Orig. title: Características y percepciones sobre el uso de las plataformas de redes sociales y dispositivos tecnológicos por parte de los adolescentes
Engl. transl.: Characteristics and perceptions about the use of social media platforms and technological devices by adolescents
Keywords
adolescents
minors
social networks
uses
platforms
Publication details
| Year: | 2020 |
| DOI: | 10.1387/zer.21556 |
| Issued: | 2020 |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Volume: | 25 |
| Issue: | 48 |
| Start Page: | 269 |
| End Page: | 286 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | García-Jiménez A.; López de Ayala López M.C.; Montes Vozmediano M. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | ZER - Revista de Estudios de Comunicación |
| Publisher: | UPV/EHU Press |
| Topics: | Internet usage, practices and engagement; Other |
| Sample: | This study has been carried out on the basis of data collected in a survey applied to a statistically representative sample (n=524) of students enrolled in Compulsory Secondary Education (1st to 4th year of ESO) in the Community of Madrid, during the 2019-2020 academic year. The sample design followed a multistage stratified multistage sample by conglo-merates. The stratification was carried out according to the ownership of the school (public, private or subsidised) and discriminating between the capital city of Madrid and the rest of the municipalities of the Community of Madrid. The clusters corresponded to ESO educational centres at the first level. A total of 16 schools were selected. Once the schools had agreed to participate in the survey, the units of analysis for the second stage were selected, which consisted of classrooms. All students in the classroom who had and presented the corresponding prior authorisation participated in the survey. The analysis of error was set at ± 4.37% for the overall data under the assumption of p=q=0.5 with a confidence level of 95%, and under the assumption of simple random sampling. |
| Implications For Parents About: | Parental practices / parental mediation; Other |
| Other Parent Implication: | the importance of parental mediation strategies focused on communication with the child including digital identity guidance |
| Implications For Educators About: | Other |
| Implications For Policy Makers About: | Creating a safe environment for children online |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Industry |
Abstract
The exponential growth of access to mobile devices is encouraging a ubiquitous and more intensive use of certain online services and applications. This article addresses the characteristics of the uses that minors make of both social networking access devices and the platforms that contain them. Through a sur-vey applied to a representative sample of teenagers in the Community of Madrid enrolled in ESO (N=524), the age of ownership of the first smartphone, the frequency of use of social networking platforms and WhatsApp, the activities they perform and their frequency, and finally their assessments regarding social net-works are studied. Some of the findings are related to the confirmation of the trend of ages for the acquisition of the smartphone itself (11 years old on average). Age is also shown as the reference for access to social networks. Along with multi-screen access, a higher daily consumption of Whatsapp is also observed in rela-tion to the others social network platforms. On the other hand, socialization needs and the search for entertainment are the key factors in online use of adolescents. Finally, teenagers mostly choose Instagram to carry out most of their activities on social networks; and then YouTube, in the case of audiovisual content.
Outcome
Results show that the norm for teenagers to acquire their own smartphone is twelve years old, with the average age being slightly younger: eleven years old. Eleven or twelve years of age also becomes the benchmark for access to social networks, although in this case, almost a third of adolescents accessing it at an older age and only 22% using it at an earlier age. The authors highlight that not only is the percentage of adolescents who say they do not use social networks is higher than those who say they do not access WhatsApp, but they are also more likely to be connected to this application on a daily basis. Smartphones are the devices most used by teenagers, which favours the intensive use of social networks and instant messaging. Regarding the purpose of using social networks García-Jiménez et al., 2020: 282 state that "along with socialisation needs, the search for entertainment drives teenagers' online use." In relation to adolescents' assessment of social networking platforms,both positive and negative points of views are refered by the children. The authors point out: "although they consider it to be a waste of time, respondents do not think that social networks isolate them from real life. It is those who are in the lowest grades who disagree with this idea to a greater extent" (García-Jiménez et al., 2020: 282).
It is remarkable what García-Jiménez et al. (2020: 283) address regarding children´s digital identity: "the vulnerability associated with the period of identity consolidation in which adolescents find themselves is manifested in the pressure felt by some respondents to achieve social recognition via 'likes' and 'likes' on social media".