Home internet use by eight-year-old children

With the ever-increasing numbers of young children accessing the internet, often independently of adult supervision, parents and educators are facing the challenge of how best to provide young children with age-appropriate cyber-safety education. Drawing on data collected via children’s illustrations, focus-groups and a parent questionnaire, this paper explores the experiences of 25, eight-year-old children using the internet at home and parents’ mediation approaches. This paper provides evidence that children are actively engaged in a variety of activities facilitating both learning opportunities and risks to personal safety. The paper highlights the need for stakeholders to work in partnership to make the internet a safer and better place for children.