Communication In The Virtual World: Online Risks Perceptions Of Children And Educators Of A Technical College In The Philippines

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the perceptions of risk kids face online among the school children and educators of a technical college in the Philippines as basis in the development of a school communications strategy on e-safety. Various literature pertaining to risks kids face online, adolescent development, screen based media use (SBMU) as well as the theories of sense-making, gratification, and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) formed the development of this research. Both the school children's and the educators' definition and identification of online risks on the areas of contact, content, conduct (Livingstone and Haddon, 2009a) and consumption (researcher's contribution) were assessed and compared using the triangulation method, combining both the advantages of the qualitative (FGD) and quantitative (survey questionnaires) approach of this paper. The findings put in detail the research samples' similarities and differences in knowledge-perceptions and feelingsperceptions on risky online experiences of kids. The results revealed that there is a general concurrence about what school children and educators know about the variety of online risks kids face in SBMU. Both define online risk as something generally "dangerous and harmful". In fact, the study shows that school children have higher perceptions of risky online experiences of kids than the educators. However, they differ in the ordering of online risky activities. The final analysis suggests that school children know their information communication technologies and the pluses and minuses that go with them but may not have the necessary experience to control consumption. On the other hand, the educators, largely millennials in this study, know that kids have the capacity to navigate most of the risks. But they also remain concerned about the evolving nature of online risks that present new encounters the educators themselves have never experienced before. The study provides initial insights for educators in coming up with an e-safety communications strategy to address the growing number and variety of risks kids face in their navigation of the online world.