PATTERNS IN INTERNET USE AMONG CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN ROMANIA
PATTERNS IN INTERNET USE AMONG CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: Drawing on the work of Hasebrink et al. (2011) the purpose of this paper is to identify patterns in children’s online use by classifying them based on the types of opportunities taken up online. This classification will allow us to examine if children in Romania report differences in Internet usage. The following variables were used to form clusters: duration of use, range of activities, number of risky online activities, and type of activities. Additionally, age and gender were considered in order to distinguish between younger and older users. As previous studies argued (Fizesan 2012), some activities may enhance the benefits of going online thus they are labelled opportunities (e.g. the provision of own-language creative or playful content, or a lively community of people who share one’s hobby). On the other hand, some activities may enhance the likelihood of harm from going online and for that reason they may be labelled risks (e.g. the ready availability of explicit pornography or the activities of people who are aggressive, racist or manipulative). For comparison purposes, based on the previous cluster analysis conducted by Hasebrink et al. (2011) across EU we decided on the six clusters solution. The description of the cluster follows the work of Haserbrink et al. (2011) and highlights the specificities for Romanian children.

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