The document summarizes key findings from a qualitative study exploring young people's online experiences in South Africa. The study found that while young people were aware of online risks like cyberbullying, they were still willing to take risks online in order to feel a sense of inclusion. Young people employed both proactive strategies like privacy settings as well as responsive strategies like blocking or ignoring users to manage different types of online risks. Communication-focused strategies like telling a friend their location or using a phone to talk through problems were also used. The document recommends that policies focus on building youth resilience to online risks and enhancing self-efficacy, rather than simply restricting access.

1. Pretoria
28 November 2013

2. “The internet is a city and, like any great city, it has monumental libraries and theatres and
museums and places in which you can learn and pick up information and there are facilities
for you that are astounding - specialised museums, not just general ones.
But there are also slums and there are red light districts and there are really sleazy areas
where you wouldn't want your children wandering alone.
And I think people must understand that about the internet - it is a new city, it's a virtual city
and there will be parts of it of course that they dislike, but you don't pull down London
because it's got a red light district.”(Fry, 2009)
2

3. About the study
• The body of literature on young people‟s use of ICTs is
growing
• The extent of these risks and the way young people
respond to them is largely unknown in SA
• The CJCP, in partnership with UNICEF SA, undertook
a qualitative study aimed at exploring young people‟s
online experiences, as part of a larger national
quantitative research study on school violence in 2012.
• Data from the NSVS will be used to contextualise the
qualitative findings
3

4. Study purpose and objectives
To explore young
people‟s use of
social media
To gauge their
perceptions of
dangers and risks
faced online
To explore the
ways in which
they negotiate
their safety online
4

5. Methodology
• Sample stratified by province,
drawn from 2012 EMIS
• Proportionately
representative of total number
of secondary schools per
province
• Total of 121 schools
• Schools randomly sampled
within provinces
• Consent obtained from both
parents and learners
• Learners producing
completed informed consent
randomly selected by field
supervisors
FOCUS GROUPS
93 schools
8- 10 learners per group
177 focus groups
Grade 8 – 12
Single sex & mixed sex
5

6. Use of social media and ICT in SA
Own or have access to a mobile phone
81.1
Own or have access to a computer, ipad, tablet
54.3
Ever access to the internet on your mobile phone
46.2
Ever use Instant Messaging through your mobile phone
42.3
Have your own social networking page
30.9
Ever participate in online chatrooms
24.4
Ever host or contribute to a website/blog
10
Ever use Instant Messaging through a computer
9.5

8. Marks dropped because of it
20.3
Felt sad & hurt
21.5
I cried
24.6
Missed school because of it
24.6
Blamed myself
30.8
Had difficulty concentrating
31.4
Felt anxious
46.5
Felt afraid
53.2
felt embarrassed
59.1
felt angry
78.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
%
60
70
80
90
8

9. Boys
Girls
Self-reported
online behaviour
13.9
10.3
25
20
%
15
10
5
20.3
12.1
6.2
4.3
Ever lied about your age
online
Ever met, in real
life, someone you have
met online
Ever sent a text about
someone to make them
angry or mad
Ever posted something
harmful online about
someone
0
9

10. Willing to risk
online harm to
feel a sense of
inclusion
•
The pitfalls highlighted were congruent with adult views of
online dangers
•
Young people were acutely aware of the dangers and
disadvantages of social media
•
Risks focused on the online-offline nexus and online violence
and cyberbullying

11. Online offline nexus
“Ja I‟m curious, you think of
the disadvantages but then
you come back and say I‟m
gonna meet him in a public
place what bad thing would
happen, okay let me take
that risk…it‟s good to take
that risks you know”
“Okay, ja I‟m scared
but I always have
hope
that
these
people are all my age
cos I never met
somebody who is old”
11

12. Strategies to mitigate
risks
• Risk was managed through different strategies
developed for different forms of harm
• Proactive or preventative strategies focused on
the management of the platform
– Proactive (privacy settings)
– Responsive (i.e. blocking)
• Responsive strategies included logging
off, leaving the internet site, ignoring requests
or doing nothing
12

13. Proactive and responsive
strategies
“What I usually do if he or she
wants to meet me…I say
okay ask her what he or she
will wear. He‟ll tell me, and
then he will ask me too what I
will wear. I‟ll say…I will wear
orange clothes, but then
when I go I won‟t wear orange
clothes so that I can see you”
“I will say if someone chats
with me on mxit and says
who am I & where do I
come from, you see I will
just say no I don‟t know
you, either you stop
chatting or I will delete you.
Then if he or she continues
with that I will just delete it”
“Facebook privacy settings,
WhatsApp blocking, „deny
request‟ on Mxit and hide
personal details”
13

14. Communication-focused
strategies
“So when you need
somebody to talk to about
a certain issue, you feel
like you can‟t speak to
maybe your friends or your
parents. You need like an
outsider‟s
perspective,
when you go and speak to
these people”
“Telling someone close to
you where you (are) going
to meet someone, and to
provide
evidence
if
something may happen to
you.”
A phone is like a person
I can talk to. It‟s like I
can talk to it when I‟m
feeling down….and you
having problems.
14

15. Debunking some of the
myths
• Myth 1: Cyberbullying and other online risks are a
new epidemic that threatens the wellbeing of
children
• Myth 2: All children are equally vulnerable to risk
and harm
• Myth 3: Young people are unaware of the real
dangers that exist online
• Myth 4: Controlling access to and use of social
media will protect children
15

16. Recommendations
Policies need to focus on fostering an
environment where young people can build
resilience & learn appropriate responses to
online risks.
Youth possess the resources to manage
online conflict. Strategies should build on
internal and external resources that children
have and should enhance self efficacy.
Online safety policies should be embedded
within broader violence and bullying prevention
strategies.

17. Recommendations
Increase victim support services.
Policy responses should be driven
by evidence-led approaches.
Policy responses should be premised
on a comprehensive understanding
of adolescent development.

18. ICTs are important for
well-being
and
selfefficacy:
“… and you use it, like,
maybe when you feel down
or something, and when
you don’t want to talk to
someone else, you just
have to go to your phone
and listen to music because
music is like, um, feelings
with words, so that music
can help you calm down or
something.”

19. THANK YOU
www.cjcp.org.za
www.cyberbullying.org.za