Tuesday, February 10th, 2009, was the sixth Safer Internet Day: an opportunity to think about the potential dangers that children and youngsters are exposed to, when they go alone out of the house on-line. And to discuss what can be done to help them behave more responsibly and be better informed about the risks and traps.
But among all those cries of “how children fall victims of the Internet”, did anybody think about how much do we owe our children, when it comes to Internet take-up? How much do they increase the penetration of Internet in households?
Available statistics are clear on this subject: households with children have a much greater Internet penetration than households without children. And the reasoning behind this fact is also obvious: children need Internet because of their schools. Not only to be in touch with classmates, but also to prepare homework and engage in other school-related activities. And the higher the school is, the more the student is dependent on the Internet. At the university level, students cannot enroll for classes or register for examinations without going online.
Continue reading ‘The most effective Internet motivators? Children!’
