Causes-Solution Tree: Parents are the Main Actors Expected to Mediate Children Online Activities

Abstract

Lots of researches were made within last 30 years highlighting the social changes and the usage habits associated with internet and technologies, focusing mainly on revealing the risks that lie ahead “Z generation”. The newest data about Romanian’s internet usage (EUKIDS 2018) show that children are using technologies a lot, for the same purposes as their European peers, being exposed to the same online risks. The differences appear regarding the way parents and teachers react: 50% parents are considering their children know better and help them using technology, only 29% of them use active mediation and 30% teachers ever tell them how to be safe online. Due to the lack of national educational policies to develop children digital competences and mediate their online experiences, this qualitative exploratory research seeks to identify the perception of Romanian children and teachers regarding the causes and the potential solutions needed for diminishing online risks. The “causes and solution tree” method was adapted and used with groups of teachers and pupils in order to reveal their thoughts about who’s responsible and what should be done. The results show that parents are the “key”: for children only the parents are considered responsible for protecting them online, and for the teachers, the answers are “family together with school”. We are facing a paradox, parents are “pushed” to mediate children online activities, but also are considered less digital competent, proving that further in depth studied on the issue of “safeguarding children online” are needed for finding real solutions.