Risks perceived by adolescent pupils using new technologies and the way they react

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The aim of this paper is to understand the perception of a group of pupils from Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) about the possible threats and problems Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) use causes to them, taking into account their daily experience in school and after-school, and also the way they behave to face serious situations. METHOD. It is a qualitative study, with the interview technique, and Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) through the computer program Atlas.ti7. Participants were twenty pupils in the second level of ESO, from Aragón, belonging to private and state schools, of both sexes and a wide socio-demographic range. The resulting data are compared to a previous quantitative study based in a representative sample of 1032 ESO students. RESULTS. The findings show a fundamentally positive ICT perception, but are in conflict with a good academic performance, due to an immoderate use. Adolescents recognize their addiction and are aware of the deterioration of social and family links that ICT provoke. Although they see themselves as mature and autonomous, they demand external help, and parents are the first option to resort to in the event of major problems. If their peers were affected, they did not hesitate to intervene. DISCUSSION. On the one hand, adolescents, as digital natives from second level of ESO, confirm their confidence in ICT and the conscience of its risks as other researchers have shown; on the other hand, they are confident about parental control and judgment, more than we had expected due to their age; finally they show an inspiring solidarity faced with the social alarm of cyberbullying.