Changes in Safer Internet Use of Children in Turkey between 2010-2015 and Impact of Contextual Issues

The purpose of this study is to reveal the changes that occurred between

2010 and 2015 in the Internet activities performed, Internet use

skills, online risks, and coping strategies related to such risks of

children between the ages of nine and 16 in Turkey as well as the impact

of the contextual issues on such changes. An explanatory design using

mixed research methods was used for this study. In the quantitative part

of the study, the data were collected from 784 children between the

ages of nine to 16 who were selected, via a survey, from 12 regions in

Turkey in 2015. The data were compared to 2010 data which used similar

sampling method and instruments and which collected from 1018 children.

In the qualitative part of the study, 84 participants were interviewed,

including two children, two parents, two teachers, and a school

administrator from each of the 12 regions. The results showed that the

Internet access age for children has gradually decreased and that

children's Internet access time has increased. An increase has also

occurred in regard in the activities performed by children online, such

as social networking and watching online movies or video clips, which

adds up to an increase in the entertainment factor related to the

Internet for children. A significant increase has also occurred in the

number of children who feel uncomfortable when they are not online, seek

new friends online, and receive general sexually explicit messages over

the Internet due to the long hours that they spend online.