Children’s Experiences and Awareness about Impact of Digital Media on Health

Autor	ČERNÍKOVÁ Martina ŠMAHEL David WRIGHT Michelle
Organisation	Fakulta sociálních studií Masarykovy univerzity
Year	2018
Research type	paper in Journal
Annotation	Previous research has focused on the associations between technology use and children’s health, using mainly quantitative designs. This qualitative study describes technology’s impact on physical and mental health from children’s perspectives. The differences between children’s experiences and awareness of the health-related consequences associated with digital media use were examined. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with children between the ages of 9 and 16 in nine European countries (N = 368). Results of this study indicate that children’s experiences of health-related technology impacts are different from their awareness of these impacts. Children’s direct experiences with media were less extreme in contrast to their awareness of health problems, which typically involved extreme examples of possible consequences, such as killing people, kidnapping, blindness, and developing learning or psychological disorders. The results are discussed in the context of the “media panic” and “third person effect” theories.
Keywords	media panic; third person effect; health risks; online risks; children;
Research type	unrepeated research, qualitative
Start date
End date
Obor	AN Psychology
Email	smahel@fss.muni.cz
Availability	available after payment
Link	http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1298197
Research location	Ne, po zaplacení
Organisation	Fakulta sociálních studií Masarykovy univerzity
Organisation web	fss.muni.cz
Possible connection	Children and Youth Ratio in population Number of children and young people Expected numbers of children and young people Number of Live Births Life expectancy