Engl. transl.: Families in the media convergence: competences, mediation, opportunities and risks online. Results of the EU Kids Online survey of parents of children aged 9-17 in Spain. June-July 2019

This report presents the results of the survey conducted by EU Kids Online Spain focused on the digital experiences of Spanish families from a parents' and with a child-centred approach. The surveys were carried out during the months of June and July 2019, face to face in the household, to a total of 850 parents of children between 9 and 17 years old, with a family residence in different geographical areas in Spain. The results include, among others, family concerns and conflicts regarding Internet use, as well as parents' digital skills and parental mediation strategies implemented on their children. Family sociodemographic factors, such as socioeconomic status, parents' educational level or children´s age have also been taken into account, as these are elements that influence parent’s perceptions and decisions when mediating their children´s Internet use. This study has been developed by the European research network EU Kids Online and funded by the SIC-Spain project, coordinated by the National Institute of Cybersecurity (INCIBE) through the Internet Safety Centre for minors in Spain, Internet Segura For Kids (IS4K). [Translated by the coder]

Spanish parents present themselves as experienced, intensive Internet users and highly skilled in most of the areas of digital competence. As a general rule, the higher the level of education and socio-economic status, the higher the level of digital skills, with the exception of creative skills. This shows a digital disadvantage for those families with lower educational levels and lower socioeconomic status. Concerning parental mediation strategies, enabling family mediation - related to children's online communication and safety - is more widespread than restrictive rules. This might have a positive impact on Spanish children by enabling them to benefit from more online opportunities. However, It is especially noteworthy that sharing activities (23%) and encouraging their children to discover and learn things on the Internet (27%) are the less frequently practiced enabling strategies by Spanish parents. Mothers participate more actively in mediation than fathers. In general, families apply more restrictions on pre-adolescents than they do on adolescents. This probably shows a parental respect for their older children’s privacy and autonomy. Families with lower levels of education and socio-economic status mediate less their children's online activity. Regarding parents’ risk perception, the authors remark that it is striking that families tend to underestimate their children’s risks (and harmful situations) exposure. Authors make a specific call for policy makers stressing that “the results show the need in the Spanish context for new policies on education or digital literacy -including workshops or campaigns- focused, above all, on Spanish families with lower socioeconomic status or lower levels of education because they are in a situation of digital disadvantage. These campaigns or workshops should take into account parents’ characarteristics, both as individual users of the Internet, as well as their role as active mediators responsible for maximising their children´s online opportunities (personal, social, educational, work-related, etc.)” (Garmendia et al., 2020:89). [Translated by the coder]