Generational gaps in internet use in Portugal at home and at school: implications for media literacy Cristina Ponte & Daniel Cardoso FCSH/Universidade Nova de Lisboa EU Kids Online Portugal IAMCR – Stockholm 2008

A glance at the gap (2006) Source: European Social Survey Round 3 (2006) Adults (30-55 years): Years of Schooling Internet users Aged 15+ : 36% of the population Aged 16-24: 83% of the population Why people don’t use it Absence of utility/necessity High cost of the equipment and access Absence of technological skills Linguistic problems

Mind the gaps at school (2006) Educational policies  “Connect Portugal”, a government program to multiply the number of computers at school; all schools have broadband connections  Teachers’ training program, to make their students interact with technology  ICT Curriculum (Internet, , and Office tools), starting at the age of 13 or 14, considered a part of the learning process and a tool for use in curricular areas Media Education on Risk Awareness  Absence of media education as a content  360 teachers are being trained on a voluntary basis on a Security on the Internet Program (15% of all schools are involved)

Mind the gaps at home (2007, Lisbon area)  Parents mostly digital included  70% of the children use internet at home  35% of the children use it at school, but rarely so  Half the children place themselves as the experts at home  43% of the children said they’d learn to use the internet by themselves (peers and personal experience lead) On line activities experienced by children (9-14 years resident in the Lisbon area) Participate in Chats Talk on MSN Send and receive Do homework Search information On-line games Buy online Download music Download software Create sites or blogs Publish photos or information Visite pornographic sites Visiting humorist sites Visiting sites for hobbies Parents Children Source: ERC/ISCTE; Ponte e Malho (2008)

From digital inclusion to digital integration What is digital integration? The way the users interact on a personal and social level with information technologies and with the new media, how they use them to alter their vision of the world, their life. It is related to the human/technology level of interaction and how the first element reacts with the second one. It is based on a bottom-up and reticular pattern of information-spreading. How children are considered With agency capabilities Able to learn and recognize the most positive and negative uses of technology. The ones who deal with the new media all the time, many times proactively and productively, creating and distributing new contents. They’re considered to be able to take chances and risks consciously and to take full advantage of the opportunities given to them

To integrate – Media Education How it could work It’s an ongoing media education program for young trainers oriented to how children live their online lives The curriculum is identical to all ages, since the differentiation is based on real-life usages by the children It will join the technical and social elements, rather than separating both sides of the coin The trainers are of a not so different age than the children, and so they can relate to the youngsters' experience, and be seen as possible peer The training given to children should take a hands-on approach The training should be held in informal spaces (libraries, youth centers) Children should be framed as partners and peers, not as students or passive recipients We aim to make youngsters aware of both risks and opportunities, and how to face them

Parents and children: spreading information and integration The relationship between youngsters and their parents Intrinsic possibility of them being able to train their own parents and educators, thus accomplishing in the most efficient way the conveying of their own mindset A coming together of both paradigms: face-to-face communication and on-line relationships as parts of a whole

Thank you Cristina Ponte & Daniel Cardoso