Parental Perception of Children’s Online Behaviour: A Study on Ethnic Communities in Australia

Abstract

The overwhelming growth of the Internet in all spheres of life poses new challenges for young children growing up in the digital age, with potential short- and long-term ramifications. Parents have an essential role in the development of the attitudes and behaviour of their children. However, studies indicate that adults are not adequately mitigating the range of cyber risks that children face and that parent-oriented solutions are simply inadequate. This study attempts to fill research gaps in the status and nature of parents’ perceptions of the online use of their children in Australia based on their ethnic background. This study adopted a mixed-method approach, surveying 204 parents from different ethnic communities in Australia followed by 16 in-depth interviews and three focus-group discussions. The results indicate that parents’ perceptions of online risk for children differ based on their ethnicity, cultural adaptation, gender, and age. Parents from multicultural societies are less equipped to deal with cyber threats that their children face and are ill-equipped to monitor and mitigate the risks posed. The results of this study have important policy implications, from deepening our understanding of the nature of the problems to facilitating the development of short- and long-term strategies, appropriate information systems, policy guidelines, and interventions.

Can #chatsafe support parents and carers beyond Australia? A qualitative study

“…The overrepresentation of studies correlating social media use with poor mental health outcomes for young people is likely amplifying common concerns held by many adults and often captured by public sentiment [ 17 – 19 ]. Parents and carers of young people in Australia from a range of backgrounds almost unanimously believe that the internet and social media expose young people to danger or risk [ 20 , 21 ], and tend to perceive their children as being unsafe online far more often than young people report feeling unsafe themselves [ 22 ]. The features of social media that young people tend to appreciate, such as social connection with peers and like-minded others, constant access to broad social networks, and exposure to new information and ideas [ 23 , 24 ], correspond with some prominent concerns about youth social media use held by adults, including contact with strangers, excessive screen use, and exposure to harmful content or information [ 25 ].…”