| Abstract [eng] |
Theoretical analysis of the online participation of teenagers at social risk: the aspect of social work was conducted in the Master’s Thesis. 107 persons participated in the research: 101 pupils living in Šiauliai city, Šiauliai region and Mažeikiai region visiting the children’s day center and studying at schools, 5 social workers of Lithuanian children’s day centers and 1 Ukrainian social worker working with children at social risk. The method of questionnaire was applied in order to reveal peculiarities, behavioral peculiarities and self-awareness of online participation of teenagers at social risk. One tried to evaluate teenagers’ consciousness in recognition of potential Internet dangers, personal experience in the face of danger, character of knowledge about safe searching. The statistical data analysis (Statistical Package for Social Sciences 22.0, the methods of descriptive statistics: average of frequencies, standard deviation, Spearman correlation analysis, Reliability Analysis) was conducted. The interview was aimed at determination of opinion of Lithuanian and Ukrainian social workers working with teenagers at social risk about young men’s participation in a virtual space, specifics of behavior, consciousness, competence knowledge in recognition and evaluation of the Internet dangers. One also aimed to reveal the character of social workers’ safe participation in the Internet. The research showed that the Internet provides to teenagers at social risk the great and additional opportunities, i.e. what they do not get in their families. Children living with grandparents or with only one parent are more active users of Internet social networks in comparison with other children, they seldom recognize the Internet dangers and more quickly become emotionally dependent on the Internet. The adults’ control or its absence determines the expression and frequency of online participation of teenagers at social risk. The evaluation of teenagers’ behavior and emotional state when being “online” revealed a great domination of pupils from the 7th grade. The girls more frequently recognize the dangers of virtual space than the boys do; but the girls used to publish more information about themselves. The research results show that the participation of teenagers at social risk in social networks is unconscious. Young people are not able to “filter” and select proper information, usually equate the virtual world with reality. Online participation of teenagers is reasoned by satisfaction of needs, parents’ inattention and search for new acquaintances. It was also determined that social workers have enough knowledge and competences for save use of the Internet and consultation of children in respect of benefits and dangers of the Internet. |
