How do 10-year-old New Zealanders participate in a digital world?
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Starkey, Louise; Eppel, Elizabeth A.; Sylvester, Allan
- Source
- Information, Communication & Society. Dec2019, Vol. 22 Issue 13, p1929-1944. 16p.
- Subject
- *ONLINE social networks
*NEW Zealanders
*ONLINE identities
*SOCIAL interaction
*SOCIAL media
*MOTHER-child relationship
- Language
- ISSN
- 1369-118X
This article reports findings from a study that examined how pre-adolescent children, age 9–11 years participate in the digital world. Children from 14 different communities across New Zealand were interviewed in focus groups to explore their experience of using digital devices and the Internet. The findings indicate that the differences in use and participation were influenced predominantly by their family and their teacher and the similarities across the sample were a reflection of a type of pre-teen culture. The children in the study were consuming content from websites, creating and sharing digital artefacts and gaming. Interactions with online social networks were restricted to family and friends. The findings suggest that there are age-based stages for learning how to participate effectively in the digital world that may be context specific. For young people transitioning into social media, this includes developing online identity and how to interact appropriately within digital environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]