Engl. transl.: Children’s and Adolescents’ Internet Use: Risks and Opportunities

This paper presents the concept of risks and opportunities of children’s and adolescents’ Internet use. The research is a part of the project “Children’s and adolescents’ Internet use in Lithuania: possibilities and risks tendencies in EU context”, which was funded by a grant (No. S-MIP-17-1/LSS-250000-1087) from the Research Council of Lithuania. The main results are presented in comparison with Lithuanian and European studies. Conclusions and recommendations on how to ensure safe children’s Internet use on their own and to avoid potential risks, as well as how to open up the opportunities offered by the Internet are provided.

2018 the time spent by Lithuanian children on the Internet every day was almost an hour longer than the time spent by children on the Internet every decade ago. 89% of Lithuanian children and adolescents used the Internet every day to connect to the Internet, 66% used a computer, which is the highest percentage compared to other 19 European countries. Lithuanian children mostly used YouTube, Facebook, Messenger pages or gadgets. The most popular social networking site among Lithuanian children in both 2010 and 2018 was Facebook: 96% of older children and more than half of children under 13 has a personal profile. Every day, Lithuanian children used the Internet to perform various activities: they mostly watched videos (82%), listened to music (72%), played computer games (71%), interacted with family or friends (63%), and browsed social networks (61%), did homework (46%), read or watched the news (39%). The activities of Lithuanian adolescents (13-17 years) on the Internet differ - depending on their state of identity. Lithuanian children rated their digital skills with the highest scores compared to other European countries. Children said they knew how to save a photo, change privacy settings, check information online, choose the right keywords to search, what information can and can't be shared online, how to create and share video or music, how to remove someone from their contact list, how install the app on your phone, track mobile data prices, in-app purchase. All older children’s skills in using the Internet were significantly better than younger children. 2018 16% of children reported having experienced various forms of bullying in the past year, 6% had bullying others; of which in electronic form 62% and 52% respectively. 2018 one in four children in Lithuania indicated that they had seen sexual content on the Internet in recent years. Children in Lithuania in 2018 were less likely to communicate online with people they had not met live and were less likely to meet those they met online than in 2010. Compared to other European countries, Lithuania had the largest number of children who indicated that it was easier for them to be themselves (76%), to talk about different things (64%) and about personal things online than live. The more socially active children are, the more time they spend online and the more knowledge they have about using the Internet safely, the easier it is for them to communicate and share personal information with others online. Although in 2018 75% of children felt quite safe on the Internet (boys felt safer than girls), but a quarter of Lithuanian children indicated that in recent years someone on the Internet had made them sad or anxious (eg. online bullying, technical disruptions), 17% - that others treated them in an offensive or disgusting way online. More than half of children online have seen harmful content, such as cruel or violent images, self-harm or suicidal practices, hateful messages directed at certain groups or individuals, people's experiences of drug intoxication, or ways to lose weight. 65% of children said that their parents help them when someone is sad or worried online. The children also indicated that they were helped by other people: 50% - teachers, 49% - friends. Only a tenth of the children indicated (as far as they knew) that the parents were using any means of parental control. 12% of children knew that their parents were using tools to block certain information or websites, 11% were ways to see the websites or searches they were visiting, and 8% were using technology to show where a child was. In 2018, compared to other European countries, in Lithuania at least 12–16 years children indicated that their parents posted information about them online. 8% reported that their parents posted information about them online without first asking them, 3% of children said they were saddened by their parents' information about them online and asked for that information to be deleted, and 1% of children said they had received negative or offensive comments afterwards when parents posted information about them online.