WHAT DO CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS THINK ABOUT THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL NETWORKS?

Kepa Paul Larrañaga, a researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid

We talked to Kepa Paul Larrañaga, a researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid who specialized in the development of children and young people in the digital environment. He has conducted several studies that have recently echoed a report of cybercorrespondents, a project of Plataforma de Infancia. The interview is part of the European project «CIME – Media training and digital competence to empower young people with fewer opportunities».

Why did you decide to carry out this study?

We thought it was necessary to carry out this study, especially because we wanted to have the perspective of children and adolescents in these investigations that talk about their safe use of the Internet. It is the main because there are not many researchers that gather their vision, their reality, their daily life and their day to days. It was also necessary because a study was needed to make a comparison between the point of view of adults and adults and children and adolescents on the safe use of social networks and the Internet.

Adults think that children are not trained and they do not have adequate development to use social networks and the Internet. On the other hand, children think that they do have certain capabilities to be able to use it in a certain way. Adults also make many mistakes when we use social networks and the Internet, but in this case, we did not see this contradiction between the inability of some who think they are not capable and others who think they are capable. One way of understanding social networks on the part of children is linked to the concept of vulnerability, of risk. On the other hand, it does not integrate other types of perspectives with good examples of use and with different types of activities, which have been integrated by adolescents and children themselves.

Why do you think there are so many prejudices towards social networks?

There are many adults themselves that are linked to the type of use that children make of social networks. Issues linked to the risks of use, times of use of applications, and mobile devices. When we have done research with teenagers they have helped us to understand this different reality. Children are generating their own digital culture. Thanks to this, new social spaces, new interaction environments, and new cultural forms are generated and integrated into society.

Do you believe that social networks are the future of communication?

Not merely believe if they are the future or not, are the future communication social networks, but really, what place does it occupy in a social network -this communication- within childhood.

The perspective implies and critiques the social space that corresponds to the network and digital social communication.

Does education have something to teach about good use?

Children should learn how to use social networks, the internet, and different spaces with their friends. The good use or safe use of the internet and social networks goes through the school. There are workshops on the good use of social networks. When we asked the children in this research, they have given us a critical response «we think it’s good that they come to do workshops, but we also want them to talk to us about the topics we are interested in talking about. Not that they treat us as totally incapable, totally ignorant, but that we also know things about what happens in social networks, but we want them to talk to us about the topics that interest us». I think there is a very clear criticism, we have to change the topics. We have been told that it has to be a young person who talks about these issues, it should not be an imposition of rules, but we have to reach a consensus.

Do you think that older people should be taught to use them?

Of course, they should. In the digital era, it is not only children and adolescents who are affected, the lack of skills is among all ages. Digital natives -children- have certain skills in the use of these tools and in the use of an application that has certain skills of a mobile device. Indeed, let’s say that we all have to acquire some general skills, some skills in the use of digital media. Older people do, but parents should also be competent with the devices themselves and the applications themselves.

Could fake news be one of the biggest problems?

They are currently a major problem, which is directly related to disinformation, and although with the rise of the Internet it was possible to generate better information, we have generated the opposite. That is why it is very important what I was talking about before about digital competencies, if we generate good use of them, we will also create critical thinking that does not have to be created by the social networks themselves to prevent fake news from spreading. And although this has to go through the theoretical framework and digital education, we must also congratulate the elders: mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers, as well as the younger ones, who try to make responsible use of these to prevent this from happening.

From your personal experience, do you have a good relationship with social networks?

Personally, I have a rather critical position with respect to social networks, not so much because they have a mercantilizing function and the only thing they want is for the user to spend as much time as possible using a social network. For them, the Internet is a way to make money. Social networks are the same as advertising. Keeping the user captive for as long as possible because that way they can see more ads and more advertising is as simple as that because it is the way to monetize these applications. We must be aware that these companies, organizations, or other types of entities seek profit and not a social purpose.

Do you think there will be new social networks or forms of communication in the future?

Without wanting to make futurology of social networks, I believe that the digital environment in the case of information publications and technologies in general is a transformative environment. We can look back at the history of how technologies have been reforming, depending on the way we live in society. If one thing is clear, social networks are the future. I think they have to start correcting their own mistakes. But there will undoubtedly be new forms of communication- based on these tools that we currently have.