YOUNG CHILDREN (0-8) AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY A qualitative exploratory study - National report - ROMANIA
Publication details
| Year: | 2016 |
| Issued: | 2016 |
| Language: | English |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Velicu A.; Mitarcă M. |
| Type: | Report and working paper |
| Sample: | Eleven families on which a child 6-8 years old (6 girls and 5 boys) and one of their parents were interviewed in their household. |
| Implications For Parents About: | Parenting guidance / support ; Parental practices / parental mediation |
| Implications For Educators About: | Digital citizenship; Professional development |
| Implications For Policy Makers About: | High-quality content online for children and young people; Stepping up awareness and empowerment |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Industry; Researchers |
Abstract
Outcome
"The Romanian households are in their majority still in the computer-era. If given an
alternative, kids prefer to migrate on mobile devices, with the tablet as the most
common gadget.
• Video gaming is the activity all the children five to eight have in common. Kids also
watch online videos: either as an extension to the cartoon channels on TV, or for
discovering user generated content (vlogs, tutorials etc.). Some kids are actively
searching for promotional videos.
• Content creation: All the children in the Romanian sample know how and love to
take pictures and videos.
• Some of the children in the Romanian sample use digital technology in order to
engage in communication.
• Most of the Romanian parents consider the smartphone as a yet not necessary device
for children at this age.
• For children, there is a desire of owning technology in itself, in an endless
accumulation of devices. For the parents, the choice of technological devices to buy is
a cost-driven one.
• Parents see the digital technologies as a positive thing, giving their children some
opportunities, but also good for the family during the shared activities.
• Both the parents and the children in the Romanian sample tend to consider as
‘technology’ and thus worthy to invest in, only the devices themselves; content and
software are seen as collateral elements one takes ‘for free’ from the internet.
• The interviewed parents think the educational opportunities of digital technology are
not available for 6 to 8 year-old children (but for younger or older children)." (Velicu & Mitarcă, 2016, p. 4)