Türkiye ve Avrupa’daki Çocukların Mobil İnternet Deneyimleri: İnternet Erişim, Kullanım, Etkinlikler, Beceriler ve Risklerin Karşılaştırmalı Analizi

Abstract

Problem Durumu: Çocuklar arasında internet erişimi noktasında mobil cihazların yaygınlaşması her ne kadar zaman ve mekân esnekliği, yeni iletişim ortamları vb. gibi imkânlar sunsa da yeni riskleri de beraberinde getirmektedir. Mobil internet kullanan çocukların internette daha fazla risklerle karşılaştıkları ve güvenli internet kullanımına yönelik yeni becerilere ihtiyaç duydukları görülmektedir. Mobil internet kullanımının giderek yaygınlaşmasına rağmen henüz tepe noktasına ulaşmadığı düşünüldüğünde yakın gelecekte çocukların mobil internet kullanımıyla birlikte yaşayabilecekleri olumsuz durumların daha da artarak karmaşık bir hale gelmesi muhtemeldir. Bu nedenle, yapılacak çalışmalar yeni risklerin tanımlanması, farklı boyutlarıyla değerlendirilmesi ve bu risklere yönelik sahip olunması gereken yeni becerilerin neler olacağı hususunda yol gösterici olması gereklidir. Bu bağlamda Amerika’da PEW Araştırma Merkezi Avrupa’da ise Net Children Go Mobile (NCGM) proje grubu çocukların mobil internet deneyimlerine yönelik çalışmalar gerçekleştirirken Türkiye’de 9-16 yaş grubu çocuklara yönelik makro ve mikro ölçekte herhangi bir çalışma yapılmadığı görülmektedir.

Araştırmanın Amacı: Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’deki çocukların mobil internet deneyimlerine yönelik mevcut durumu ortaya koymak ve Türkiye ile NCGM projesinde yer alan 7 Avrupa ülkesindeki çocukların internet deneyimlerini karşılaştırmak amaçlanmıştır.

Araştırmanın Yöntemi: Çalışmada nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden tarama araştırma modeli tercih edilmiştir. Türkiye’deki çocukların evrenini temsil edebilecek bir örneklem oluşturmak için tabakalı örnekleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Bu bağlamda, Türkiye İstatistiki Bölge Birimleri Sınıflandırmasına göre 12 bölgeden 9-16 yaş aralığındaki 784 çocuk, yaş gruplarına ve cinsiyetlerine göre eşit sayıda dağılacak şekilde çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Çalışmada NCGM projesi kapsamında EU Kids Online (EUKO) çalışma grubu tarafından geliştirilen anket kullanılmıştır. Elde edilen veriler SPSS programına aktırılmış olup verilerin çözümlenmesinde yüzde, frekans, aritmetik ortalama gibi betimsel istatistik teknikleri kullanılmıştır.

Keywords

• Çocuklar
• mobil internet
• internet erişimi ve kullanımı
• internet becerileri
• internet etkinlikleri
• internet riskleri

Mobile Internet Experiences of the Children in Turkey and European Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Internet Access, Use, Activities, Skills and Risks

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to examine the current state of mobile Internet experience of the children in Turkey and to compare the Internet experiences of the children in Turkey to the children living in seven European countries included in the Net Children Go Mobile (NCGM) project.

Research Methods: In this study, a descriptive research design was employed and the participants consisted of 784 children between the ages of 9 and 16 from 12 different regions.

Findings: Results revealed that the ratio of Turkish children having Internet access in their own bedrooms and outside and also the ratio of them owning mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, is above the European average. It was seen that Turkish and European children used the Internet mostly for performing leisure and communicative activities. Although Turkish children's Internet use skills seemed to above the European average, it was seen that their skills towards safe Internet browsing like filtering unwanted content, blocking pop-up windows lacked behind their European counterparts. Thus, it was revealed that Turkish children were facing more Internet risks compared to the children in Europe.

Implications for Research and Practice: Future studies can utilize more detailed evaluation methods, such as performance tasks to assess the children’s mobile device and Internet use. Researchers can also design applications and activities that aim to redirect the children’s attention from using the Internet for entertainment and communication purposes to using it for research and study and then evaluate the effectiveness of the designs.

Keywords

• Children
• mobile Internet
• Internet access and use
• Internet skills
• Internet activities
• Internet risks

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