Engl. transl.: Access, use, risks and opportunities of the internet for Romanian children. Results of the EU Kids Online survey 2018

The report “​​Access, use, risks and opportunities of the internet for Romanian children. Results of the EU Kids Online survey 2018” was done by the Digital Lives association in partnership with The Institute of Sociology. The report is based on the data collected pro bono by IRES. Using the methodology developed during the EU Kids Online project (slightly adjusted), the study collected data from a national representative sample (935 children 9-17-year-old) through school (using CAPI technique). In line with the new EU Kids Online theoretical framework (Livingstone, Mascheroni and Staksrud, 2015), the report presents data on the online practices and digital skills of Romanian children and adolescents, and the risks and opportunities they encountered online. To this main corpus of questions (that replicated the survey done in 2010 during the EU Kids Online project), the report added some new questions focusing on the cyberbullying bystanders and the cyberhate. (abstract created by the authors for the CO:RE platform)

"""Although the internet access for Romanian children from mobile devices has increased more than 4 times (reaching 84% in 2018) since 2010, still there are access limitations due to economic factors (65% of children perceive the devices for accessing the internet too expensive, while 37% perceive the costs of connecting to the internet as too high). Furthermore, many still complain about poor infrastructure: one in four children report the internet signal as being too weak or non-existent in the area they live. There has been an increase in self-reported negative online experiences of children (33% in 2018 versus 21% in 2010). For the first time, boys report in equal measure with girls having been bothered by something online. The highest increase in negative online experiences can be found among the 9-10 year olds (29%), which means an earlier exposure to online risks. For the risk of being cyber-bullied, boys report having been victims more than girls. However, when bullying online happens, girls tend to be twice as bothered than boys (53% of girls versus 24% of boys). 34% of all Romanian children said they have witnessed someone being bullied online in the past year, and this is age-dependent (from 21% for 9-10 children to 45% among the 15-17 years old group). Of those who noticed online bullying, almost half tried to help the victim, 45% did nothing, while 7% encouraged the aggressor. One third of children have been exposed to some form of cyber-hate speech in the past year. Exposure to cyberhate increases with age (one quarter for the 9-10 year old group, to half for the 15-17 year olds). Of those exposed to cyberhate, almost a quarter have intentionally searched for this type of content, the most (30%) in the 9-10 years old group. 12% of children have themselves received hate messages online, targeting them or their group; of these children, half have received these messages every month. Only 8% of all children reported they have sent these kind of messages themselves."" "