Risky Behaviours & the ‘Net’ Generation Jim Fanning Head of Emerging Technologies Source Source Source A National Digital Learning Forum Workshop Pam McDowall Development Officer NDLF Paul Lindsay Development Officer Internet Safety Network

Young people face a range of potential risks when engaging with communication technologies. Interaction on social networks has received particular attention in relation to the risks it poses. This workshop seeks to explore the nature of that risk (just how different are the risks compared to those faced in the ‘physical’ world) and identify the current and future technologies that are used in particular by young people (Snapchat, Instagram, Pandora, texting, etc.). Participants will be invited to further investigate and support learner discussions around online behaviours as part of the work of the National Digital Learning Forum (NDLF), as well as contribute to an on-going dialogue on the Teachers Internet Safety Network (Glow based).

Can I be your friend Ever thought how odd your online life is? Ever thought what could go wrong?

Online Access: the what Who owns what?

Online Access: the how PC/laptop/netbook internet use at home ranges from 29% of 3-4s, to 62% of 5-7s, 83% of 8-11s, and 92% of 12-15s, with no change since 2012 for 5-15s (81%) Since 2012, more children say they mostly use a tablet computer (13% vs. 3%) or a mobile phone (11% vs. 6%) to go online at home Smartphone ownership among children has stabilised in 2013 (18% of 8-11s, 62% of s), but overall ownership of a mobile phone has declined (33% vs. 43% for 8-11s and 82% vs. 87% for 12-15s) due to a decline in ownership of non-smartphones Most children use gaming devices; most commonly, games consoles connected to a TV or handheld games players. Use of fixed and handheld games players has decreased since 2012, although use of tablet computers to play games has increased threefold among 5-15s (23% vs. 7%). Most 3-4 year olds (57%) play games at home using a media device Source: figures

Online Access: the how

Facebook Xbox live TwitterOmegleGlow YouTube ChatStep Pinterest Vimeo Instagram Face time SnapChat

Online Access: the where Half of children aged use the internet on their own most of the time Children who use the internet at home were asked to say if anyone was with them most of the time they used the internet, and whether this was an adult or other children. The majority of 5-7s and 8-11s say they spend most of the time using the internet with an adult in the room (85% and 69% respectively) The proportion of children spending most of their internet time using the internet on their own increases with each age group Those who mostly use the internet on their own account for one in ten internet users aged 5-7 (11%), one- quarter aged 8-11 (24%) and half of those aged (52%) Source: figures

Online Access: the what What children do online and through social networking Children and young people go online to connect with friends, and make new ones, to browse the internet for information, chat with others and play games. Source:

Online Access: the consequences One in five internet users aged have deleted the history record of the websites they have visited One in ten children aged (9%) have taken the contact details of someone they have met only online, and around one in 20 (5%) have sent personal information to a person they have only had contact with online There are no differences by gender Among children aged with an active social networking profile, children with more open profiles (whose profile is set to be seen by anyone or by friends of friends) are more likely than children with more private profiles (which can be seen only by their friends) to have: added people who they have only had contact with online to their friends list (28% vs. 6%); sent personal information to a person they have only had contact with online (10% vs. 4%); or sent a photo or video of themselves to a person they’ve only had contact with online (9% vs. 2%). Source: figures

What would be the outcome of the following behaviours? Is there a risk? What is that risk?

Scenario 1 I need some help with my Mathematics homework and I have downloaded an app

Scenario 2 I am playing Batman: Arkham City. It’s such a cool game.

Scenario 3 I spent all of Sunday playing Minecraft online with my mates and it’s educational too!

Scenario 4 I am in P4 and I sent a photo of myself in my school uniform to a friend on Facebook.

Consider Is risky behaviour online any different from risky behaviour offline in terms of its outcomes? Risky behaviour is risky behaviour, whether it’s online or offline.

Internet Safety Teachers Network

National Digital Learning Forum blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/ndlf/

According to a poll of 2,000 parents, 10 is the age at which children acquire independence, defined here as being given their own mobile phone, having their first television in their bedroom or being allowed to have their ears pierced. Most of the parents questioned said their 10-year-olds had iPads but they weren’t allowed to catch a bus on their own. Two- thirds also felt their children were growing up too quickly, blaming not only peer pressure but also the pernicious influence of the internet and of social networking sites. Er... those would be the same internet and social networks that their children access through those iPads. Anyway: what’s interesting is that, in a neat and slightly alarming reversal of everything we used to think about children’s safety — home good, outside world scary — the things that concern parents (and potentially endanger children) now exist within the home, often in the formerly safe haven of the child’s bedroom. It used to be the stranger on the bus you worried about; now it’s the stranger online. With an iPad or a phone in your child’s hand, the kitchen table, the sofa, the bedroom are where danger might lurk; trips to the park, on the bus, the walk to the shops are all, by comparison, much safer places. The online world brings fun, education and sometimes enlightenment. But it’s perhaps time to revisit the idea that “she’s just playing in her room” is the definition of keeping your child protected. Source: Sunday Times 16/11/14 (Indira Knight)

The requests from boys’ schools were also coming thick and fast. As the mother of a teenage boy, Havey had the best start on how to adapt their material. She knew from experience that a typical male teen hobby today is playing the latest Grand Theft Auto computer game, where the goal is for the protagonist to have sex with a prostitute, then attack and kill her to get his money back. “I’ve seen friends of my son play it, aged 14 or so. It’s ‘Let’s run over the chick.’ It’s desensitising.” The power of porn has come to an ironic conclusion: it has made boys more satisfied in isolation than in the real world. Source: The Times Newspaper 17/11/14