Pretoria28 November 2013

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“The internet is a city and, like any great city, it has monumental libraries and theatres and museums and places in which you can learn and pick up information and there are facilities for you that are astounding - specialised museums, not just general ones.

But there are also slums and there are red light districts and there are really sleazy areas where you wouldn't want your children wandering alone.

And I think people must understand that about the internet - it is a new city, it's a virtual city and there will be parts of it of course that they dislike, but you don't pull down London because it's got a red light district.”(Fry, 2009)

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About the study

• The body of literature on young people’s use of ICTs is growing

• The extent of these risks and the way young people respond to them is largely unknown in SA

• The CJCP, in partnership with UNICEF SA, undertook a qualitative study aimed at exploring young people’s online experiences, as part of a larger national quantitative research study on school violence in 2012.

• Data from the NSVS will be used to contextualise the qualitative findings

Study purpose and objectives

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To explore young people’s use of

social media

To gauge their perceptions of

dangers and risks faced online

To explore the ways in which they negotiate

their safety online

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Methodology• Sample stratified by province,

drawn from 2012 EMIS• Proportionately

representative of total number of secondary schools per province

• Total of 121 schools• Schools randomly sampled

within provinces• Consent obtained from both

parents and learners• Learners producing

completed informed consent randomly selected by field supervisors

FOCUS GROUPS

93 schools8- 10 learners per group

177 focus groupsGrade 8 – 12

Single sex & mixed sex

Use of social media and ICT in SA

Ever use Instant Messaging through a computer

Ever host or contribute to a website/blog

Ever participate in online chatrooms

Have your own social networking page

Ever use Instant Messaging through your mobile phone

Ever access to the internet on your mobile phone

Own or have access to a computer, ipad, tablet

Own or have access to a mobile phone

9.5

10

24.4

30.9

42.3

46.2

54.3

81.1

Experiences of Online Violence

Had someone send sexually explicit images or messages about you by using a phone or computer

Been threatened with harm or intimidated by someone online

Had someone use your account and pretend to be you by sending messages etc and trying to ruin your reputation

Had someone share secrets or embarrassing pictures or information about you online without your permission

Had messages sent or posted about you that were hurtful, with the intention of damaging reputation or friendship

Had rude and insulting messages about you sent via computer or mobile phone

Had an 'online fight' with someone where angry and rude language was sent in a chat room or social networking page via the computor or mobile phone

Experienced some form of online violence or aggression in previous 12 months

2.3

2.5

3

3.2

3.8

7.8

14

20.9

8

felt angry

felt embarrassed

Felt afraid

Felt anxious

Had difficulty concentrating

Blamed myself

Missed school because of it

I cried

Felt sad & hurt

Marks dropped because of it

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

78.8

59.1

53.2

46.5

31.4

30.8

24.6

24.6

21.5

20.3

%

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Self-reported online behaviourGirls

Boys

10.3

13.9

0

5

10

15

20

25

20.3 12.1 6.2 4.3

%

• The pitfalls highlighted were congruent with adult views of online dangers

• Young people were acutely aware of the dangers and disadvantages of social media

• Risks focused on the online-offline nexus and online violence and cyberbullying

Willing to risk online harm to feel a sense of inclusion

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Online offline nexus

“Ja I’m curious, you think of the disadvantages but then you come back and say I’m gonna meet him in a public place what bad thing would happen, okay let me take that risk…it’s good to take that risks you know”

“Okay, ja I’m scared but I always have hope that these people are all my age cos I never met somebody who is old”

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Strategies to mitigate risks

• Risk was managed through different strategies developed for different forms of harm

• Proactive or preventative strategies focused on the management of the platform– Proactive (privacy settings)– Responsive (i.e. blocking)

• Responsive strategies included logging off, leaving the internet site, ignoring requests or doing nothing

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Proactive and responsivestrategies

“What I usually do if he or she wants to meet me…I say okay ask her what he or she will wear. He’ll tell me, and then he will ask me too what I will wear. I’ll say…I will wear orange clothes, but then when I go I won’t wear orange clothes so that I can see you”

“I will say if someone chats with me on mxit and says who am I & where do I come from, you see I will just say no I don’t know you, either you stop chatting or I will delete you. Then if he or she continues with that I will just delete it”

“Facebook privacy settings, WhatsApp blocking, ‘deny request’ on Mxit and hide

personal details”

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Communication-focused strategies

“Telling someone close to you where you (are) going to meet someone, and to provide evidence if something may happen to you.”

A phone is like a person I can talk to. It’s like I can talk to it when I’m feeling down….and you having problems.

“So when you need somebody to talk to about a certain issue, you feel like you can’t speak to maybe your friends or your parents. You need like an outsider’s perspective, when you go and speak to these people”

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Debunking some of the myths

• Myth 1: Cyberbullying and other online risks are a new epidemic that threatens the wellbeing of children

• Myth 2: All children are equally vulnerable to risk and harm

• Myth 3: Young people are unaware of the real dangers that exist online

• Myth 4: Controlling access to and use of social media will protect children

Policies need to focus on fostering an environment where young people can build resilience & learn appropriate responses to online risks.

Youth possess the resources to manage online conflict. Strategies should build on internal and external resources that children have and should enhance self efficacy.

Online safety policies should be embedded within broader violence and bullying prevention strategies.

Rec

omm

enda

tions

Increase victim support services.

Policy responses should be driven by evidence-led approaches.

Policy responses should be premised on a comprehensive understanding of adolescent development.

Rec

omm

enda

tions

ICTs are important for well-being and self-efficacy:

“… and you use it, like, maybe when you feel down or something, and when you don’t want to talk to someone else, you just have to go to your phone and listen to music because music is like, um, feelings with words, so that music can help you calm down or something.”

THANK YOUwww.cjcp.org.za

www.cyberbullying.org.za