Resilience research: the what and why of adolescent engagement online

Background Byron report UK Reduce availability of harmful material. 2. Restrict access through a combination of technical tools and informed parenting. 3. ‘To increase children’s resilience to the material to which they may be exposed, so that they have the confidence and skills to navigate these new media waters successfully.’

What is resilience? 35+ years of research The ability to manage short and long-term desires in line with values Self-regulation - Does autonomous self-regulation of internet and social media use lead to positive outcomes?

What motivates self-regulation? External vs. internal drivers Reactive vs proactive Parent involvement Parent autonomy support Parent unconditional regard

Parental online mediation strategies Active Mediation Co-viewing Restriction – content, time, place

What is active online engagement? Self-guided learning Self expression Relationship development Creative expression Civic engagement

Research questions How do caregiver climate, parental mediation strategies, and digital skills relate to online resilience in young people? How do parental mediation strategies, digital skills, and online resilience relate to active engagement online?

Hypotheses Young people who self-regulate online are more likely to have recently capitalised on the internet to: teach themselves new skills grow as a person express their thoughts creatively build social connections with their peers and in the public sphere.

If resilience does lead to positive outcomes…. what factors lead to self-regulated internet use? general caregiver climate parental online skills? parental attitudes to the internet?

Research Representative Cohort Adolescent Britons 2,002 Respondents Years Old

What we measured Caregiver Climate Parent involvement, autonomy support & unconditional regard Parent Mediation Strategies Active mediation, co-use approach & restrictive approaches Resilient Self-Regulation Online General internet & social media Young Person & Parent Digital Skills and attitudes Active Engagement Online Learning, expression, relationships, creativity & civics

Digital skills Young people who believed that information communication technologies benefit society had higher skills and were more likely to be resilient self-regulators Caregiver digital skills were not important, but attitudes were.

Mediation strategies General/blanket restriction was bad – these young people the least resilient Parental monitoring was related to young people being being less likely to seek out information, express themselves and be social. Parental mediation strategies were unrelated to civic engagement or creative expression.

Conclusions General caregiver climate, unconditional regard, autonomy support and involvement fostered resilience. Some forms of mediation were neutral to or negatively related to resilience. Restrictive forms of mediation thwarted resilience. Many forms of mediation appeared to thwart active engagement. Resilient self-regulation of internet & social media is linked to active engagement online.

Takeaways Motivational approaches studied in everyday contexts apply to online behaviour. There is more to preparing young people for life online than protection. Protection strategies such as filtering may thwart long-term online thriving. Need to move away from a singular focus on risks to acknowledge implications of mediation strategies for resilience and active engagement. Need to look at what fosters resilient self-regulation – and its wider benefits.