Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014 Jun;55(6):635-54. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12197. Epub 2014 Jan 20.
The usage of mobile phones and the internet by young people has increased rapidly in the past decade, approaching saturation by middle childhood in developed countries. Besides many benefits, online content, contact or conduct can be associated with risk of harm; most research has examined whether aggressive or sexual harms result from this. We examine the nature and prevalence of such risks, and evaluate the evidence regarding the factors that increase or protect against harm resulting from such risks, so as to inform the academic and practitioner knowledge base. We also identify the conceptual and methodological challenges encountered in this relatively new body of research, and highlight the pressing research gaps.
Given the pace of change in the market for communication technologies, we review research published since 2008. Following a thorough bibliographic search of literature from the key disciplines (psychology, sociology, education, media studies and computing sciences), the review concentrates on recent, high quality empirical studies, contextualizing these within an overview of the field.
Risks of cyberbullying, contact with strangers, sexual messaging ('sexting') and pornography generally affect fewer than one in five adolescents. Prevalence estimates vary according to definition and measurement, but do not appear to be rising substantially with increasing access to mobile and online technologies, possibly because these technologies pose no additional risk to offline behaviour, or because any risks are offset by a commensurate growth in safety awareness and initiatives. While not all online risks result in self-reported harm, a range of adverse emotional and psychosocial consequences is revealed by longitudinal studies. Useful for identifying which children are more vulnerable than others, evidence reveals several risk factors: personality factors (sensation-seeking, low self-esteem, psychological difficulties), social factors (lack of parental support, peer norms) and digital factors (online practices, digital skills, specific online sites).
Mobile and online risks are increasingly intertwined with pre-existing (offline) risks in children's lives. Research gaps, as well as implications for practitioners, are identified. The challenge is now to examine the relations among different risks, and to build on the risk and protective factors identified to design effective interventions.
在过去的十年中，年轻人使用手机和互联网的速度迅速增长，在发达国家，这一数字已经接近儿童中期的饱和水平。除了许多好处之外，在线内容、联系或行为也可能带来伤害的风险；大多数研究都在检验这种风险是否会导致攻击性或性伤害。我们研究了这些风险的性质和普遍性，并评估了增加或保护此类风险造成伤害的因素的证据，以便为学术和从业者知识库提供信息。我们还确定了在这一相对较新的研究领域中遇到的概念和方法学挑战，并强调了紧迫的研究空白。
鉴于通信技术市场的变化速度，我们回顾了 2008 年以来发表的研究。在对心理学、社会学、教育学、媒体研究和计算机科学等主要学科的文献进行彻底的文献搜索后，该综述集中于最近的高质量实证研究，并在该领域概述的背景下对这些研究进行了分析。
网络欺凌、与陌生人接触、性信息（“色情短信”）和色情内容通常影响不到五分之一的青少年。流行率估计因定义和测量方法而异，但随着移动和在线技术的普及，似乎并没有大幅上升，这可能是因为这些技术对离线行为没有带来额外的风险，或者任何风险都被安全意识和举措的相应增长所抵消。虽然并非所有在线风险都会导致自我报告的伤害，但纵向研究揭示了一系列不良的情绪和心理社会后果。研究证据揭示了一些风险因素，这些因素有助于识别哪些儿童比其他儿童更容易受到伤害：人格因素（寻求刺激、自尊心低、心理困难）、社会因素（缺乏父母支持、同伴规范）和数字因素（在线行为、数字技能、特定的在线网站）。
移动和在线风险与儿童生活中已经存在的（离线）风险日益交织在一起。研究空白以及对从业者的影响也得到了确定。现在的挑战是检验不同风险之间的关系，并利用确定的风险和保护因素来设计有效的干预措施。
