Who and how can control? Autonomy of Internet use among the member of generation Z in Hungary

Due to the social and economic changes in the past few decades a new type of inequality, digital inequality has evolved. This study based on the theory of second-level digital inequalities. I examine the autonomy of use dimension. I use a sample of the members of generation Z who live in Debrecen, Hungary. The aim of this study is to reveal who controls the Internet use of generation Z members and how this control is achieved by the means of qualitative and quantitative methods. Based on the focus group interviews, there have been discovered three kinds of control: parental, sibling and internal.

The paper and the research on which it is baes mainly concerns the sources and types of controlling mechanism which regulate the internet use of young people. Based on the interviews the author differentiate 3 sources of control: parental, sibling and internal. Types of parental control could be restrictive-punitive, determiner-permissive and concessive-controller, from which restrictive-punitive was the most common among the sample. The type of sibling control primarily depends on the nature of the relationship. Rivals are either constantly in fight for the devices or one sibling controls the other. Good siblings either develop a system what they mutually respect or decide on the rules every time spontaneously. Finally, internal control works when somebody has total freedom in regulation their time online. 'The most common type of parent is the restrictive-punitive (39), followed by the determiner-permissive (21) then the concessive-controller (11). The majority of the parents (50) link the use of the Internet with pre-established rules. They consider it to be harmful in several respects, e.g. in studies, ruining eyesight, etc. A smaller proportion of them are less strict in complying with these rules. It is also common that parents move from restrictive-punitive to determiner-permissive over the years, or they hand over all regulation to their child.' (Anita Galán: Who and how can control? Autonomy of Internet use among the member of generation Z in Hungary, Homo at Societas, Nr 3/2018, pp. 96-109, p: 103)