The net generation: the experiences, attitudes and behaviour of children using the Internet for their own purposes

The much trumpeted ‘information society’ borne by the Internet has been greeted by a confusing mixture of delight and trepidation, not least regarding the attendant implications for children. No clear consensus has emerged among librarians, educators or others as to whether the potential benefits of the system outweigh any risk associated with retrieving potentially harmful material. Presented here is a pilot research study that examines how children use the Internet, and what their opinions of the system are. This was undertaken to inform a research proposal to be submitted to funding organisations. Results of the preliminary fieldwork point to much independent educational use, particularly with regard to project work. Printouts of photographs and documents were prized more than the intangible information itself, so children were not discouraged by the reading level of a text and did not evaluate relevance on this criterion. Leisure use was dominated by game playing. Some children accessed online chat groups, with occasional foul language encountered accepted as a natural, if unwanted, consequence of Internet use. There was little evidence of other potentially harmful or upsetting material being viewed.