Immigrant Children and the Internet in Spain: Uses, Opportunities, and Risks

This article describes the use made of the Internet by immigrant children living in Spain and the opportunities and risks it involves. Specifically, it deals with children from the Maghreb, Ecuador, and Sub-Saharan Africa, three regions which account for a quarter of Spain’s foreign-born population. A qualitative methodology was used, based on in-depth interviews with 52 children from these countries and educators from their support centres. Immigrant minors usually access the Internet via their smartphones rather than via computers. They have a very high rate of smartphone use and access the Internet over public Wi-Fi networks. However, they make little use of computers and tablets, the devices most closely associated with education and accessing information. Internet usage is fairly similar among immigrant and Spanish teens, although the former receive more support and mediation from their schools and institutions than from their parents. The Internet helps them to communicate with their families in their countries of origin. As one educator puts it, “they have gone from sending photos in letters to speaking to their families every day on Skype”. Some teens, particularly Maghrebis, sometimes suffer from hate messages on social networks.

The authors conclude that the penetration rate of smartphones and the uses that immigrant minors make of them are, to a large extent, very similar to those of Spanish minors. In this context, communication tools such as WhatsApp or Instagram take precedence over all others. Casado et al. (2019) point out the need for public policies that provide immigrant homes with equipment and connections to the Internet as far as "the opportunity for immigrant children social progress may be curtailed by the reduction in the use of these devices that are linked to creativity and information" (p. 61). The results remark the absence of digital skills and computer devices in the home, which hinders young people when performing some school tasks. As children rise through the school structure, there is an increasing number of activities that require digital equipment and skills, and "a deficit in this area will hold them back, perpetuating the situation of inequality and exclusion" Casado et al. (2019: 61-62). Results also show that Immigrant children connect to the Internet from their homes less often than their Spanish peers; connection from the school and other support centres helps to reduce that gap. Casado et al. (2019: 62) point out "the need for initiatives providing Internet access to underprivileged children, to allow them to acquire the necessary skills and follow their academic career". Because of their particular circumstances, immigrant children are especially vulnerable to online risks. Given the important role played by parental mediation in preventing and managing Internet risks and improper usage, specific actions are required where such mediation is lacking. In most cases, the children receive either very restrictive mediation strategies by their parents or, conversely, the absence of such measures, normally as a result of their parents’ lack of digital literacy. Casado et al. (2019: 62) remark that "where family intervention is lacking, schools and child support centres must attend to this issue". As positive outcomes, Casado et al. (2019) stress that although physically removed from their immediate or extended families, the technology allows them to retain their cultural heritage and social capital which helps cultivate a sense of transnational belonging in accordance with their preferences, which can combat their sense of rootlessness. Technology allows them to access new ideas, interests and hobbies, opening up new possibilities for future employment and personal development. The authors remark that access to such opportunities is unquestionably positive. In parallel, immigrant children are exposed to similar risks than their native peers are, except for the existence of easily accessible xenophobic online content which might be classed as hate speech. The authors conclude that as well as preventing the development of healthy coexistence, "such content has a negative effect on immigrant children by perpetuating stereotypes and victimisation and further hindering integration and preventing them from overcoming pre-assigned limitations" Casado et al. (2019: 62). [Translated by the Coder]