Thus,
media
this
habits,
gap
Internet usage
were underway.
in the literature led to the resulting analysis of preadolescents' Internet
which
will contribute to the fields of education
and educational psychology
by fostering teacher and parental awareness, and raising formal should be foremost in any guardian's mind
when
communication are combined with children.
critical
questions that
Internet media, information
and
12
The Demographics In a recent survey conducted
99%
revealed that
2000
Statistics
by the Media Awareness Network, findings
of Canadian children have used the Internet (A. Taylor, 2001). In a
Canada survey about household
respondents claimed to use the Internet a 2002).
Of the
minimum
71%
of 7 times a
of eligible
week
(Statistics
Canada,
respondents, single-family households with school-aged children had the
highest reported Internet usage.
Internet access
Statistics
Internet usage
from school
Canada
Of these
(Statistics
respondents,
40%
of the children reported
Canada, 2002). While usage rates increase.
reports that individuals' concern for privacy
decreasing from previous years. In 2000,
40%
on the Internet
is
of respondents stated that they had no
concerns about their privacy being compromised while using the Internet (Statistics
Canada, 2002). While higher-income households were more likely to have Internet access, households with an
income of $36,000 or
less exhibited
more growth of Internet
access than any other income bracket (Statistics Canada, 2002).
Why The
lure of the Internet for preadolescents is
flash of colour
and
lights, the
is
no mystery. The combination of the
music of MTV, and the seduction of endless consumerism
heralds a world unlike any other
research
Children use the Internet
(J.
Amett
& Larson,
1995; Tarpley, 2001). However,
beginning to show that in spite of the endless opportunity available to them,
preadolescents primarily use the Internet for information and entertainment (Ferguson,
2000; Roberts, 2000; Seel, 1997; Se-Wen
Valkenburg
& Soeters, 2001).
& Lull,
1986; Valentine
& Holloway, 2001;
13
One dynamic effect, in that
that has not
been researched sufficiently
young children use the
Internet for playing
is that
there
may be
an age/use
games (Funk, 1993; Kubey
&
Larson, 1990) and as they mature, their Internet usage expands into specialized interest
and information seeking (Valkenburg if
& Soeters, 2001). Also,
it
has yet to be established
there are any concrete gender differences in usage preference (Valkenburg
& Soeters,
2001).
In a
2001 study, 2 Dutch researchers,
a survey entitled Children's positive
Patti
Valkenburg and Karen Soeters conducted
and negative experiences with
the Internet.
Valkenburg and Soeters' study of 194 Dutch children, aged 8-13, studied the positive and negative experiences of children on the Internet, as well as the motive for children's Internet usage (Valkenburg
& Soeters, 2001).
Valkenburg and Soeters
the first academic study to look at the motives of
reveal that
many
why children
Valkenburg and Soeters speculated on many motives
They speculated
new medium,
the Internet as a
They
i.e.,
that
that traditional
researchers
to sites
that
a shift
at specific
report,
most researchers.
would
fuel children's
gender differences would be detected girls,
and
form of communication more than boys (Valkenburg
would see
aimed
to
boys would play more games than
also speculated that as children
on
companies charge the price of $3,995 per
making obtaining the method and findings cost prohibitive
this
use the Internet. They
private market researchers have conducted extensive studies
children's Internet usage, but that these
Internet usage.
state that theirs is
grew older and
girls
in
would use
& Soeters, 2001).
their interests developed,
from children being interested
hobbies and interests (Valkenburg
in general entertainment sites
& Soeters, 2001).
14
In their survey,
Valkenburg and Soeters found
for computers, entertainment, online
that children listed
communication
the motives for their Internet usage (Valkenburg
having an
as well as offline
& Soeters, 2001).
affinity
communication
as
Valkenburg and
Soeters state that older children reported that they enjoyed using the Internet to find
They found
information about sports and their favourite idols. differ in their interest to play or
They did
Larson, 1990. did not
when boys
The
and
that girls
The
effects
named
Computer use
al.
home and used
and negative
attitudes
school
at
278
girls
(Comber, Colley, Hargreaves,
game
students.
age and gender
towards computer use to see
specific to this study included
it
found that a higher at least
also found that a higher
When
when
if
these
& Dom,
playing, mathematics
word processing and computer programming.
Comber et
at
attitudes of
were aged 11-12 and 15-16. The researchers looked
relation of positive
applications,
use
by Kubey and
finding information as an interest,
examined the computer
factors influenced experience with computers
1997).
earlier
did not
of age, gender and computer experience upon
attitudes, British researchers
participants
and the
found
girls
did not specify this interest.
In an article entitled
computer
as
boys and
find that boys were interested in finding cheats codes
as an interest,
list this
download computer games
that
is
rate of
male participants had a computer
in the
once a week, when compared to female participant use. They
number of boys play video games than
equally reported between the genders
further analysed, the results
(Comber et
al.,
but that computer
1997).
showed
that
computer use for boys was
was
less
computer use
across the 2 age groups, but for girls there
than in the younger age group
girls,
(Comber
et al., 1997).
stable
in the older age group
However, there were no
significant
15
findings on gender differences in liking the computer,
were
statistically controlled.
Thus, girls, that
Comber at
al.,
conclude that boys had more experience with computers than
more boys owned computers
uses for the computer than
applications
(Comber
Internet usage,
be
when computer ownership and use
little
it
girls, i.e.,
et al., 1997).
does reveal that
if
at
home
than
girls,
and boys reported more varied
playing games, programming and various
While
this
study does not specifically examine
access to both genders existed equally, there
inherent bias on the female participants' behalf that
would
would predispose them
to
disliking the Internet.
In a
2000 Canadian survey conducted by Northstar Research Partners for Youth
Culture, pollsters revealed that children ages 12-17 regularly go online.
A full 85% of
respondents reported that they have Internet access, with 3/4 of these stating that they
have Internet
home
at
(Ferguson, 2000). Girls report going online for an average eight
hours a week, while boys report going online for an average of ten hours a week. Northstar Research Partners for Youth found that teens use the Internet for chat, IM,
and for homework purposes. Teens report talking to both friends and strangers while chat rooms, and
56%
report visiting a
Web site that has content their parents
in
would
disapprove of (Ferguson, 2000).
Teens surveyed admit Internet;
51%
regulatory
say that
power
parents polled,
that they believe there should
if it is
who monitor them,
that oversees certain behaviours
73%, agreed
(Ferguson, 2000).
not their parents
be more supervision on the
on the
Internet.
that childrens' Internet activities
there should be
some
A large majority of
should be monitored
16
Northstar Research Partners for Youth report that outside of communication,
homework
is
most popular reason
the single
The
that youth cite for using the Internet.
study revealed that parents of these youth also cite research as their primary focus
when
using the Internet. Contrary to these findings, both groups agreed that the sources on the Internet often cannot
be
trusted, as
it is
difficult to verify the content or the author
of the
content (Ferguson, 2000).
While much of the research around boys' preferences needs explication
is
whether or not
communication (Livingstone Messaging (IM) on the
girls'
& Bovill,
Internet.
As
room
1999) will cross over into the realm of Instant
for substantiated use, researchers
Web
sites,
discussions, and play online computer
deconstructed by category of age, children do not send as chat rooms as frequently as adolescents do
it
must be noted
(Turow
have found
that
send and receive email, participate
& Nir, 2000; Valkenburg & Soeters, 2001; Walter, 2001).
2001). Thus,
agreement, one area that
preference for talking on the phone as a form of
adolescents tend to use the Internet to visit
in online chat
is in
games (Turow, 1999; Turow However, when
many
the data are
emails and participate in
& Nir, 2000; Valkenburg & Soeters,
that with the exception of the research
conducted by
Valkenburg and Soeters (2001) and Turow and Nir (2000) there
is
academic research on preadolescent Internet usage (Valkenburg
& Soeters, 2001).
extremely limited
Internet Safety and Privacy Issues
While the popularity of the Internet with children Negroponte, 2000; Tarozzi
much
discussed (Mullner, 2001;
& Bertolini, 2000), much of the youth and Internet-related
research focuses on the various dangers that
2000; Hansen, 1998;
is
Kemer et
al.,
lie
concealed on the
Web
CFreeman-Lx)ngo,
2001; Krausz, 2001; Skurzynski, 1999; Tarozzi
&
17
Bertolini, 2000; A. Taylor, 2001).
Three primary dangers to children have been identified
(Freeman-Longo, 2000; Valkenburg First, there is the issue
& Soeters, 2001).
of exposure to violence and sex and the developmental
implications that this exposure has for children.
A majority of the Internet-related
research focuses on the effects of exposure to adult-oriented material on children
(Freeman-Longo, 2000; A. Taylor, 2001). Second, given that online chat rooms, IM, and email allow for complete anonymity
and privacy,
it
has been reported that these interactive
mediums
are the choice
environment of pedophiles to groom and manipulate unsuspecting children (Freeman-
Longo, 2000). Thus, given the nature of chat rooms, email and IM, children are vulnerable to online harassment from
Valkenburg Last,
known and unknown
predators (Bushong, 2002;
& Soeters, 2001).
due
to children's naivete regarding the importance of maintaining the
confidentiality of personal information (Canadian Press
Newswire, 2001), and the unique
environment of the Internet which allows strangers to appear trustworthy (M. Taylor, 2001), children
may be
Soeters, 2001).
The occurrence of the
and relationships
in
at risk for
physical harassment (Magid, 1998; Valkenburg
correlation of developmental curiosity of sexuality
young adolescents, and the frequency of Internet usage
group coincides to produce
this
&
in this
age
unique vulnerability in and for preadolescent Internet
usage (Magid, 1998).
One
question that researchers are
now beginning
to speculate
on
is
the level of
awareness parents have towards the technology that their children use so frequently
(Caywood, 2001).
18
In a survey conducted
by America Online (AOL) Canada, 1600 Canadians were
asked about their perceptions of children and safety on the Internet. Specifically the participants
were
all
individuals
under the age of 18 hving
in the
who had
both Internet access
home. Results reveal
that
in the
85%
home and youth
of participants believed
should be the primary supervisor of their children's Internet use (Parents
that they
worry... 2001).
However, 93% of the
participants felt that the general public
needed to be
educated about children's online safety, and that schools should be educating children about Internet safety. While parents expressed concern, only filtering devices
on the home
PC
in
admitted to using
(Parents worry... 2001).
The Media Awareness Network (MNet) Children
18%
states that their
2001, survey Canada's
a Wired World illustrated the "disconnect" between parents' perceptions of
supervising their children's Internet activity and the children's actual unsupervised Internet usage (Biehn, 2002).
In the study
Young Canadians
in
a wired world: a new survey on
are using the Net, conducted by the Media Awareness Network, investigator,
In the
how Canadian
Anne Taylor,
kids
principal
conducted two surveys of children and the Internet usage.
first
study.
Media Awareness Network surveyed 1000
parents by
means of 30-
minute telephone interviews. Findings reveal that the parents perceive themselves as being "in touch" with the Internet generation, and that their understanding Internet
is
primarily a tool for education.
53%
is that
the
of parents reported that they monitor their
children's Internet use closely (A. Taylor, 2001).
When
the
Media Awareness Network probed
this finding in
focus groups, parents
expressed that "monitoring" meant making sure that siblings got equal access to the
1^
computer, that
homework was done
before using the Internet for entertainment, and
keeping the phone line free for family use. parents could not recount the
In the study that
names of
When
questioned directly, the majority of
sites visited
examined children's
attitudes
by
their children.
about Internet usage, the Media
Awareness Network surveyed 5,600 students aged 9-17 the Internet
their private
is
world and that
years.
The
participants report that
44%
of
do not know
of,
percent of participants report that they communicate with strangers in IM, participants report that they have email accounts that their parents
that
60%
of the participants have gone into a private chat
individual (A. Taylor, 2001).
social exclusion based
In the
violent
the past.
who have low
on stereotyping
is
sites,
45%
however,
40%
and
to talk to with a single
reports that
IM can
have a
self-esteem or disabilities, in that
less prevalent
Media Awareness Network's study
web
room
The Media Awareness Network
positive influence on those children
57%
their parents are not privy to this realm.
on the
Internet.
the participants surveyed did not
name any
of the participants report having visited a violent
of the participants report that their parents
know what
sites
site in
they are visiting
(A. Taylor, 2001).
One common by accessing
report
is that
the history of
2001; A. Taylor, 2001).
parents do not even
where
their children
know how
to
monitor Internet usage
have been on the Internet (Goodale,
If parents are less technologically skilled than their children,
surely then, this justifies a critical examination of the issues that surround preadolescents'
Internet usage (Freeman-Longo, 2000).
When we consider that preadolescents'
usage often occurs unsupervised (Donnerstein
Internet
& Smith, 2001; Kavur, 2001; Magid,
1998), the culmination of the various developmental, educational, environmental, and
20
contextual factors that are involved in this
common
more
dynamic.
incisive, rigorous explication of this
preadolescent pursuit demands a
In an article entitled Parenting the Internet, researcher
Bushong
presents the findings
of her study regarding American childrens' Internet usage. Bushong reports that in the
United States 25 million children used the Internet in the year 2000 (Bushong, 2002). She reports that this
number has
tripled since the eight million
who
reported use in 1997.
Parents report that meeting their children's educational needs was the primary
motivating factor in purchasing a computer for the home. However,
group of parents reported
that their
family used the Internet to
perform basic searches, and infrequently not
know
that electronic databases
visit
chat
sites.
When
visit
when surveyed, a
Web
sites,
send email,
asked, these parents did
and public library catalogues were available to them
online (Bushong, 2002).
While there seems
to
be a disconnect between intention and use, Bushong proposed 5
rules of Internet use that parents
computer should be placed
Web activities
consider adopting.
First,
Bushong
states that the
in a highly visible area of the house; putting the
the kitchen or the family room,
survey the
may
Bushong
argues,
means
that adults
computer in
can intermittently
of the child.
Second, Bushong argues that rules and expectations about Internet use should be discussed and understood by the family
Bushong
reports that
some web
members before an unexpected
sites offer
(Appendix D),
that both parents
clear to parent
and child (Bushong, 2002).
incident occurs.
downloadable contracts about Internet use
and children
sign, so that the guidelines of
behaviour are
!.-ir'
,,:j;'>;j
21
Bushong suggests
Third,
that parents talk to their children
online harassment can present notify an adult,
when
itself.
She
states that children
should be encouraged to
they receive a communication (email or
uncomfortable. Bushong states that children should be
about the manner in which
IM)
that
made aware
makes them
that they
feel
do not meet
people in person that they have met online unless their parents are present (Bushong, 2002). Fourth,
skills,
Bushong encourages
the affects of the
parent-child dialogue on critical
media and advertising
practices,
Web site evaluation
and search
skills.
Bushong
argues that there should be family rules in place about giving out personal information,
even
if
the child believes the person
seems
familiar, or is
known by
the family (Bushong,
2002).
Bushong recommends
Lastly,
regarding Internet
filters
that the family as a unit
make
decisions
and parental controls, accessed either through the Internet
service provider or self-installed software.
limit childrens' exposure to adult content,
block information that one sites
should
may desire
Bushong argues
that this is the best
however she acknowledges
access
to,
way
that filters
to
can also
especially she notes, health oriented
(Bushong, 2002).
While
this thesis
does not deal specifically with Internet safety issues, a
related sources has been
knowledge
compiled
in
Appendix D,
in the spirit of
list
of safety
disseminating relevant
to interested parties.
Developmental Issues
Most
studies that have looked at the Internet in isolation have
tool (Seel, 1997).
However, many
issues arise
when
found
that
it is
a benign
a critical stance is adopted in terms
22
of the educational and developmental value of the Internet. struggle to keep
up with the
latest
Many
hardware and software so
parents state that they
that their children will not
be
educationally hampered (Seel, 1997). Parents on the other side of the issue state that they
worry
that their children
spend too much time
in front of the
computer screen (Kandell,
1998). Teachers caught in the middle struggle with increasing class sizes, decreasing
attention span,
and the perplexing knowledge
necessary to use a
Message
medium and speak in
aside, the
medium
which are unique. Never a
minor the autonomy
to
that if
one aims to reach children,
a lexicon which appeals to
them
it is
(Seel, 1997).
of the Internet raises questions and issues the likes of
in history has there
been an item
go anywhere, see anything, and
in the
in
household which allows
some
virtual respects,
experience things without their guardian's permission or even knowledge (Bellamy
&
Hanewicz, 2001; Katz, 1996; Seel, 1997). It is
are
an understood tenet that an individual's and in general, society's value systems
informed and shaped by the media that they use (Anderson, Huston, Schmitt,
Linebarger,
& Wright, 2001; Villani, 2001; Weiser, 2001). This happens by means of the
dialectical cycle of
media projecting images, individuals adopting and
images, which in turn
become images
Murray, Bosacki, Pollon,
Many developmental
that are again projected
internalizing these
back out into society (N.
& Golden, 2002). psychologists have argued that this media influence via
television
would be
the downfall of the
television
may have
negative effects on
TV generation. Indeed, research reveals that its
viewers. Repeated viewing of violence on
causes an increase in childhood and adolescent aggression (Anderson et
Groves, 2002; Johnson, Cohen, Smailes, Kasen,
al.,
TV
2001;
& Brook, 2002; St. Peters, Fitch, Huston,
23
Wright,
& Eakins,
1991), timely viewing of fast food commercials
compulsive eating and the
rise
of obesity (Horgen et
al.,
is
2001) and unrealistic body types
on television aggravate body image and self-concept for developing (Horgen
girls
and boys
et al., 2001).
Accordingly, the Internet
is
subject to
addition to the fact that the Internet
of the criticisms that apply to television, in
all
interactive, allowing the user the
is
any type of uncensored media image
(Seel, 1997). This
projection cycle happens as fast as the
it.
linked to
vast, fast,
and
to pursue
that the dialectical
image
consumer can demand and the creator can supply
Accordingly, media trends that occurred through the
once considered
means
freedom
influential,
now
medium
of television and were
pall in relation to the potential of the
Internet.
In his article Plugged, in
spaced
moral mindfields, John Seel argues
out,
and turned on: Electronic entertainment and
that the Internet will
change our
society.
that with the advent of the Internet, children can for the first time reach
of what parents
deem good
for them, and be
exposed to material
He claims
beyond
that they
the scope
have neither
the judgment nor maturity to absorb (Seel, 1997).
Seel discusses the fact the University of Maryland has started group therapy sessions
for those students
who have cyberaddiction. He
felt in its entirety,
as
we have
states that this
new
not yet grasped the implications of a
people pretend to be other than
who they
medium
are in reality. Seel argues that
"colourless" in comparison with SL, and that
it
meet anyone, be anyone, do anything and have behaviour or self (1997). Seel argues that
reality has yet to
this
can not but be addicting
little
be
that lets
RL is in that
one can
or no consequences to one's
profound
shift in the perception of reality
24
will
have an effect on moral education and character formation,
success in real
good choices
life
that
He
good behaviour requires
argues that
we need
is
(Seel, 1997).
a need for critical assessment of technology in our
to ask if the technology in
our lives
perception of reality or serving our reality. Seel submits that
question of technology, as a society not be able to foresee the impact
it
we
once called
TV the
may have on
and control
In a similar vein, Robert
its
shaping our
we do
not ask this
and direction of it, and
ability to influence
"plug-in drug" (Winn, 1985, 2002).
and shape
"TV
their children
because the Internet affects of this
was
who seemingly had the
Freeman-Longo
in his article Children, teens
and the
and sex on
Internet. First,
the
he argues
concern about under aged persons being exposed to adult
content on the Internet. Second, he states that parents are not aware of the
which
addiction"
their television viewing.
Internet (2000), argues three points in regard to children
that there is an increasing
is
us (Seel, 1997).
a popular term, also used to describe people and or children
inability to limit
if
will begin to lose control
In line with the concerns about the Internet and
values, critics
achievement and
requires careful forethought, planning, and repeated training of the
Thus, Seel argues that there lives.
in that
many ways
can be exposed to adult content. Third, Freeman-Longo argues that
is
a fairly
new medium we cannot
fully understand the long-term
exposure (Freeman-Longo, 2000).
Freeman-Longo
in
states that sexual abuse has
United States and that as a society
reached epidemic proportions in the
we must become aware
of the impacts of children
having online exposure to sexual content. In light of sexual addiction, Freeman-Longo
wonders what the potential these exposures
will
have on youth developing sexual
25
addictions.
Internet,
He
states that there are
may be connected
Freeman-Longo
age, as there is
no way
sites
many
to repeated
exposure (Freeman-Longo, 2000).
chat
simply by possessing an email account and lying about their
to verify this kind of information
venue where people
that while
filled
and teens on the
reports that children have access to adult chat rooms, adult video
and pornography
also a
that analyze children
and the compulsive behaviours such as frequent pornography viewing or
masturbation that
sites
no studies
lie
on the
Internet.
Chat rooms are
about their age and even gender. Freeman-Longo puts forth
room name
titles
appear harmless, once an individual
is inside, it is
with sexual content (Freeman-Longo, 2000). Freeman-Longo notes that one does
not need to participate in the sexual content themselves, as the chat
person to
sit
room design allows a
back and observe what the participants are saying without participating
in
the chat (Freeman-Longo, 2000). Thus, exposure to explicit language can occur without
participation.
Freeman-Longo notes development
in teenagers.
relationships based on
He
states that
that Internet
He puts
common
and chat
line
usage can bring about positive
forth that the Internet
interests
may
help teens develop
and attachment, not merely physical appearance.
while youth are on the Internet using the keyboard to communicate, they
are developing an ability to express themselves in words,
which has transference value
school or future career. However, Freeman-Longo states that because
many
to
youth are
alone while using the Internet, they are equally likely to be exposed to explicit language
by means of sexual propositions from strangers or "friends" life
(Freeman-Longo, 2000).
that
have not been met
in real
26
Freeman-Longo conducts a very disturbing commentary when he analyzes possible ramifications of youth being exposed to explicit material
developmentally impressionable. pleasure online
experience
may be
may push
He
argues that children or youth
deep
who
are
seek stimulus and
stimulated to the point that the yearning for actual sexual
the adolescent to early sexual experience,
myriad of difficulties, from unwanted pregnancy disease. Further,
when they
the
Freeman-Longo argues
distrust of people, as
that this
which may
entail a
to acquiring sexually transmitted
may be
a generation
who
develops a
on the Internet people may not be as they represent
themselves, and the lines of reality and relationships
become blurred (Freeman-Longo,
2000).
Last,
Freeman-Longo
relationships, users
states that with
become
continued exposure to Internet chat line
familiar and experienced with seeking intense levels of
excitement through Internet relationships. This
may result
not find adult healthy sexuality as fulfilling or exciting
relationships,
which may culminate
in a pursuit of
in
some
individuals
when compared
who do
to Internet
compulsive sexual stimulation
(Freeman-Longo, 2000).
Freeman-Longo documents some
specific
examples of how preadolescents and
adolescents can be exposed to explicit material on the Internet.
Freeman-Longo interviewed addicted to the Internet.
adolescents
The
therapists
As
part of his analysis,
and counsellors who work with adolescents
professionals he interviewed recounted stories of
would obtain access
to
pornography
sites.
Counsellors report that
how many
adolescents simply take their mother or father's wallet off the dresser, obtain a credit card
number, and replace the
wallet. In possessing a credit card
number, and by providing a
27
false birth date, the adolescents
sex
were allowed to purchase an exclusive membership
(Freeman-Longo, 2000).
site
Freeman-Longo argues
the Internet filters are not always the answer.
professional therapist reported that her
own
software and reports that her son has not disabled
it
-
retrievers, in the presence of
exposed to a picture of two adults
in the
has since bought
new
yet (2000).
an adult.
retriever", the screen instantly returned a "golden
woman
this
Freeman-Longo documents another instance wherein on golden
One
14-year-old son had disabled the Net
blocking software that was installed on his computer;
project
to a
a child
When
shower"
was doing
a research
the child typed in "golden
Web
site,
and the child was
midst of sexual relations, urinating on each other
(Freeman-Longo, 2000).
Anne Taylor in
the
Media Awareness Network study
also
documents a similar
anecdote. She relays the incident wherein a few female adolescents were trying to find their favourite rapper Pink's
hard core pornography
site
Web
site,
and by typing
gone so in that
www.pink.com were exposed
this
many minutes
(A. Taylor, 2001).
understanding The American Psychological Association has
far as to classify Internet addiction, or "cyberaddiction" as a
it is
to a
and the requisite sex -related java-loop which kept the
adolescents exposed to the pornography for
Corresponding with
in
new
clinical disorder
an addiction which involves failed impulse control without involving an
intoxicant (Brenner, 1996;
Huesmann, 1986;
Drabman
Joy, Kimball,
& Thomas,
& Zabrack,
1974; Freeman-Longo, 2000;
1986; Kraut et
Rattiner, 1996; Roan, 1996; Seel, 1997; K. B.
al.,
Young, 1996; K.
1998; B. Murray, 1996;
S.
Young
& Rogers,
28
1998). In addition to concerns about addiction, there are moral and character
development issues In
that are raised.
2000 a funded
Interactive
report to the
Media (Wartella
Markle Foundation was released,
et al., 2000).
entitled Children
and
This report cumulatively reviews the past
research of various forms of interactive media and the social, cognitive and health related
findings.
Wartella argues that today children spend as in school or
many
being with friends and family (Wartella
researchers have studied the different
email),
much time
few have looked
at the
content as
it
et al.,
using the media as they spend
2000). She submits that while
mediums (video games, is
a
"moving
target". Wartella states that the
options that children have to choose from on the Internet are
and able
to
be monitored,
immense and not
She argues
while
girls
limited
like television in the past (Wartella et al., 2000).
Wartella acknowledges that there are gender differences in used.
Internet, chat,
that the research
do not show equal
shows
that
how
interactive
boys are heavily invested
interest (Wartella et
al.,
in
media
game
is
playing,
2000).
Wartella puts forth that few studies have been conducted on gender and computer technology, and results revealed that girls and boys use the computer equally. Girls are not computer phobic, but rather, they are critical of the computer culture, as they dislike
and the action and violence
On more
that tends to
predominate games (Wartella
a positive note, Wartella reveals that boys
who frequently
social contacts with friends outside of school, as
young males (Wartella
et al., 2000).
et al., 2000).
play video games have
game playing
serves as a
bond
for
Research also reveals however, that the playing of
29
games does encourage displays of aggressive behaviour,
violent video
attitudes
thoughts, although the long-term affects are not yet understood (Wartella et
Developmentally, Wartella's review of research concludes that that affects children's social, cognitive, intellectual, or physical
content of the
medium
that is influential. Wartella
more questions than answers infancy (Wartella et
media use
is in
al.,
it is
al.,
not the
and 2000).
medium
development, but the
acknowledges that presently there are
as this type of (necessarily) longitudinal research is in
its
2000). Wartella concludes that research on children's interactive
an early stage, but in order to understand this vast, and rapidly evolving
medium we need
to collaborate
between the disciplines of education, psychology,
communications, and sociology and to disseminate our individual research findings as a
means
to capture
youth (Wartella
and understand the extensive impact the interactive media has on our
et al., 2000).
Society has yet to see a generation
and existing
in
playing games
experimented
who have been
an alternate reality (chat -
in
MUDs), where
lines,
raised with the option of pursuing
cybersex, and multi-user domain role
a virtual, consequence-free existence (SL) can be
and often chosen over the demands of actual existence (RL; Dery, 1996;
Negroponte, 1995, 2000; Sirius, 1994, Turkic, 1997). Thus, when compared to television, research
is in its
infancy in terms of revealing and understanding issues around
preadolescents' Internet usage (Valkenburg
& Soeters, 2001).
Summary of the Review of Literature As
stated
and supported by the review of
literature, there is
activity in the area of preadolescents' Internet
conducted
is
media
habits.
very
What
little
current research
research has been
primarily concerned with the issues of child Internet harassment and
30
cyberaddiction. This leaves
many
questions regarding preadolescents' Internet usage to be
addressed and answered in a timely manner.
given Canada's disparate geography,
First,
are
Canadian preadolescents spending
on the Internet? Specifically, what are Ontario preadolescents doing on the
their time
Internet?
how
What kind
interests differ
of activities are Canadian children pursuing on the Internet?
from children around the world? Are there gender or age differences
activities that they
pursue on the Internet?
Do
girls utilize the Internet as a
technologically savvy form of social interaction?
invested in Internet games?
harassment,
is
Do
Due
As
in the
more
research predicts, are boys
to the concerns of psychological
their
more
and physical
there foundation for concern regarding cyber-bullying? In terms of
parental control,
how many preadolescents
being with a parent
who
findings that parents
report being alone while surfing the Net, or
monitors them during their Internet access time? Are the
do not monitor
their childrens' Internet access accurate for Ontario
children?
This study will answer these questions, and explicate the paradox of the Internet
as progressive
development.
and "good," can,
-
at a theoretical level, raise
that being,
how
a
new
questions and
technology, which
is
lauded
in certain contexts, threaten preadolescent well-being
and
CHAPTER THREE: METHDOLOGY AND PROCEURES The process of this research has an emerging inductive methodology
(J.
W.
Creswell, 1998), guided by the theoretical framework of Social Learning theorist Albert
Bandura (1977, 1989, 1994), cognitive psychology, and the psychology of Erik Erikson (1963, 1985). There are 5 philosophical paradigms and 2 social science theories that,
once articulated, establish that the method and overall justified
and grounded
new phenomenon and
in tradition (Caelli,
yet is
grounded
responsible academic research
(J.
W.
Ray,
spirit
of this thesis
is
strongly
& Mill, 2003). As this study explores
in tradition,
it
maintains the standards of
Creswell, 1998;
LeCompte
& Preissle,
1992).
Description of Operational Procedures/Method
Research Design In this study I have analyzed 2 years of data taken
from an in-progress 3 year
longitudinal, ethnographic, interpretative study entitled Children's Stories as Cultural
Mirrors: Self-concepts and Worldviews that follows children in Grades of the major goals for the longitudinal design preadolescents'
media preferences
as a
is
to track
1, 4,
and
developmental changes
means of understanding
6.
One
in
the process of identity
formation. Children's Stories as Cultural Mirrors: Self-concepts
and Worldviews
utilized
a three-stage approach to data collection.
In the first stage of the study, the participants
Viewing Questionnaire, which required 60 Viewing Questionnaire was
at
to
completed a 24-page Reading and
75 minutes to complete. The Reading and
times inventory style, interchanged with free-association
generation of responses. See Appendix
A for a complete copy of the Reading and
32
Viewing Questionnaire. Importantly,
the students
were often asked
to elaborate
and
provide an explanation for their answers as a means to more fully understand the
response provided.
The Reading and Viewing Questionnaire (Appendix A)
is
an inventory-style
questionnaire that asks questions in regard to the participant's media preferences.
Specifically,
TV, music,
it
asks preadolescents to rate and conmient on their reading, movie/video,
electronic
game, and Internet preferences. The Reading and Viewing
Questionnaire also asks about the participant's recreational activities, their opinion on
academics, and also has a set of self-concept questions that are designed to assess the participants
view themselves and what kind of people they would
like to
how
be when
they grow up. Personally,
of the study
I
I
have played 2 roles
in the data collection process. In the 1st year
served as a Research Assistant.
I
went
to the schools
and
facilitated
administering the questionnaires in individual classrooms. In the 2nd year of the study,
became the Project Manager and
it
was
my responsibility to manage the Research
Assistants, oversee the administrative aspects of the project,
on a weekly basis to collect
I
and personally
visit
schools
data.
For the purpose of this study, the questions on Internet usage were used
to generate
both quantitative and qualitative data, which were then used to compile an understanding of preadolescents' usage of the Internet. Specifically the findings of this study addressed questions regarding
with this usage,
why
how
preadolescents use the Internet and the behaviours associated
preadolescents use the Internet in terms of the content that they are
33
exposed
and what the relevant issues are
to,
that arise out
of preadolescents' Internet
usage. Quantitatively, statistics were compiled using Statistical
Sciences version 11.
Package for the Social
(SPSS) on how many preadolescents belong
to a chat
group or IM,
use email, download music, or use the Internet to play video games. See Appendix
the Internet
Privacy
B
for
Usage Section of the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire.
and Confidentiality
For the purpose of maintaining confidentiality, each participant who completed the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire was assigned an eight-digit unique code that was non-identifying. School names have been changed to protect the participants.
The alphanumeric code
data-analysis software EthnographVS.
presentations, journal articles, or
used in
is
Web
that are
site reports will
For administrative purposes all
forms of data analysis, including the
Any findings
non-identifying group information (Elliott et
Guidelines,
all
in
al.,
2001;
used in conference
contain only average scores and
Howe
& Moses,
1999).
accordance with Brock University Ethics
data will be kept in a locked filing cabinet for up to 5 years after the
completion of the study. electronic disks,
Upon completion
of this time
all
data (including paper,
and audiotapes) will be destroyed according to the "confidential papers"
destruction policy. Faculty of Education,
Brock University.
Participants
Participants
were selected
in order to obtain a study
sample that represented
geographical, cultural, and ethnic diversity across Southern Ontario (Elliott et
al.,
2001).
34
The sample reflect
includes the schools Apple View, Willouby, Eastown, and Trentway, which
socio-economic and cultural diversity from urban, rural and First Nations schools.
School descriptions
Apple Valley city.
The school
services,
is
is
is
a large public school, situated in a rural area outside a metropolitan
new and
however suburbs
is
located in an agricultural area
are occupying
more of the
land.
away from malls and
The population of the school
primarily Euro-Celtic, with few visible minorities.
Willouby School
is
a mid-sized public school, located in small town,
being engrossed by urban sprawl. The school
and
is
situated in a quiet
is
which
is
quickly
within walking distance of most homes,
comer of the town. The population
is
Euro-Celtic with few
visible minorities.
Eastown
is
a small school located on a First Nation reserve.
outside the town, near
The school
woods and bush. The school student population
is
is
situated
primarily First
Nations with a few students of Euro-Celtic heritage.
Trentway
is
a rural school located in the midst of agricultural land. Logistically
not near any urban centres or services.
It is
it is
a mid-sized school comprised of students
from diverse ethnic backgrounds. While housing developments are currently under construction, this school
is
isolated
and most students are transported to school by bus.
Data collected under an umbrella project In September of 2001,
members of the
SSHRC
umbrella project sent out the research
proposal (approved by Brock University Sub-Committee on Research with Participants) to various school boards within Southern Ontario.
letters
Human
The proposal included
of information and consent forms (See Appendix C), which explained in detail the
35
voluntary nature of participating in the study, the student/school confidentiality
agreement, and the time requirements needed to complete the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire (Elliott et researchers, along with
al.,
2001).
Upon
receiving board consent, the primary
accompanying research
and
assistants, contacted the principal
negotiated the date and time in which to conduct the study. Letters of information and
consent forms were then sent
6 classrooms, inviting them
home
with students from the participating Grades
to join in the study. Participation in the study
contingent upon the child presenting a signed consent form (Appendix E). the study those children
who
by the homeroom teacher (Elliott et al.,
to
was
On
1, 4,
and
strictly
day of
the
did not have consent to participate were assigned other
work
be completed during the duration of the questionnaire
2001).
Instrumentation
The
overall
Davis, 1997). Dr.
Anne
method was a
cross-sectional approach to data collection (Smith
The Reading and Viewing Questionnaire (Appendix
Elliott et al. for the study Children's Stories
and Worldviews,
(Elliott et al., 2001),
and
is
was developed by
as Cultural Mirrors: Self-Concepts
aimed precisely
primary and middle school years. The questionnaire
A),
&
is
at participants in the
a combination of multiple choice
questions which gather demographic data, and open-ended questions which collect a
range of opinions from the participants (Smith
& Davis,
1997).
Data Collection and Recording
The Reading and Viewing Questionnaire was conducted homeroom,
library or resource centre.
The
in the participants' school
data set consisted of Grade 6 students from
36
four different schools over a 2-year period. In
total,
64
participants
completed the
Reading and Viewing Questionnaire. Researcher field notes were kept during the data collection process. Field notes included themes and statements observations of participants
made by
and
participants during informal conversations
who used library computers
completing their
after
questionnaire.
Data Processing and Analysis
The
data have been analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative analyses to draw
conclusions about the data.
& Atkinson.,
The
general protocol
1996; Creswell, 2002), which
Ethnomethodology (Merriam, 1998). Ethnomethodology as
I
I
is
may be
a collect, code, interpret cycle (Coffey best described as Phenomenological
argue that this study
is
a Phenomenological
chose to construct a dialectical data analysis approach by viewing
the data through the lens of educational, cognitive, and psychological theories
hoped
Creswell, 1998). Out of this phenomenological process
I
essential understanding of preadolescent Internet usage
(J.
1998;
Van Manen,
1997). In
many ways
W.
Internet, as
this
work was,
used by preadolescents,
is
to arrive at a shared
Creswell, 1998; Merriam,
it
medium used by
it
was
seeks to be heuristic
to a certain extent, influenced
a
W.
the methodology parallels the data in that
a search for being and becoming (Van Manen, 1997) and that
(Merriam, 1988). Also
(J.
by Ethnology,
a culture-sharing group
(J.
as the
W.
Creswell, 1998). Preadolescents are a culture unto themselves as they share distinct cultural interests such as movies,
books and hobbies, as well as a
everyday use of slang. Thus, as an outsider,
I
distinct lexicon in their
sought to uncover a deeper understanding
37
of the preadolescent experience, as well as generalize the conclusions to a larger population (LeCompte
This study interactionist
two
is
not
& Preissle,
strictly
an Ethnomethodology due to the fact that there
agenda (LeCompte
specific elements to
it.
1992).
& Preissle,
1992). Typically,
First, the researcher is
is
no
Ethnomethodology has
concerned with
how
individuals
sense of their world and experiences (Poore, 2002). For the purposes of this study,
concerned with
how
preadolescents adapt and
make sense of the
element of Ethnomethodology, does not, however apply to characteristically focuses
Internet.
this study.
that are collected.
The second
Thus,
this
study
is
not wholly
how
sense of the Internet.
Coding of the data has been done augmented by the
am
Ethnomethodology
Ethnomethodological as the data that are collected are used to understand
make
I
on the interaction between the researcher and the participant
and typically ignores any data
preadolescents
make
in the basic or generic style
qualitative software
Ethnograph (Seidel,
(Merriam, 1998),
(c) 1998).
The software
augments the a posteriori, line-by-line grounded analysis process of identifying concepts, identifying themes or patterns, identifying categories, and noting outliers (Charmaz,
2000; Freeman, 1998; Merriam, 1998). Qualitative observations and analysis were
augmented by quantitative descriptions
to bring a statistical
dimension to the coding and
categorizing technique. Descriptive statistics have been compiled using the software
program SPSS
(Statistical
preadolescents use
MSN,
Package for the Social Sciences Version chat, email, play Internet
supervised or alone while on the Internet.
games and
if
1 1 .0)
on how many
they report being
38
Thus, the data analysis reveals
common
data (Creswell, 2002; Freeman, 1998).
The
concepts, themes and patterns found in the
data analysis explores and builds an
understanding of the participants' perceptions of their Internet usage.
Educational Importance Findings have been shared with the participants with the express purpose of ensuring a reciprocal analysis process.
It
was expected
found the process of
that students
completing the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire beneficial in the sense that the children have been given a "voice" to talk about this aspect of their experimentation with Internet as a media, communication,
& Moses,
and information source (Howe
the classroom, participation in this study
may
1999). In
serve as the impetus for discussion
regarding preadolescent Internet usage, in line with the standards of the current media
and Training, 1997)
studies curriculum (Ministry of Education
Study findings have been disseminated invited to view and interact with the
created for the umbrella
Web
SSHRC project
Concepts and Worldviews
in various
site at
list
First, participants
URL http://childmedia.ed.brocku.ca/
(Elliott et al., 2001).
This
Web
statistics,
site
includes general themes
conference presentations, a
of books for preadolescents, and specifically related to this thesis,
that discuss online safety for preadolescents, provide information
on Internet
regulated sites that discuss chatroom threats to preadolescents (for a
Internet sites, see
have been
Children's Stories as Cultural Mirrors: Self-
and patterns extracted from the data, descriptive reading
ways.
Appendix D). This resource, provided
prove especially useful to those individuals wanting
to
to teachers
list
filters,
al.,
and
of relevant
and parents,
make informed
regarding curriculum and leisure pursuits on the Internet (Elliott et
Web links
will
decisions
2001). Participants
have also been invited to join
in a
classroom-based debriefing session, held
where findings are discussed under the auspices of the umbrella it is
my hope
for the participants of this study that they develop
nature of preadolescent use of the Internet and
how
this
at the school,
SSHRC project. new
behaviour
Finally,
insights into the
may
affect their
psychoeducational and psychosocial development.
Free and Informed Consent Letters of information and consent were distributed to
those students
who returned
SSHRC research
potential participants.
Only
a signed consent form were permitted to participate in the
questionnaire phase of this study.
umbrella
all
It is
important to note that the primary researcher of the
team believed
it
important to the
spirit
of the study that the
preadolescents participated willingly; thus, student participants were required to sign the
consent form along with their parent or guardian, indicating that they understood the conditions of participation and were doing so of their
own
volition (Elliott et
al.,
2001).
This study posed no risks to the participants, other than those outlined in Appendix E.
Philosophical Traditions of Methodology
Rhetorical Assumptions
The
first
philosophical tradition to be discussed comprises the rhetorical assumptions
inherent in the thesis.
The language and
work have evolved, and
their inherent
are thus, fluid, operational (Jaeger, 1988),
subjectively meaningful for the participants
Thus, while terms
may
meanings which permeate
(J.
Creswell, 1998;
J.
this
and most importantly,
W.
Creswell, 1998).
be operational, they will be contextually situated and explained
40
from the perspective of the participant so
that the
meaning
is
clear
(J.
W.
Creswell,
1998).
Epistemological Assumptions
Epistemologically, the assumption of the relationship between the researcher and the
researched needs to be explicated
understanding
myself
if I
may
when
arise
I
Creswell, 1998). Questions of age-centred
researchers study preadolescents.
I
have often asked
can truly understand the nature of the preadolescents' world and their
representation of their experience
view.
W.
(J.
if I
have a vastly different age, experience, and world
have come to the understanding that the two worlds are not necessarily
incommensurate -
that
is
we do not
speak two different "languages." While an older,
mature researcher can never become an insider in a preadolescent universe, past experience, theory, and an understanding that preadolescents can create and report on
their reality,
informs the communication to the extent that a shared understanding of the
preadolescents' experience exists (Knupfer, 1996).
It
may
also be noted that
when
researching and discussing an inclusive
as the Internet, the researcher is able to participate in the experience,
element
left
out
is
the act of interpretation,
and
medium such
that the only
which can be, from a phenomenological
viewpoint, problematic but not insurmountable, as those of us to-day act of communication will attest to (Heidegger, 1966;
who
participate in the day-
Van Manen,
1991).
Establishing Credibility
As
previously mentioned, issues of phenomenological interpretation often evolve
around the central issue of researcher
credibility.
One of the
central tenets of collecting
41
valid data is establishing trustworthiness and credibility (Lincoln
interviewing preadolescents,
I
have found
that
& Guba,
1985). In
being authentic and allowing spontaneity
are the keys to establishing credibility (Knupfer, 1996; Lincoln
& Guba,
1985).
I
do not
seek to become like a child, but rather a genuine, interested participant with an inclusive perspective
who may even
share their sense of humour. Being able to converse about
Nintendo's Mario Kart and the role of Princess Peach, the Harry Potter Brothers, 2003) and participating in the Sorting Hat
downloadable games on the Pop Cap
site,
Game,
Web site
(Warner
the availability of
or the novel Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)
help to retain the spontaneous orality that communicates to children that
I
am
all
a credible,
interested adult (Knupfer, 1996).
Ontological Assumptions
The
ontological assumptions of this research project include the realities of the
researcher, the participants
Creswell, 1998).
The
who
are being studied,
effect of Internet usage
and those of the reader
it is
"fun to talk with people you don't
www.whyville.com). The Internet of those preadolescents
from the data
that
who have
is
it.
all
around the world"
form of communication among many
While
reality is subjective,
it
can be argued
contemporary preadolescents are fond of the Internet because
form of communication
that offers unlimited
freedom, and
is
it is
a
simultaneously condoned or
ignored by parents or guardians because the preadolescent remains in the watchful eye of the parent.
is
know" (2WMF0712, www.MSN.com,
the preferred
access to
W.
on a preadolescent's social existence
palpable, as one participant expresses: "you get to talk to people
because
(J.
home under the
42
From
the parents' perspective, while
some acknowledge
of the possibility of danger on the Internet,
a media-generated awareness
many acknowledge
that they themselves are
not "tech savvy" and that their preadolescents, in fact, understand
how
to operate the
computer better than they do (Biehn, 2002; Freeman-Longo, 2000; Goodale, 2001; A. Taylor, 2001). Thus, from the perspective of educators, parents, and guardians of
preadolescent children, this study
may be
in
many ways
a glimpse into the secret world of
preadolescent Internet activity.
From
the perspective of the researcher,
well-versed in
great extent.
Internet
is
how
the Internet
However, while
I
I
stand as an informed Neo-Luddite.
works and have used chat and
am in
instant
messaging
agreement with Sherry Turkle (1997)
I
am
to a
that the
often an impoverished substitution for meaningful communication due to
unilateral nature, simultaneously, I
am
still
able to appreciate
revolutionize the experience of being a preadolescent in that
minds the autonomy
to
make
how
it
this
its
phenomenon could
offers curious
young
decisions and have increasingly sophisticated experiences.
Axiological Assumptions
The
axiological assumptions are, quite naturally, the
most tenuous of the
five
philosophical traditions to discuss. While this thesis explores preadolescents' use of the
Internet
and how
this
impacts upon their educational and psychological development,
also theoretically speculates on the nature of living and experimenting in
called Simulated Life (SL) or non-veridical reality.
participant participates in experiences in
her/his
mind
is
life
is
will
be
such that the
which her/his body may be passive, and yet
fully engaged, understanding
imagination and past
The nature of SL
what
it
and experiencing as much as his/her
experience will permit (the Internet experience
is
differentiated
\-
43
from reading
some
a novel in that there
limited respects
somewhat tantamount 1991);
when
distilled
it is
is
often the participation of another individual, thus in
opposed
interactive as
to Hilary
to imagined).
Thus,
SL raises
issues
Putnam's "brain in the vat" thought experiment (Martin,
down, the philosophical question remains -
experience in SL, have you also had
it
in
Real Life (RL)?
if
you have had an
K so, do the experiences
preadolescents initiate and participate in on the Internet constitute formative experiences
that
may
affect their psychosocial
are primarily
all
and psychoeducational development? These questions
value laden, and thus, axiological in nature, and as such do not lend
themselves to immediate categorical answers. However, within the discussion section of
and society
this thesis I will fully articulate the questions that educators, parents,
at large
should be asking for and of preadolescents in the digital generation.
Summary of Chapter The
overall goal of this study
phenomenon of Canadian
was
to
provide an explanation of the contemporary
preadolescents' Internet usage and the various
psychoeducational and psychosocial implications that preadolescent development. Until now,
this
we have
this
only had thin
behaviour with no relevant elucidation (LeCompte
dialectical approach,
theories,
grounding the study deeply
traditions
study's
which includes
1992).
utilizing various psychological
in philosophical
may have on
statistical descriptions
& Preissle,
By
taking a
and educational
and supporting a qualitative investigation with quantitative relationships,
methodology has been strongly rooted
of
paradigms and social science
in tradition
high standards of responsible academic research (Caelli et
1999).
behaviour
this
and as such has maintained the al.,
2003;
Howe
& Moses,
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTS, THEMES AND OUTLIERS The next two
preadolescent Internet usage. Chapter 4 will answer the a macro and microanalysis of the data.
participants' shifts in their Internet
the study.
How, What, and
chapters of this thesis will elucidate the
The microanalysis
how and what by
The macroanalysis
usage from the
1st
will consist
Why of
explicating both
of examining
year of the study to the 2nd year of
will consist of a qualitative
metacoding of the data. Year
and year 2 of the data were collated and coded cumulatively
to
1
apprehend the central
concepts, categories, themes, and outliers that articulate the participants' experience using the Internet. Researcher field notes supplement data collected from the participants. Field
notes include
ad hoc
conversations between the researcher and the participants, as well as
observation of participant computer usage. Chapter 5 will put forth questions that educators, parents, and guardians
Internet
may
ask in determining
why
preadolescents use the
and postulate some possible psychosocial and psychoeducational outcomes.
Ethics approval
was granted by Brock University and
part in this study. Participants are identified
all
by code names
participants agreed to take
to protect confidentiality
and
anonymity. As well, school names have been given pseudonyms to protect participants. Quotations collected from the raw data are unedited for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of the data, to illustrate the developmental level or understanding of the
participants,
and to honour
in a consistent
their participation in this study. All
is
will
be sourced
format for reading ease. Participants' words will be cited in double
quotation marks followed by their code
participant
raw data
number and
referring to as the participants have
sites are often either incorrectly
named
the Internet
named it.
or given a generic
It is
Web site that the acknowledged
name by
that
the participant
Web
(i.e.,
45
"game
site").
This fact
is
preserved throughout the analysis to illustrate the point that
preadolescent Internet users do not necessarily possess a high level of digital literacy to
make
fluent use of the Internet.
Coding: Identincation of Concepts and Themes
While
it is
acknowledged
that the limitation of qualitative data is that neither
correlational nor causal generalizations can be
Creswell, 1998; Creswell, 2002),
this
it
drawn (Coffey
& Atkinson.,
is
a deeper understanding as to
participants use the Internet,
J.
can be claimed that the findings articulated represent
unique sample of preadolescents from the four participating schools.
do give us
1996;
how and for what
this
What
the data
sample of preadolescent
which may give us an understanding of preadolescent
Internet usage that is generalizable to the larger population.
As
stated in chapter 3, coding of the data
was done
in the basic or generic style
(Merriam, 1998) a posteriori in a line-by-line grounded analysis of identifying concepts, categories, themes, or patterns and noting outliers (Charmaz, 2000; Coffey
& Atkinson.,
1996; Freeman, 1998; Merriam, 1998). The analysis has been augmented by the qualitative software
are in vivo codes,
directly
The
Ethnograph (Seidel,
meaning
that the
(c)
1998) version 5.0. Codes and category names
terminology or
name of the category
from the participants as they have articulated step undertaken in the data analysis
first
participants
who
was
is
derived
their experience (c.f. Glaser, 2002).
to eliminate
any data collected from
did not complete year 2 of the survey. This was done for continuity of
the longitudinal study so that the sample analyzed consisted solely of participants
completed both year attrition
was
1
who
and 2 of the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire. Participant
relatively stable at a
rounded average of 16%. In Apple View, 4 participants
46
were
lost out
participant
of an original 23 participants (rate of
was
from an
lost
third school, Willouby,
original pool of
4 participants were
1 1
lost
17 participants
who completed both
17%). In Eastown, one
participants (rate of attrition, 9%). In the
in the 1st year of
from the 21 participants
the study (rate of attrition, 19%), and in Trentway,
total to
attrition,
4 participants were
lost reducing the
years of the study (rate of attrition, 19%).
Thus, for both years of the study, Apple View had 19 participants (10 male P, 9 female P),
Eastown had 10
participants (4
participants (2
male
female P), for a
male P, 8 female
Willouby was represented by 18
and Trentway had 17 participants (6 male P,
P, 14 female P),
total
P),
1
of 22 male participants and 42 female participants. In total the study
has 64 participants.
The next
step in data analysis
participants' data
was
to organize the data in
were grouped together so
that year
1
such a
way
that
each
and year 2 data could be viewed
chronologically in order to identify any developmental shifts that
may have taken place in
the individual participant over the course of the 2-year study. Additionally, the data were
analyzed by school and gender for the function of understanding gender differences. Subsequently, the raw data from the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire were then
analyzed for concepts identified by the preadolescent participants. Initially 315 concepts
were identified
in the data.
categories (Coffey
These 315 concepts were then collapsed into 8 main
& Atkinson.,
1996; Creswell, 2002; Freeman, 1998).
of the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire
and document the type and level of activity participant has then identified
usage.
him or
is
that if a participant
can
name
that takes place within said
herself as an individual
One assumption a
Web
who engages
Web site site,
the
in Internet
47
Qualitative concepts and categories were
augmented by quantitative descriptions
bring a statistical dimension to the coding and categorizing technique. Using
(Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences, version
to describe if they
compiled
to
SPSS
11.0), descriptive statistics
were
belong to chat group or EM, use email, download music, or
use the Internet to play video games.
Through the data analysis process common concepts, categories, themes, and patterns were found
in the data (Coffey
goal of the data analysis
was
& Atkinson.,
to explore
1996; Creswell, 2002; Freeman, 1998).
and build an understanding of the
The
participants'
perceptions of their Internet usage.
Longitudinal Analysis of Participants' Choices: Developmental Shifts or Merely
Preference?
The
data were organized so that a macroanalysis of each participant's
Web
site
choices could be analyzed from the 1st year of data collection to the 2nd year of data collection in chronological order.
participants' Internet usage.
site
was
identified
identified
named
is
was
by
data were coded as
the participant, General
a general interest site,
Web
and Specific
Interest
Web
site (G.I.)
site,
meaning
that the
Web
Interest, indicating that the
denotes
This code includes general gaming portals
different
No Web site, meaning that no Web site
Web
site
related to a specific interest, person or hobby.
The code General sites.
The
Web site choices were coded to identify shifts in
-
Web
sites that are general interest
sites that offer the
player
many
games, such as addictinggames.com, coffeebreakarcade.com, and
newgrounds.com, search engines such as google.com, or
Web sites
that discuss general
48
forms of hobbies such as a generalized sports
site (i.e.,
saltlake2002.com) that discuss
all
types of sport.
The code
Specific Interest (S.I.) includes
Web
sites that
name
particular celebrity
names (mary-kateandashley.com, harrypotter.com, blinkl82.com), as skateboarding, or playing a
game with
specific hobbies such
a site devoted solely to that subject
(neopets.com, exco.com, transworld.com), and specific activities such as chatting on
MSN messenger. The specific code also includes downloading sites wherein the participant
would engage
in the specific activity of
downloading music, games, or movies
(napster.com, kazaalite.com) or email (hotmail.com). Data from
participants
sites
fit
into this coding regimen.
and specialized
These 2
interest sites in their 1st
outliers
all
but 2 of the 64
named both
generalized interest
and 2nd years. For example
Eastown named www.bored.com (generalized
portal site)
specialized interest site in her 1st year of the study, while
1
female from
and harrypotter.com, a
naming harrypotter.com
(specialized site) and google.com (a generalized search engine site) in the
2nd year of the
study (2EGF0725).
Macroanalysis of the developmental
shifts
of the participants revealed five types of
patterns of preadolescent Internet usage. Participants identified themselves as not being
able to
name
no favourite
a favourite
Web
Web
site
site in the 1st
specialized interest
Web
over the 2 years of the study; as moving from having
year of the study, to naming either a general or
site in the
2nd year of the study; as having a general type
favourite Internet site in both years of the study; as
moving from having
a general type
favourite Internet site in the 1st year of the study to having a specialized Interest site in
49
the
2nd
year, as well as participants
who identified as having
sites as their favourite Internet site in
Upon completing
28%
both years
the macroanalysis
of the participants did not
30%
year of the study almost
name
it
1
and
2.
was revealed
a favourite
Web
specialized interest type
that in the 1st year of the study,
site,
thus indicating that in the 1st
of the total population of the study did not engage in
frequent Internet usage. This shifted dramatically in the 2nd year. In the course of one
year, 15.5
% of the participants shifted from self-identified infrequent Internet usage to
frequent Internet usage in that they provided
and kind of the
activity that they
would
Web
participate in
site
names and documented
on said
12.5% of participants who did not name a favourite
study,
8%
Web
site.
Web site in
the type
Of note was year
that of
or year 2 of the
1
of the participants in this category were female.
Nineteen percent of participants identified themselves as having a preference for generalized interest sites in years
1
and
2, as
themselves as having a generalized interest
well 19.0% of participants identified
site
preference in year
specialized interest site in year 2. Especially interesting
exactly equal in both category:
6.25% of male
that they identified themselves as liking the
year
1
and year
generalized
Web
study. Equally
sites
2, as
1
did
sites in
year
1
specialized-type
and then shifting to a
gender breakdown
is
participants did not have an interest shift in
same type of generalized shift
Web
from
sites in
both
liking
to preferring specialized interest sites in year 2 of the
1.0% of female
their preference
that the
6.25% of males who acknowledged a
participants reported that they preferred generalized type
over both years of the study, while
changed
is
1
1
1.0% of female participants
from a generalized-type
Web site in the
Web site in
2nd year of the study.
stated that they
the 1st year to a
50
Most
interesting in the macroanalysis however,
was
that
22.0% of female
reported that in the 1st year of the study they preferred special interest-type
participants,
who named
both years of the study. Further study of type of
Web sites
an inclination for specialized interest
may
Web
site.
participants reported shifting
Web
sites,
from specialized
Web
interest type
sites to
6.25% of the
generalized
while 1.0% of the participants reported shifting from a generalized
interest in the first year to
no favourite
Web
sites in the
2nd
year,
and while another 1.0%
of the study population reported shifting from a specialized type interest in the
to
no favourite
shifted
sites in
explicate this gender difference in preference
A small percentage of participants reported a digression of preferences:
interest
and
remained stable into the 2nd year of the study. This contrasts with
that this preference
3.0% of male
participants
Web sites in
from Internet usage
the
2nd
year.
It is
of note that both of the participants
in the 1st year to not
year were both female participants
who had
first
naming a favourite
year
who
Web site in the 2nd
identified themselves as heavily involved in
Internet use in the 1st year.
The "What": Content Analysis There have been few attempts target" (Wartella et
al.,
of the Five
Most Frequently Named
to analyze Internet
Web
site
content as
Sites
it is
a "moving
2000) that changes with trends and pop culture developments.
Past research shows that boys use the Internet to play games, while girls use the Internet
for
homework, email, and chat (Comber
However, a 2000 report
for the
et al.,
1997; Kavur, 2001; Wartella et
al.,
2000).
Markle Foundation on Children and Interactive Media
argues that because of the influential nature of media on children's social, emotional, physical and educational development (Abbott, 2001), the
moving
target of
Web site
51
content must be scrutinized in an objective manner to
and depth
in
more
fully understand the breadth
which preadolescents are being influenced (Wartella
be especially prescient considering
et al., 2000).
in this study participants report
This
may
being alone while on
the Internet (Appendix F). Past research indicates that parental supervision or
preadolescents
their children
is
low
as parents feel that the Internet
occupied within the safety of their
is
home
a protected
medium
that
keeps
(Biehn, 2002; Bushong, 2002;
Ferguson, 2000; Freeman-Longo, 2000; Goodale, 2001).
Thus, the aim of
this study
was
to provide a content analysis of the five
most frequently named by the participants who took part
in the
name
a favourite
favourite
Internet
Web
is
Web
sites
a vast
name
a
Web
site in
the second year.
each year, 129 unique
and explicate
in a
28%
of the
while 12.5% of the participants were not able to
site,
medium which may,
difficult to capture
sites
Reading and Viewing
Questionnaire over both years of the study. In year one of the study, participants did not
Web
Of those
Web
sites
participants
who named 2
were named, thus revealing
that the
unlike television or the music industry, prove
comprehensive manner the content
to
which
preadolescents are being exposed.
Content analysis of Web
sites
consisted of visiting the
Web
site
and evaluating the
content based on a set of objective criteria derived from those used by the Internet
Content Rating Association (Funk, 1993; Internet Content Rating Association, 1999), suggestions put forth by the Markle Report on Children and Interactive media (Wartella
et al., 2000),
site
and the content rating system used by newgrounds.com, the most subversive
named by
the participants. Specifically,
Web sites were evaluated by the
genre of
content (chat, information, gaming), the kind of interaction required by the participant
v_
52
(audio, text or audiovisual), and whether or not product or character branding exists in the
content.
the
Web
to
It is
site
be noted
that
branding content
employs branding
as a device
is
may change
most
as a function of time, but that
likely a stable trend.
The content
will
also be analyzed for the presence of nudity, violence (mild, moderate, or excessive), type
of violence
(realistic presentation
textual explicit language,
this will
and adult themes.
be noted in the analysis.
have a main "home page," other within the
Web site.
overall site
(Funk
or fantasy/cartoon violence), audible explicit language,
Analysis
is
It is
Web
If the
Web
acknowledged sites
site
contains educational material,
that while
some
Web sites may only
have different sections or links
conducted on whether content
is
to other sites
present within the
1999; Internet Content Rating Association, 1999; Wartella et
et al.,
2000).
The top
5 sites and percentage of participants
1.
MSN.com; 17.0%
2.
neopets.com; 14.0%
3.
funbrain.com; 11.0%
4.
yahoo.com; 9.0%
5.
harrypotter.com;
6.25%
freearcade.com; 6.25%
bonus.com; 6.25% hotmail.com; 6.25%
newgrounds.com 6.25%
naming them
are as follows:
al.,
53
Table
1
Content Analysis of 5 Most
Web site name
Named Web sites
54
MSN.com Genre of content:
A general
site that offers a
search engine, link to hotmail.com,
msn
messenger, news headlines, online shopping, and games
Kind of interaction required by
participant: text
Product or character branding: Images of current movie and book characters shown.
Image of Hollywood
celebrity.
Image of laptop computer with brand name prominently
displayed
Link
to educational
Web site noted.
No nudity No
violence
No
audible explicit language
No
textual explicit language
Does not contain
adult themes
Neopets.com
Genre of content:
A specialized interest Web site wherein participants join Neopia the
land of Neopets, design and adopt a virtual pet, and then participate in various activities to earn points to
buy food
for their virtual pet. Earning points includes training the pet at
school, playing games, and fighting the virtual pet.
The
site offers
members
chat
rooms/channels, email, shopping, newspapers, games, screensavers, and a live of the Neopets staff office.
Kind of interaction required by
participant: audio, text,
and audiovisual
Web cam
55
Product or character branding: Textual product branding within content. Pop-up ads,
and page advertisements advertise games. Educational content noted: Participants are encouraged to develop literacy and
skills
by writing short
stories about their
Neopet, participate in caption contests, and
drawing guides provided for aspiring
utilize
art
artists.
Games
mathematics quizzes to earn points for food. Neopia has
include spelling and
its
own
dialect
and
pronunciation guide.
No
Nudity
Moderate Fantasy/cartoon violence (player can Neopets upon
first
Neopet
to "attack
meeting them. In the "Battledome" you fight your Neopet
ask for and are granted release. "QuickFight"
you do not mind who you waiting for them to
No
direct their
come
fight
lets
you enter
weaker"
until
you
into an instantaneous fight if
and do not want the bother of challenging people and
online.
audible explicit language
No explicit language
within
Web
site content,
however, textual explicit language
may
be possible within chat channels. Content does not contain adult themes
Funbrain.com Genre of content: Network. The
Web
A general site that is devised and run by the Family Education
site
content offers games such as
Math
Baseball,
Grammar Gorillas,
and Planet Zug, a vocabulary builder. There are areas for children, teachers and parents. Offers cartoon movies and portal links to other
sites.
Kid-specific content includes pages
dedicated to "numbers," "words," "universe," and "culture" (history).
56
Kind of interaction required by
participant: text
and audiovisual
Product or character branding: Excessive product and character branding within content.
Pop-up ads and page advertisements
interrupt the playing of educational games.
Educational content noted
No
nudity
No violence No
audible explicit language
No textual
explicit language
Does not contain
adult themes
Yahoo.com
A general portal
Genre of content:
site that offers a
search engine, links to email,
Yahoo! Messenger, news headlines, online shopping, and games.
Kind of interaction required by
participant: text
Product or character branding: Images of current movie and book characters shown,
image of music
artist.
Image of laptop computer with brand name prominently displayed.
Links to educational
Web sites noted. No educational
No nudity No
violence
No
audible explicit language
No textual explicit language Does not contain
adult themes
content within
Web site.
57
HarryPotter.com
Genre of content:
A specialized interest site that offers Harry Potter themed games,
chat forums, IM, shopping, news, and
Kind of interaction required by
movie cHps.
participant: text, audiovisual
Product or character branding: Current book and movie images
No educational content within Web
site.
No nudity No violence No audible explicit language No textual
explicit language, although textual explicit language
may exist within chat
channels.
Does not contain
adult themes
FreeArcade.com Genre of content:
A general site that offers various video games such as
"shooting
games," sports games, and puzzle games.
Kind of interaction required by
participant: audio, audiovisual
Product or character branding: Images of current music
artists
shown. Limited
advertisements.
No
educational content
No nudity Fantasy violence
No
audible explicit language
No textual exphcit language
.
_
:
58
Does not contain
adult themes
Bonus.com Genre of content: offers
games,
A general site that describes itself as "family entertainment."
sport, brainteasers, family sections.
called "NetScooter®"
which forces children
removing the Internet
tool bar at the top of the
Kind of interaction required by
Bonus.com uses
to surf within the
Site
a unique interface
Bonus.com
Web pages by
Web page.
participant: text, audiovisual
Product or character branding: Advertising predominant content of homepage. User
PC
must disable ad-blocking software on advertisements preclude
game
in order to access
Web
site.
playing. Current movies, video games,
Pop-up and
DVDs
are
advertised.
Images of current video games and food load with each new page. Image of
Hollywood
celebrity.
Image of laptop computer with brand name prominently displayed.
Educational content noted. or lateral thinking puzzles.
and safety historical
in the
Word
games, history quizzes, spelling bee, geography
The Family
community. There
is
test
section offers tutorials for safe Internet practices,
a section
on environmental living and
profiles
on
and living role models. Educational section on nutrition and healthful eating.
"Grown-up" games included
slot
machine type games and video poker and card games.
No nudity Fantasy violence
No
audible explicit language
No
textual expUcit language.
Bonus.com has
that if a participant breaks the rules
(i.e.,
a policy on playing interactive games,
gives out personal identifying information), the
•1
,
Jl
59
participant's screen
name
to create another screen
Does not contain
will
be deleted from the system and he/she will not be allowed
name.
adult themes
Hotmail.com Genre of content:
A general
site that offers
a search engine, link to hotmail.com,
MSN messenger, news headlines, online shopping, and games. Kind of interaction required by
participant: text
Product or character branding: Images of current movie and book characters shown.
Image of Hollywood
celebrity.
Image of laptop computer with brand name prominently
displayed.
Link
No
to educational
Web site noted
nudity
No violence No audible explicit language No
textual explicit language
Does not contain
adult themes
Newgrounds.com Genre of content: other
A general site that offers games, cartoon movies, and portal links to
sites.
Kind of interaction required by Product or character branding:
participant: audio, text,
No branding within
and audiovisual
content.
Pop-up
advertisements have sexual and drug-related content and adult themes.
ads,
and page
60
No educational
content noted.
Nudity Violence
(realistic portrayal
Audible explicit language Textual explicit language
Contains adult themes
and fantasy/cartoon)
61
Microanalysis of Eight
Main Categories
Microanalysis of the raw data collected from the Reading and Viewing Questionnaire consisted of cumulatively coding year
1
and year 2 of the data to apprehend the central
concepts, categories, themes, and outliers that articulate the participants' Internet use and
experience.
The coding was done
in generic style
(Merriam, 1998) a posteriori in a
line-
by-line grounded analysis of identifying concepts, categories, themes, or patterns and
noting outliers (Charmaz, 2000; Coffey
1998).
As
stated earlier,
& Atkinson,
1996; Freeman, 1998; Merriam,
315 concepts were identified
were then collapsed into 8 categories (Coffey
in the data.
& Atkinson,
These 315 concepts
1996; Creswell, 2002;
Freeman, 1998), which include Downloading, Info-Hunting, Virtual Nurturing,
Consumerism, Expressions of Violence, Chatting, Music, and Gaming.
The
data were collected from four different schools and are often presented
participant gender
and name of school. Also of note
number of times they appear a
number of
The data
"discrete" or "unique times" as a
within the category
and school
in the surveys.
was acknowledged
affiliation.
number of participants who
cited
it.
presented by the
are characterized as being identified
that a concept
number of times, broken down by gender
a concept cited
this
may not be equivalent to
the
does not imply that 25 individual participants
in their Internet behaviours.
concept more than once.
is
For example, the concept Downloading was named
25 discrete times within the data, but
named downloading
data
means of communicating
a certain
The number of times
is that
by
A single participant may have cited a
u
62
Downloading: Evidence of Preadolescent Digital Sophistication
Downloading was a theme
that
act of transferring an application,
the Internet to one's
female participants
own PC who
produced a few surprising
results.
Downloading
document, video, or audio clip including movies, from
(State of Victoria, 2002). Unexpectedly, all four schools
identified as using the Internet to
had
download music, games, and
various applications, whereas only one set of male participants from Apple
View
downloading or downloading on a regular
basis.
identified as being familiar with
the
is
Two
points of analysis stand out regarding the male participants' lack of downloading. First,
the
male participants who identify themselves
as
Downloaders
are
from Apple View.
This school exhibits the highest overall socioeconomic status in this study. Thus,
be an expected finding
that these
who use the
download
Internet to
that the
socioeconomic factor
Internet
is
it
may
male participants identify themselves as preadolescents
that
(Statistics
may
Canada, 2003). However, what
is
apparent
is
explain the male participants' access to the
not a factor that equally applies to female participants' Internet access, as
all
four groups of female participants, from every socio-economic strata, identified
themselves as preadolescents
who download. However,
the female preadolescents' male
cohorts do not equally identify themselves as participating in downloading as an Internet
activity.
This suggests that the male participants identify themselves as either not being as
experienced or as interested in various uses of the Internet activity as their female peers.
The argument
that the
male participants who do not download may not have the same
access to Internet service as those participants from a
more socioeconomically
63
advantaged background, seems to be refuted
socioeconomic
status, identified
in that
female participants, despite their
themselves as partaking in this Internet activity.
A point that further reinforces the argument that the male participants in this study may
not be (contrary to the popular stereotype;
Bovill, 1999; Wartella et
Comber et
al.,
2000) as interested in downloading materials off the Internet
al.,
as the female participants are, is that the breadth of usage cited is
females than
it is
for the
&
1997; Livingstone
one group of males
who download. For example,
that identified
more diverse
for the
themselves as preadolescents
male participants from Apple View specifically
the
reported that they download games and movies, whereas the female participants reported
downloading video games, music onto CDs, and furniture and new characters from
SIMS.com.
In fact,
participants identified themselves as
no male
downloading music,
whereas downloading music was reported eight separate times within the female sample. This
is
a surprising result as
Statistics
Canada,
it is
in stark contrast to the recent statistics released
who report that
adolescent males use the Internet in
than female adolescents (Statistics Canada, 2003). Future research
developmental changes experienced
in
by
more diverse ways
may
inquire into the
preadolescence that account for this decline in
female Internet usage.
Info Hunting:
A Portal to
"Cool Hunting, " Expressions of Autonomy and the
New
Value of Information
The category of Information Hunting was developed
as a qualitative category in
preadolescent Internet usage from 35 unique concepts mentioned in the data.
analysis, the
themes in
fell
into
4 natural
rank order of
how
often they
35 concepts
their
clusters of
Upon
themes within Info Hunting - these
were identified
are: surfing the Internet,
64
searching for information pertaining to a particular interest, an autonomous or selfdirected expression in the need for information, and cool hunting.
The search for information. Female
participants
from each of the four schools
in the
study identified themselves as concerned with information hunting, whereas only one
group of male participants from Apple View, and one individual male participant from the school
Eastown
participants
identified themselves as interested in info hunting.
No
male
from Willouby or Trentway (both mid-low SES schools) were found
identifying themselves in this category.
It
is
the
appears evident in both popular culture and in this particular study that information
new
"sexy" concept; preadolescents appear to be quick to understand that
knowledge
is
power and information can
often pass for knowledge. Eighteen unique data
pieces were collected on searching for information
by means of surfing
Preadolescents understand that certain search engines (google, yahoo, that lead to literally anything the
reported appreciating that the
can search for info" and "because
it
has
all
conjure.
MSN)
are portals
Both male and female participants
a vast resource as captured in their statements, "you
has info on anything" (2EGF0725, www.google.com),
(2TOF0704, www.petz.com) and gives one,
"...
(2WMF0704, www.yahoo.com).
Specialized Interests
is
Web is
the updated news..."
variety of information"
Internet
"it
mind can
the Net.
- hobbies and dreams. Within
the understanding that the
a tool for obtaining information, preadolescents use the Internet to seek out
specific interests.
Eleven unique data pieces were identified around the theme of
searching for information on a "specific interest." All participants, except for one, were
females representing
all
four schools.
A lone male participant identified that he liked to
a
65
go
to
dragonballz.com and "find out about the characters" (2EGM0731). The female
participants
acknowledged
that the Internet could help
them discover information on a
vast array of specific interests. In this sample of the data, the female participants reported
that the Internet facilitated their
unique and individualized interests and hobbies to such
an extent that they articulated deep, abiding focused passions such as planning on adopting a foal, tracking the career of a role-model, learning for ballet practice, learning every detailed nuance about the
new
stretches to
members of a
reading a daily horoscope, or using the Internet to find information to use
female participant expressed,
"I like this site
favourite figure skater," because
it
because
I
like to see
warm up
favourite band,
at school.
As
what happens with
1
my
"shows her achievements and goals" (2TOF0707,
www.jenniferrobinson.com). Thus, these female participants' have communicated that for
them
the Internet is a tool to help an individual explore and define their autonomy. This
leads to the next
theme
in Info
Hunting - info searching as an expression of autonomy.
Expressions of autonomy. The understanding that a self-directed freedom or
autonomy
is
available to preadolescents through info hunting
on the
Web is evident in the
language that they use to phrase their responses. For example, in the data segments gets
me my info
quickly"
(2AAM0720, www.yahoo.com),
(2AAM0702, www.dragonballz.com), and
"/ find
"it
"it
has info /need",
my information
that /
need"
(2AAF0715, www.olympic.com),
the participants are linking the concept of self, my, to
ownership and possession of
my
Cool hunting. The
last
data,
theme
info,
my
information.
in the category of info hunting
was
that of "Cool."
Popular culture and personal experience reminds us that the paramount preoccupation with adolescents and preadolescents
is
whatever
is
deemed
to
be "cool"
at the present
66
moment. The
Internet provides marketers with a
new medium
that subverts the traditional
marketing dynamic. Wherein a few years ago marketers predominantly had to reach
now go out and find
children through commercials and print ads, preadolescents can
marketers and their products,
all in
an effort to stay current and "be cool." Being cool
preoccupation with preadolescents as "cool"
was found
researchers as
in the data.
it is
is
represented by the 27 discrete times the
However, what
to the children
who
is
cool
is
as elusive
are searching for
it.
The
hunting (Dretzin, 2001) accessible to any preadolescent with a connection. However, the search for cool
may be
and varied
Internet
PC and
is
a
what
is
word
to
makes cool
an Internet
nothing more than the fantasy of
possibility. Generally, the preadolescents in the data did not
convey
that they find
cool on the Internet and then seek out to possess the actual item (there were 2 male
participants
who
stated that they
more expressions is cool.
As
to the importance of
articles
knowing what
on the is
were
Internet). Rather, there
cool, as
opposed
to
owning what
the participants report, "I can look for cool things and chat," and "talk to
different people
[sic]
do purchase
and finding cool things" (2WMF0707, www.yahoo.com), and "the whats
cool part (as in clothes)" (2TOF0714,www.whatsherface.ca).
Internet Consumerism: Preadolescent Desires
Buying items on the very
common
Internet or at least looking at items that
interest for preadolescents in this study.
one desires to buy
is
a
Every gender and school was
represented in the category of Consumerism, except for Willouby males
who
did not
identify buying as an Internet behaviour. Participants identified that they search for three
different
themes of items: clothes,
toys,
and sports equipment.
67
Shopping for clothes on the computer. Looking identified solely
let
at
by female
them dress female
girl
at
clothes
was a theme
participants. Participants stated that they
go to
that
was
Web sites that
characters in actual designer clothes that are currently available
Web
upscale stores in malls. These
sites are
seductive in their fantasy appeal; they
allow the participant to tailor the model to resemble herself in that one can pick the
background
ethnicity of the model, eye colour, length and colour of hair, and appropriate
that the participant
would see herself in
(a
beach background versus a school
example, one participant states that her favourite in clothes she
Bilibong
owns: "dollsmania
[sic],
Roxie,
etc.
(what
lets
I
wear).
I
Hke how I'm able
(2AAF0722,Dollzmania.com).
"playing
the
games and watch
different clothes"
allows her to "play"
you create people who have clothes
my profile" all
site
download
For
dressing up
like:
Exco,
my dolls onto
A 2nd participant also states that she too likes
parts of the video
and dressing up the charters
(2TOF0702,www.pbskids.com). This
which must surely create desire
to
at
setting).
in the preadolescents
clothes on the Internet. In recent history, girls
is
[sic] in
a fascinating marketing tool,
who become
involved
at
looking
at
would play with Barbie and dress her in
clothes that proximated styles of clothes that could be found in the mall; today girls
virtually dress themselves in designer clothes
Toys and sports equipment: an enduring identified with the
Internet.
themes of looking
at
on the computer screen.
interest.
or buying both toys and sports equipment on the
Once again though, preadolescents convey
does not entail purchasing the items. For example to Badlandspaintball.com as the
could buy" (2AAM0709).
Web
Both male and female participants
site
"shows
1
that looking at items
on the
male participant reports
me pricings
[sic]
Internet,
that
he goes
of paintball things
I
68
Again the vastness of the Internet was communicated
from the
in the varied responses
participants. Preadolescents identified that they are interested in looking at various items
from celebrity-autographed clocks "they have kewl
[sic]
things that
you can buy
autographed clock", (2AAF0724,www.aaroncarter.com), to a participant latest trends that are
stuff"
things
If
consumer
you can buy" and
we
"I
in that
shows
yo-gi-oh
[sic]
cards to buy
participant even identified himself as
how
preadolescents use the Internet
consumerism appears predominantly
in the data.
enough times
all
of the
it
should be noted
Equally notable
in the data to
is that
be considered a
may
not match
but they are also being exposed and acculturated to a
new form
category. Preadolescents are exposed to not only
realities,
me
he likes www.ebay.ca because "you see
the concept of schoolwork did not appear
economic
follows the
can buy things for cheap prices" (2AAM0709).
are to critically analyze
that the category
their
it
(2EGM0731, www.poke-order.com). One
a bargain-hunting
an
both television shows and toys, "when you get to buy the toys"
(2EGM0731, www. simpsons.com), and "because and
who
like
of nurturing. The Internet in
many respects
is
a
consumer fantasies
medium
that
that fuses reality
and non-reality
together, but acculturates preadolescents as if this demarcation does not exist.
Virtual Nurturing, Neopets
Virtual pets, also
known
as
preadolescent Internet usage.
virtual pet site
and the Language of Reality for Preadolescent Females
Neopets are the newest form of play seen
The concept
is fairly
simple; the preadolescent logs onto a
and creates his/her own unique, perfect
pet. It is
the preadolescent to care for their pet, sustaining the pet's life
playing with
it,
and having
it
in this survey of
interact with other virtual pets.
then the responsibility of
by earning money
for food,
69
The sample of participants oddly skewed sample
at best.
that
named playing with
Overwhelmingly,
it
virtual pets as a
was female
pastime was an
who
participants
with this activity. Females from Apple View, Trentway and Willouby
all
identified
identified
themselves as involved with virtual pets. Willouby female participants acknowledged virtual pets 13 discrete times.
Apple View female participants mentioned the concept 8
Trentway female participants mention the concept
times, whereas
However, no female participants from the school Eastown pastime pursued on the Internet. Similarly, only stated that
he
is
1
virtual pets 5 times.
identified virtual pets as a
male participant from Apple View
involved with virtual pets; no other male participants acknowledged this
interest.
Within the category Virtual Pet, 3 natural clusters of themes formed. These included the
theme of creating your
virtual pet, caring for
your virtual pet, and the consumerist
aspect of virtual pets.
Creating and caring for a anticipation
real pets, virtual pets
seem
exists.
and
later,
For example,
1
female participant stated
"it's
fun to take care of and
and most candidly, "you can create your own pet so
(2WMF0710, www.pets.com) Also .
very
much
like a real pet,
your virtual pet you can try out a
when she
stated that the best part is
geopets.com).
new one
"when you
as articulated
get to pick a
you'll like it"
appears that a virtual pet
it
can also be exacting on our expectations and desires. Yet unlike a real tired of
to inspire the
and regret indicative of the commitment. The theme of conditional love,
though subtle, create pets"
new pet. Like
by
new
1
pet"
pet,
when you
get
female participant,
(2AAF0706,
70
Another interesting point
emerges
that
in the data is that the preadolescents believe
themselves to be playing with their virtual pets in an equivalent manner that
who were
expect from children
talking about playing with real pets.
viewed
are not like real pets in that they are often
way
that an old doll or well-used
game
is
as toys that can
forgotten about. This
is
we would
However
virtual pets
be disregarded in the expressed in the
language that the participants use, which not only indicates that they perceive themselves
to
be "playing" and "keeping busy" with their
virtual emotions.
her virtual pet are
For example,
when she
1
pet, but also
female participant clearly reports having affection for
reported,
"when
I
feed
these virtual objects of affection. For example,
keeps
stated that
(2WMF0706, virtual
It
"it is
1
owner
or
I
have a
money
to play
little
them" and
"I like
fits
keep a pet. Particularly
games
to earn
money
to
participant reported, "I like looking after
who always
creature
making homes
stated "you
for
them"
nicely into the notion of
at
neopets.com,
buy food
my pet's
it is
the responsibility of the
for their virtual pet.
[sic]
and
I
have a
lot
$5000.00" (2AAF0708, neopets.com) and another, when she declared
(2WMF0702,
busy
for virtual pets.
to
you can play games
like a
when another participant
neopets.com). The theme of consumerism
homemaking
takes
for
the element of "playing house" with
and
interesting
make homes
is
Also when they
female participant sounds
me busy" (2WMF0704. www.neopets.com)
get to take care of pets and
pet
my pets they are so cute.
scared!"(2AAF0708, neopets.com). Also there
homemaker when she
responding to their pet's
to get
mony to by
neopets.com).
[sic] stuff
for your neopets
and
As
of
1
female
money around
"I like it
stuff"
because
71
Virtual pets can have a pragmatic side to them; as a female participant articulated "I
like this
can't
Web
site
because
I
can pretend to have and care for an animal, but realy
[sic] I
because I'm allergic to dogs and cats" (2AAF0706,Geopets.com). This seems to be a
happy resolution for the preadolescent child who wants a pet and for health reasons able to have one.
bonding and
On
its
However, the question remains
effects
not
is
as to the developmental value of virtual
on impressionable preadolescents.
can argue that bonding with a
virtual pet is
nylon haired "dolly," which generations of little
no
girls
different than
bonding
have done before
to a plastic,
virtual pets. Still,
impressionable young females have never before designed and created an entity that
would embody the
creator's notion of perfection, as
neopets.com. Philosophically and pedagogically
one would do for example, on
this
notion
is truly
are our impressionable preadolescents constructing, nurturing,
pet that
embodies what they deem
to be uniquely pleasing to
own
virtual pets
may be
virtual pets
may teach and reinforce preadolescents
perfect,
it"
and caring for the
them, that
is,
virtual
"you can
(2WMF0710,www.pets.com). The "playing" with
create your
pet so you'll like
disturbing; not only
an exercise of reinforcing conditional nurturing schemas; that to love conditionally that
is,
which
is
and then disregard the object when the fancy passes. Once again the data reveal
that the Internet acculturates our preadolescents to a
between veridical and non-veridical
world where the demarcation
reality is blurred. It is a
have affection for objects, but the affection
is as
world where preadolescents
transient as the
world
it is
projected
to.
Social Learning Theory argues that any time social learning takes place, the
understandings are extrapolated and applied to social understandings (Bandura, 1977, 2000). Developmentally,
I
believe
we
should have concern for impressionable
72
preadolescents
who
are straddling society
behaviours in the former and
and the
Internet,
who
will, research tells us, extrapolate
are learning values
and
those understandings to
the latter.
Playing
Games
Playing games
group in
this study.
Internet for
Kubey
in the Internet:
is
The Universal Preadolescent Pastime
the one category that
identified
by every gender and school
Previous research reports that preadolescents and adolescents use the
game playing (Donnerstein
& Larson,
was
& Smith, 2001; Ferguson, 2000; Funk,
1990; A. Taylor, 2001; Turow, 1999;
Turow
1993;
& Nir, 2000; Valkenburg
& Soeters, 2001). What is new within the domain of our understanding of preadolescents' attraction to the Internet
game
playing, are the 4 themes that
unique concepts that were identified
emerged from within the 52
in the preadolescents' data.
The themes
identified are
type of games, winning at games, passwords, and cheats. Little diversity in type
of game. The theme type of game also broke down into a
further 3 patterns. Preadolescents listed action games, violent games,
as being their favourites. Participants
3D
named 14 unique games
and memory games
in the data: City
Jumper,
Pong, Insaineaquarium, Stick RPG, Poke the Bunny, Squirrel Golf, Match Up, Fat
boy, Fact Monster Arcade, Lenny in Space, Lenny Loosjocks in Space, Poit, and Buster's
Ice
Cream Game.
Visits to
action/goal oriented, and
evident
how
Web sites confirmed that the games named included violent,
memory games. As each of the games was
the patterns of winning at
games and
studied
the role of passwords
it
became
were inherently
included into the design of the games.
Easy challenge. For example, many of the games are designed first,
and with some persistence the game's
to appear difficult at
difficulty level diminishes. "Fact
monster
73
arcade" (http://fekids.com/article/0,1120,46-27145,00.html) difficult at first, but
young player
by the second or
move on
to
allows him/her to continue playing. This
attempt. This discovery of the
moving
game
that appears
easier, allowing the
by winning and learning a secret password
is
target of
easier to
game
win on the second or
difficulty
may
explain
preadolescents have an abiding fascination with games on the Internet, as nature to pursue those things at which
However,
this
may
also be another
necessarily translate outside of the
we
One game
passwords, and
it is
This
site is
why
it is
in
human
experience early success (Leonard, 1991).
medium.
in particular, "Fact
interesting facet of Internet
games
is
that of
monster arcade" involves winning, and
not a violent game; on the contrary
the player to learn and
third
example wherein the lessons from the Internet do not
Passwords and secret codes. Another passwords.
that
clearly not a practice effect as the difficulty
game changes and becomes markedly
level of the
a
becomes
third attempt the level
to the next level
is
memorize passwords
it is
a
memory game
in order to play at the
run by the Family Education Network, which offers
that requires
next level of games.
homework
help to
children, Internet activities, and discussion forums for parents regarding child
development, education, and parenting issues (http://www.familyeducation.com/home/).
The concept of passwords
As
1
female participant
is
one
stated,
that particularly appeals to preadolescent participants.
www.funbrain.com
when you
passwords" and that for her "the best part
is
(2WMF0703). The concept of passwords
fulfills
exclusivity,
private
and
is
"is
fun to play.
get a
You
also have to get 6
password to another game"
preadolescents' desire for
autonomy and
a manner of expressing the fact that, to preadolescents, the Internet
community
accessible to only those
who,
literally,
have the password.
is
a
74
While some of the games named by the
Poke
the
Bunny
you
requires
to
participants
may be
considered benign
poke the bunny with a big finger
until the
bunny
the player and bites his/her finger (http://www.platinumgrit.com/poke.html),
games
are clearly violent and aggressive.
wherein she
states "I like the
me
match with
and
I kill
Osama Binladen
redeeming
that "This site is
This
site
contains
me
many
[sic]
that swears
game
in maturity
and the
and has absolutely no enter, for
your
subversively violent cartoons, undeniably aimed at children. For
further investigation,
it
is
which
is
the central protagonist of this
becomes apparent
On
the
that the gerbil is associated with
literal translation,
a
great pleasure" (http://www.joecartoon.com/pages/comics/).
and has a penchant for violence.
smoke - nuance
named
one where he gets into a boxing
you are easily offended please
example, a cute roly-poly brown cartoon gerbil
However, upon
on
some of the
states that the site "Specializes in the sick
most certainly lacking
qualities whatsoever. If
offendedness will bring
participant in particular
turns
him" (2TOF0703, www.JoeCartoon.com).
The disclaimer to JoeCartoon.com wrong" and
One
(e.g.
Web
site.
that the "cute gerbil" is a gerbil
home page he
is
shown exhaling
smoking cannabis - or even
at its
most
what may be expected developmentally from preadolescents
(Bosacki, Murray,
& Pollon, 2003; Dorr,
cigarette smoking.
It is
an acknowledged
1986; Funk et
norm
in
al.,
1999), that the gerbil enjoys
our society that cartoons whether or not
they are consciously aimed at marketing to children, are in fact understood to affect
impressionable children by the very means of the cartoon 1999). All of the
example,
in the
medium (USA Today,
games atjoecartoon.com have common themes and end
game
goals.
1997,
For
"gerbil fishing", the goal is to press buttons to get the gerbil to use
explicit language, kill the fish
by kicking
his foot through them,
and having them bleed
to
75
death, or have the fish rip the gerbil's arms off and watch
content
violent and contains audible explicit language.
is
this type
While
of material was always available to preadolescents,
now
material in
Cheating
game
him swear
is
I
as he bleeds.
critics will
would argue
The
suggest that
that this
available to all preadolescents with Internet access.
part of the game. The fourth identifiable theme was that of obtaining
Male
cheat codes or as the participants refer to them "cheats."
participants
were
alone in naming, finding, or getting cheats as a primary aspect of their Internet gaming experience.
it's
packed
for every
As
full
the participants energetically state they like
gaming
sites
"because
of cheats for games" (2TOM0706, www.supercheats.com),"it has cheats
videogame" (2AAM0723, www.happypappy.com), and
(2AAM0705,
Web
a kids gaming
Web site because there
site).
are "so
As
many
has tips and cheats,"
"it
male participant claims exuberantly, he
1
cheats and guides for free!" and
the best part of the site was, "the cheats!"
likes the
when asked what
(2AAM0710, www.gamefaqs.com). The very
notion of cheats however, brings about interesting philosophical and pedagogical
questions.
Do cheats
teach our preadolescents that "cheating"
process of success, that
is,
that
you must cheat
concept of cheats be more acceptable clues?
Some
participants,
if
when asked
thrill
in order to beat a
they were simply called
a normal part of the
game? Would
game
aids or
the
game
informally, stated that in fact cheats and finding
cheats are part of the inherent design of the
played without finding the cheats; that
is
game and
that the
is,
finding the cheats
to
games
game
is
is
not meant to be
part of the challenge and
of "figuring out the game."
Whether the
participant is
exposed
that are easily
won,
violent, contain adult
content, or have cheats, the overriding pedagogical question remains: If a preadolescent
is
76
exposed
to certain types of content during formative stages of his/her
this influence a susceptibility
manifest
or seeking out of similar content that will eventually
itself as identity traits
and personality preferences?
may elucidate
individual Internet habits
development, will
A longitudinal
analysis of
this issue.
Expressions of violence
The category expressions of violence was derived from a concepts. These concepts
came from
a
small, but
marked
set
of
skewed sample of participants; expressions of
violence were noted in the female population from Apple
View
(2 discrete data pieces)
and Trentway (2 discrete data pieces), while expressions of violence were noted
in the
male population from the schools Eastown (2 discrete data pieces) and most notably from Willouby, where 7 discrete expressions of violence were detected in the data. Violence in the First Person. Most of the expressions of violence were situated within
2 patterns that both contain an overarching theme. Identified was the pattern of "being killed"
and
"killing" in the context of playing
theme of personalized realism -
that
is,
games. Within each of the patterns was the
each of the participants
who talked
about
violence used language that personalized the act of violence.
For example,
1
words, "you get to
male kill
participant stated that he likes
famous people" (2AAM0705). Another male participant
in the first year of data collection that
(2WMM0711), favourite
he liked "shooting stuff" and "killing
in his
identified
stuff"
while in the second year he too identified www.newgrounds.com as his
Web site for games
(2WMM0711)
newgrounds.com because
"because you must be 18 years or older to play"
which, of course,
this participant is not.
personalization in their expressions of violence.
Even female
participants used
A female participant stated that her
77
favourite part of a
game
www.crash.com).
It
"is
when
the boss conies out and tries to kill you"
can be argued that these expressions of personalized violence are to
be attributed to linguistic form; that describing to another person
how
is,
when
to play the
a person is talking about playing a
game
in
site.
all
Web
site is truly
shocking in
its
level of depravity
number
game
Some would
state that to
has a rating system that
put forth that this
is
is
newgrounds.com's
shown before
5
most named
and violence. This
contains the singularly most subversive, shocking content yet seen on sites
participants.
or
the gold coins."
revealed in the macroanalysis, newgrounds.com tied for the
The
game
an informal, colloquial manner
she/he would often say, "you have to jump up and catch
As
(2TOF0720,
credit,
site
named by
each video cartoon or
the file is downloaded.
However,
I
would
simply a heuristic used by preadolescents to quickly find and choose
pornographic and violent content in games or videos. Each
game
or video clip
is
rated
nudity, violence, audible explicit language, textual explicit language,
and adult themes
(www.newgrounds.com). Each time
is
the viewer clicks
on a link there
on
a "pop-up"
advertisement for pornography. The homepage of the video section offers cartoons about anal sex and anal sex toys, and one "Public Service
abortion as "fun" (www.newgrounds.com).
Announcement (PSA)"
The video game homepage
pornographic games wherein the player undresses the cartoon Pervert" (a takeoff on the popular children's Sega video
Hedgehog)
to rip the female character's clothes off
Cartoons? Most disturbingly though,
is
that
appeals to preadolescents. Another factor that
violence
is that in
many
game
girl,
that describes
offers
or gets "Sonic the
character Sonic the
(www.newgrounds.com).
it is
in cartoon format,
which inherently
may influence the internalization
of the games the main character
is
of
a young person. In one of the
78
tamer games on newgrounds.com, the main character SkullKid, wears fashionable khaki pants, a white t-shirt,
chainsaw), a
and all-white running shoes (while murdering people with a
common
uniform for today's male preadolescents.
Internet Chatting: Strangers are Friends
Chat or instant messaging (IM) Instant
is digital
technology's betterment of the telephone.
Messaging enables two or more individuals
to
engage
in real time
by means of typing and using Emoticons (small pictures - icons emotions,
i.e.,
a
happy face
that is
winking
communication
that represent
you have just made a tongue-
to express that
in-cheek expression, and that the reader should read your previous statement as
were
"just joking"). This
of reasons
- they
form of communication appeals
report that
being on the computer than
Upon
it is
private,
when they
and
are
if
to preadolescents for a
that their parents are
more
you
number
lenient with
them
on the telephone.
analyzing the 21 categories identified within the concept of chat, 3 natural
clusters of
themes emerged from the categories. The themes were: chatting with friends
and family, chatting with strangers, and
IM
as a
form of "talking."
Privacy. Personal experience reminds us that during preadolescence, talking and
connecting with peers outside of school becomes of paramount importance, especially for preadolescent females. In this study as participating in chat or
who
identified
chat, or
IM, 14
Willouby female participants identified chat/IM 13 discrete
and Eastown and Trentway participants identified chat/IM 4 times each. This
contrasts greatly with the
IM
four schools had female students
IM. The participants from Apple View named
discrete times in the survey,
times,
all
number of male preadolescent
as an activity that they
engage
in while
on the
participants
Internet.
who named chat or
No male participants
from
\-
79
either
Apple View or Eastown
Trentway male
participants,
identified chat/IM, while
it
was named 4 times by
and only 2 times by Willouby male participants. Once again
the female preadolescent participants asserted that digital technology plays a major role
in their
own
lives
and development.
While collecting data participants about
many
revealed that they like
1
in the field,
I
had the privledge to talk informally with our
of the trends in their preadolescent world.
EM
for chatting because of the level of privacy
male participant stated "you can do anything on
When who
is
talking
Many preadolescents
on the phone, any conversation
it"
it
(2WMM0721. www.MSN.com)
that is taking place
As
affords them.
.
can be heard by anyone
with earshot. Preadolescents report that typing their conversations on a keyboard
allows them to conduct discussions that they would not be able to have verbally for fear that they
would be overheard by parents and
to understand
why chat/IM
is
siblings.
With
this
understanding
it is
simple
becoming the newly preferred mode of communication.
"Talking" while doing homework. Another reason that preadolescents gave for preferring
is that
IM
to the telephone,
and
this is especially relevant to the
preadolescent female,
telephone use can often be the cause of consternation and disputes between
preadolescents and their parents and family members. Using the
telephone line to remain free for the family (unless the
PC
is
PC
to
IM
allows the
on a dial-up modem).
Simultaneously, this allows the preadolescent to be sitting in front of the computer, which they report, parents perceive as a positive use of time, due to the fact that, according to the participants, parents associate computer time and typing with doing
information searches.
homework or
80
While
in the field collecting data
would keep many screens conversation and the
minimize
their
IM
active
moment
on
it
was reported many times
their
IM
desktop so that they were able to carry on an
they heard an adult
screen and maximize their
they had been typing on their homework.
that preadolescents
The
come
into the
homework
room they would
screen to give the illusion that
students reported that their parents were
not wise to the ruse and that they often stayed up late in front of the computer "doing
homework" with
their parents' approval.
Family and friends/strangers. attraction to
and
IM
chatting
is that
A third reason that preadolescents attribute their
EM
friends, but also "strangers"
allows them to have interaction with not only family
and "people you don't know." As one male participant
stated "you can talk to your friends"
(2WMM0721, ww w .MSNmessen ger.com
[sic]),
or
equally true, as one female reported you can spend your time "chatting with people you don't even
know" (2TOF0703, www.MSN.com) Within .
there were 4 discrete data pieces that were under the
this
sample of preadolescents
theme of "talking with
Cyberstalking, exploitation of children, and identity protection are
covered currently
in the
all
strangers."
issues that are
popular media and psychoeducational literature (Canadian Press
Newswire, 2001; Caywood, 2001; Freeman-Longo, 2000; Goodale, 2001; Magid, 1998;
M.
Taylor, 2001 Valkenburg ;
Preadolescents
& Soeters, 2001).
and Music on
the Internet: Expressions of Loving, Learning
and
Listening
The category of music was created from 24
distinct concepts identified in the data.
Within the category of music, 3 themes pertaining as a
medium
for
to
why preadolescents
music emerged. These themes were listening
like the Internet
to music, learning about
81
music, and expressions of loving music. Outliers of watching videos, music "top 10"
music on video games, and "liking
sites"
were noted.
Once again preadolescent females from digital
lists,
schools identified themselves as using
all
technology more frequently than male participants. Specifically, they identify the
Internet as a
means
to pursue their interest in music.
Apple View females cited music as
an interest the most (12 separate times) whereas Willouby females identified music as an Internet interest only 3 unique times.
Internet interest very often:
named music 2
times, and
concept in their surveys Look,
listen, learn.
more engaged interesting
in
Male
participants did not identify
music as an
Apple View males named music 5 times, Trentway males
Eastown and Willouby males did not identify music as a
at all.
Emerging from the data
is
the point that preadolescent females are
monitoring the music industry than preadolescent males. This
and explainable phenomenon. Music group/artist
multimedia study of the group or
artist's
Web
is
sites offer the
both an
viewer a
recent and past concerts, their videos in real-time
streaming, personal interviews, photos and
some even
offer email interaction
between
fans and artists.
First love: music.
manner
in
Many of the participants
which they use
music as a passion, as
capital letters to
in "I love
fill
express an exuberance for music, from the out the survey, to the free expressions of
music" (2AAM0705, Kazaa.com), "because
182 and love learning stuff about them" and "because site",
I
love
Sum41 and
(2AAF0704, www.Blinkl82.com, www.Sum41.com). One female
very succinct in her explanation that music group preadolescent
when she
explains "this
is
Web
sites fulfill
my favourite band's Web
I
love Blink
like there [sic]
participant
is
various needs for the
site it
has Shane West
82
in
it"
and "there pictures from there concerts and there music
THEIR MUSIC" (2AAF0706, Johnnywas.com). As is
[sic] to
download
I
LOVE
evident from the data cited the
themes of listening to music, learning about music and expressions of loving music are interconnected. However, even the outliers in the data are noted to be distantly related to
the
main themes
Internet as a
in that the participants identify their interest of pursuing
means of expressing
For example,
1
identity.
participant stated that he uses the Internet to vote to have his favourite
shown on Much Music
group's video
television channel "because
favourite songs," and, to the survey question,
get to vote"
music on the
"What
is
(2TOM0712, www.muchmusic.com). The
participant, provides
him with membership
right to express his tastes
music as an Internet
in a
I
can vote for
the best part?" his reply,
my "when
I
Internet, for this particular
community where he has
the democratic
and influence television programming, thus through pursuing
interest, these
preadolescents identify that their needs for autonomy,
attachment, and group membership are met.
Self-study
As
Thursday June
26: 15
minute break
stated in Chapter 3, this study recognizes that preadolescents are a culture-sharing
peer group
W.
(J.
usage, which
by
Creswell, 1998),
its
who
very nature and design
believe that as a qualitative researcher,
of preadolescent Internet usage
1997) and
come
are participating in the behaviour of Internet
(J.
W.
I
is
am
accessible
by outsider
researchers. Thus, I
able to arrive at a shared essential
Creswell, 1998; Merriam, 1998;
meaning
Van Manen,
to understand their preadolescent Internet experience through their
words, while simultaneously walking in their virtual footsteps while viewing the virtual landscape through the lens of a
critical researcher.
83
While
I
am not a preadolescent and my
observations on
my own
internet behaviour
are not necessarily generalizable to preadolescent Internet behaviour,
self-study does articulate and elucidate certain points about
easy to
fall into
how
I
submit that
my
impulsive behaviour
while surfing the Net, and that this potential behavioural style
is
is
not
exclusive to an age range.
In an attempt to capture unstructured Internet behaviour,
work I would
recall the Internet history
day's fifteen-minute break. Notably Internet at work,
and that
I
am
I
and document where
recognized that
I
am
decided that the next day
I
I
at
had gone on the previous
the only
one of the youngest employees. This
one who uses the is
my Internet history
over a fifteen-minute period:
www.vahoo.com -
game
to look for the
Lemonade Stand game
I
like
-
found a music
trivia
instead
www.triviaplaza.com - played 2 music
www.iames-tavlor.com -
to see
trivia
why he was
games
in
Belmont psychiatric
unit
www.literalmind.com - to read about Susanna Kaysen author of Girl Interrupted
www.login.passport.com - to check hotmail account
www.desiretalkers.com
- to
www.merging.org - trying
see what
to see a
would come up
(?!)
MUD in action
My Computer - to check the Intranet at work to see if anyone emailed me.
84
www.vahoo.com - searched
for
Matthew McConaughey - looked
at
an Amistad
Web
site
www.psvchotherapvontario.com - wondering what kind of credentials psychotherapists in Ontario have
www.ram.org - read a Dazed and Confused movie review
www.rispersal.com - looked up antipsychotic drug Risperdal
www.romanticmovies.com - more Matthew McConaughey! looked
at pictures
of Matthew
McConaughey
www.rottentomatoes.com - looked
at side effects
www.sears.ca - looked
exercise equipment
my first publication to make
at
www.Ikea.com - too slow
in loading,
www.vahoo.com -
Lemonade Stand
Analyzing
many
of these sites before or since the night of
understand that
I
Web
sites
sure
it is still
there
(!)
moved on
(finally)
my own Internet behaviour was
can see the thread of logic that propelled
swear)
and drug interactions of psychotropics
www.IOJM.com - looked
to play
my life - 1
have never before
2 more Dazed and Confused
at
www.rxhst.com - looked
at
in
(I
my
most edifying;
I
have never visited
15 minute break at work. Vaguely,
my inquisitiveness. Upon
have the capacity to process information
conscilience of varied threads of knowledge and concepts.
at
I
I
reflection however,
I
a fast rate, and create a
wondered however, how do
85
young preadolescent minds, guide,
make
in a formative period, without the heuristic of experience to
sense of and process not only the content, but also the actual style in which
the content is presented?
cognition; the
It
moment an
appears that the Internet
may facilitate
idea "pops" into our mind,
While the design of the
Internet
may
we can
pursue
it
on the
Internet.
lend itself to be used in a rapid manner, the data
reveals that the preadolescents in this particular study are
Internet behaviour. In chapter
an impulsive style of
engaged
in
some very
specific
4 microanalysis of concepts, categories, and themes
in the
data revealed what preadolescents are doing while on the Internet, while chapter 5 will
why explore why this
behaviour
may have developmental
psychosocial and
psychoeducational implications for preadolescents.
Thus, chapter 4 has explored the data given to us by the participants, which explicate
how
preadolescents utilize the Internet and what kind of content they are attracted
Chapter 5 will postulate on to
why preadolescents
are using the Internet,
some of the psychosocial and psychoeducational questions
light of
that
and bring attention
may require
our heightened understanding of preadolescent Internet usage.
to.
answers in
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Thus, Chapter 4 documents the participants' Internet usage in their
articulate
why
in vivo
codes articulating the preadolescent
own words
(Glaser, 2002).
The next
task
is to
preadolescents use the Internet. Using the qualitative data to illustrate the
argument. Chapter 5 will introduce the idea that frequent Internet usage
may prime and
reinforce psychological, social, and cognitive impulse-seeking and gratification in
preadolescents. Further,
have previously
tacitly
for preadolescents
possible
it
will
condoned
may want
outcome of
be submitted that educators, parents, and guardians
to
Internet usage as a
acknowledge
this type of
who
form of education or entertainment
this possible
priming effect and that a
priming during preadolescence
may
lead to maladaptive
psychosocial and psychoeducational cognitive styles in adolescence and adulthood.
While conducting the chapter 2 review of literature,
it
became evident
that research
on the topic of preadolescents and the Internet has occurred within limited domains.
While a few surveys have examined preadolescents' general preferences
do on the Internet (downloading music,
talking in chat rooms, emailing,
as to
what they
and playing
games; Ferguson, 2000; A. Taylor, 2001) and some studies focus on the inherent dangers awaiting preadolescents on the Internet (exposure to adult-oriented material, vulnerability to online
harassment from known and unknown predators, and maintaining the
confidentiality of personal information;
Caywood, 2001; Freeman-Longo, 2000; Hansen,
1998; Magid, 1998), there has not been enough critically conducted research to draw
conclusive understandings about
why
the developmental ramifications
from
preadolescents are drawn to the Internet and what
this
exposure
may be for preadolescents (Mundorff
,
87
& Laird, 2002). This concluding chapter will explicate why preadolescents use the Internet
and will argue
that the Internet is revolutionizing the
meaning and experience of
preadolescence in deep pedagogical, philosophical, and developmental terms.
This argument will be advanced in two phases.
First,
a discussion of recent theory and
research related to behavioural and cognitive priming will be applied to the data collected
during this longitudinal study of preadolescent Internet usage. Second, these findings will
be applied to a sample of the codes and the participants' words to elucidate the notion that they too think of the Internet as an impulse gratification tool.
Thus, by critically
distilling
and analyzing preadolescent Internet behaviour through
the lens of behavioural and cognitive psychology,
and explicating the amount of
psychological, cognitive, and social learning that preadolescents
the Internet,
and the
attraction that is cumulatively a
audience, an argument will be
their cognitive, social,
made
that Internet
may be exposed to on
profound draw for a preadolescent
usage in preadolescents
may
impair
and psychological development because of the impulse seeking
and gratification priming
that has
been reinforced during the formative period of
preadolescence.
Skinner, Behaviourism, Bandura, Social Learning, and the Internet, the Opiate of all
Media
105
unplanned,
I
can refer to
on the chapter. intended
I
can
first site
my own
attest that
when
I
on
Internet behaviour
that
was looking
evening for the
I
and the self-study presented
had not planned to
Lemonade
visit
any
earlier
sites past the
stand game.
Thus, a reanalysis of the data shows that preadolescents are not only being electronically acculturated, but they are articulating a
the Internet not only primes
them on many
levels to
more
perilous predisposition, that
embrace the medium of the
Internet,
but that they are being primed to a particular type of functioning and cognitive style
impulsive In his
-
the
style.
book Neurotic
characteristics
action, abrupt
mark
Styles, psychiatrist
David Shapiro argues
that three formal
the impulsive personality style. These characteristics are: speedy
behaviour (when compared to normal behaviour), and unplanned behaviour
(Shapiro, 1999). Further, and of note for students and educators, Shapiro states that individuals possessing an impulsive functioning style have predisposition to an impulsive
cognitive style. Shapiro notes that individuals with an impulsive cognitive style have
difficulty concentrating, abstracting,
ability for
and generalizing, as well as an overall impaired
metacognition (Shapiro, 1999).
If,
in fact, future research
between Internet usage and an impulsive cognitive
style, the
does indicate a link
psychoeducational
ramifications will be all-encompassing in terms of the effects on attention span, task
monitoring, transfer of learning, and strategic reading skills (Perkins, 1992). In describing the impulsive style of cognition,
by a person's concentrate,
parents,
David Shapiro
inability or deficiency to both generalize
make long-range
and guardians,
we
plans,
and be
states that
it is
marked
and think abstractly, actively
reflective (Shapiro, 1999).
If,
as educators,
understand that one of the key elements to healthy
self-
106
development
is
moderating impulse control, and the Internet
impulse-seeking and gratification,
how can we
is
continue to uncritically accept the Internet
as a toy to entertain our impressionable preadolescents? Thus,
is
a
medium
that
so convincingly linked to
I
argue that
if
the Internet
can influence our behaviours, emotions, and cognitive constructs, and
research shows that the Internet
is
a profound
medium for the way
accultured in society (Bandura, 2000, 2002; Berkowitz uncritically accept the Internet as a benign tool
& Rogers,
when we
in
which we are
1986),
how can we
are already faced with fragile
knowledge, decreasing attention spans, and rising drug and alcohol abuse in youth?
Impulse control impulse control
is
is
one of the cornerstones of mental health. In the
DSM-IV failed
an element of many psychological and psychiatric disorders such as
Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Substance Related Disorders, Conduct Disorder,
Disorders involving paraphilias.
Mood disorders.
Schizophrenia, Intermittent Explosive
Disorder, Pyromania, and Kleptomania (The American Psychiatric Association, 1994).
While
Internet use will not cease,
we can move to
understanding of Internet use (Perkins, 1992).
a
more
critical
metacognitive
We can teach preadolescents to be aware
of what they do while on the Internet, and to reflect critically about using the Internet as a
form of entertainment.
A recent article challenged educators to keep in stride with
changes on the Internet to meet the needs of students (Clyde, 1999). keeping up with the Internet,
we
should be more consciously
critical
I
reply that instead of
of what
we
are
keeping.
Summary: Phase One trials and New Directions for Research This study has illustrated that preadolescents have a developmental tendency towards seeking those things and activities that define and grant autonomy.
The
Internet is a
107
particularly attractive
medium
to preadolescents as
it is
interactive, is tailored to the
However, a
individual, and thus uniquely appeals to preadolescent interests and culture.
synthesis of research
shows
that the Internet has an affect
on cognitions, behaviours, and
environment, and the data collected from this study reveal that preadolescents use the Internet in an impulsive manner. Thus, I argue that Internet usage in preadolescents
may
impair their cognitive, social, and psychological development because of the impulseseeking and gratification priming that has been reinforced during preadolescence.
Internet
is
The
revolutionizing the meaning and experience or preadolescence in deep
pedagogical, philosophical, and developmental terms.
If the Internet is the
trials
new
plug-in drug,
and should not be extended
may be the vanguard
of a
new
mindset that argues that what that
to use
on children. While
social order
is
new,
is
argue that this drug
I
(Bellamy
on
this
knowledge?
only in Phase
is
& Hanewicz, 2001),
no mind
One
understand that the Internet
I
question the
a categorical "good"; for what good
can disseminate knowledge, when there
reflect
I
is
is
a
medium
that can critically receive
and
108
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Appendix
A - Copy of the complete Reading and Viewing Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Name:
-{;:
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