Engl. transl.: Digital Media: Needs regarding guidance, action and regulation from the parent's perspective – final report

"(...) the project aimed at providing basic data for assessing the information and counselling needs of parents as well as their accessibility to media educational offers. Further research foci were, the age-dependent granting of internet use of children in connection with the respective device technology, the relationship between technical and educational child and youth media protection in the educational practice of parents, the parental perception of media educational influences by care institutions and school. Special features of the study are, on the one hand, the inclusion of parents of young children and, on the other hand, the questioning of mothers and fathers about their children's internet education." (Grobbin 2015, 8). [translated by the coder]

INTERNET USE "Slightly more than one-tenth of young children and pre-school children, a good half of primary school children and almost all children of secondary school age have internet experience. The share of internet users increases significantly after reaching the reading age. Especially when children reach secondary school age, the frequency of use increases. While the proportion of daily internet users among young children, pre-schoolers and primary school children is still just under one-tenth, it is a good half among secondary school pupils. Almost all children use the internet at home, one-third of primary school pupils and slightly more than half of the secondary school pupils do so at school or a friends' homes. There is hardly any use of the internet outside the family (daycare centre or day nursery) or in out-of-school care. Nine out of ten children use a PC or laptop to access the internet, and a good third use a tablet. About a quarter of young children, preschoolers and primary school children use mobile phones - a proportion that rises significantly among secondary school pupils to almost three quarters." (Grobbin 2015, 50). PARENTAL INTERNET EDUCATION "The majority of young children and preschool children are "always" accompanied by a parent while using the internet. Among primary school children, this still applies to about half of the children. Another quarter of them are "often" accompanied. At secondary school age, there is hardly any constant accompaniment. n almost all households with small, preschool and primary school children, there are rules on internet use: restrictions are mainly placed on the content, the duration of use and the devices used. In secondary school, the proportion of parents who state that they use certain rules decreases, only the setting of usage times increases slightly. The use of technical protection measures increases with the age of the children: programmes or device settings to protect the child on the internet are used in about one-third of households with small and preschool children, half of the households with primary school children and slightly more than half of the households with secondary school pupils." (Grobbin 2015, 50). INTERNET EDUCATION: ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE AND COMPETENCE "Fathers tend to be more open to their child's use of the internet. More fathers than mothers consider the use of the internet to be beneficial for the upbringing of children. Also, slightly more fathers than mothers consider the internet to be a current educational topic. Fathers' greater connection to the internet is also reflected in the fact that fathers consider themselves to be much more competent in internet education than mothers. The competence assessment of mothers and fathers tends to decrease slightly with increasing child age. A higher level of education for both parents is also associated with a somewhat higher assessment of competence." (Grobbin 2015, 51). PARENTING PARTNERSHIP "Parents are relatively reserved when it comes to media education in daycare centres. This is especially true for learning how to use the internet and getting to know the latest media. The rejection of support in media education and awareness-raising is somewhat less pronounced. Parents are clearly more in favour of media education at school, except for the targeted introduction to the latest media, which is viewed with more ambivalence." (Grobbin 2015, 51). YOUTH PROTECTION: RESPONSIBILITY AND CO-RESPONSIBILITY "Mothers and fathers place the responsibility for protecting children from internet risks first and foremost on parents. The providers of internet sites or apps follow at a distance. Some differences become apparent when differentiating according to the educational age of the children: Parents are clearly less likely to be given full responsibility as the age of the children increases. On the other hand, the mothers of school children expect the providers of websites or apps to assume more responsibility than the mothers of toddlers and preschool children. More mothers see schools, but also after-school care, as more responsible than daycare centres. The state and politics are also seen as responsible by mothers and fathers - regardless of the age of the child." (Grobbin 2015, 51). ACCEPTANCE OF YOUTH PROTECTION MEASURES "By far the majority of mothers and fathers believe that youth protection on the internet should be more strictly enforced. Only a small proportion consider it to be sufficient, and the desire to relax it is practically not expressed at all. The high level of approval for tightening up is not connected to the problems actually experienced by the child while using the internet. A quarter of the mothers and fathers of small, pre-school and primary school children and just under half of the parents of secondary school pupils report problems during their child's internet use. The majority of problems in both age groups are related to advertising." (Grobbin 2015, 51). ACCESSIBILITY OF PARENTS: INFORMATION CHANNELS AND INFORMATION TOPICS "Most of the sources of information are considered to be similarly suitable by mothers and fathers. From the mothers' point of view, information brochures/specialist magazines/letters to parents and parents' evenings stand out. These are followed, relatively close together, by books/guidebooks, other parents, the internet, newspapers/magazines, counselling centres, acquaintances or relatives, and television programmes. The fathers prefer the internet and, like the mothers, information brochures/specialist magazines/letters to parents. Among the information needs of mothers and fathers, the topics on risks and protection on the internet are in the first place. In the second place, but almost as important for parents, is information on age-appropriate or child-appropriate internet use. The interest of mothers in information on the use of social networks, the suitability of tablets and smartphones as well as advice centres increases with the educational age of the children. The majority of mothers and fathers would also consider age information on internet sites or apps to be helpful." (Grobbin 2015, 52). [translated by the coder]