Supervisors info:
Βουδούρη Αγγελική, καθηγήτρια, ΠΤΔΕ, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The Internet, in its modern form, is an integral part of the everyday life of the individual and as a tool has become necessary for the integration of a lot of tasks. Primary school students tend to increasingly use internet services for entertainment, by playing for example online games or listening to their favorite music, for their information by looking for data about any subject they are interested in, or for communication through social networking pages.
In an ideal society, the internet would be a safe and well-meaning place for everyone. However, in the real society, there is always multiple risk from its mistaken or frivolous use. The challenge on the internet is for the user to be able to recognize potential risks and be aware of ways to prevent and deal with them. These needs become even more important when referring to children who make their first steps in cyberspace.
The conducted research showed that the internet has significantly penetrated in the daily life of Greek students, as 51,4% of them gets connected to it daily, while 95,7% of students possess at least one device that can go online. It is of the utmost importance and especially encouraging the fact that 92,1% of students have already been informed about the risks by school or family. However, this is not implying that students do not develop problematic behaviors and that they are not exposed to the various dangers of the internet. Indicatively, 28,1% of students have reached inappropriate content on the web, such as sexual content, racist beliefs and the spread of anorexia. In addition, 15,8% of students have, at least once, received derisive, abusive or threatening comments and messages through the internet or in other words, they have become victims of internet bullying.
In order to ensure safe internet use for primary school students, the educational community ought, with actions and programs of information and prevention, to eliminate as far as possible any problematic behavior and to aim at the cultivation of responsible and informed internet users.
Keywords:
internet, primary school students, internet risks, safe internet use
