Media Education Futures Tampere - Finland - May 2014

2. Maria Apparecida Campos Mamede-Neves
Dr. in Psychology
Emeritus Professor of Department of Education
PUC-Rio
Stella Maria Peixoto de Azevedo Pedrosa
Dr. in Education
Project coordinator at the Coordination Center for Distance Education
PUC-Rio

3. Jovens em Rede
Directory of Research’ Young people in Network
Department of Education
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Brazil

4. The use of social networks online
A reason of intergenerational conflicts?
Tampere - May 2014

5. Central question
 The use of online social networking by teenagers has
some influence on intergenerational conflicts,
specially, between children and parents ?

6. Objetives
To investigate:
the possible different young people’s profiles
in online social networks
their relationship with family members,
concerning this matter

7. Research:
Intentional Sample : 404 students
 from the 6th grade of elementary school to 2nd year
of high school (11-19 years old)
 8 different schools, public and private, secular or
religious
 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

8. Research instrument
a survey with 31 questions

9. The research discusses specifically:
 the profiles presented by young people sample and those
of its family ;
 the general characteristics of the use Internet and,
particularly, the online social networks
 the aspects of the teenager’s family relationship either
generally or havin g the use of online social networks

10. Some conclusions

11. Diagram best represented the relationship
between their profile on Social Networks
and true identity
Neither the parents nor we thought this would be the result.
45.8% answered that it was
the most integrated
Only 16% considered, namely less integrated or
complete split

12. If the profile posted on Social Networks described them as
being part of a whole, with insurances, different from other
young people, or, on the contrary, if it hides parts of their lives,
showing different ways of being that were not their usual.
Only the statement "Your profile allows you to show yourself positively" (question 01) presents a
significant concentration of 170 responses as being "totally true" in N = 385

13. What was the degree of agreement with the person who
they were, that is what was the degree of coherence of the
self?
There is a tendency of the group to consider totally false
statements that present them as people with contradictory ideas
about themselves. Interesting to note that 198 teenagers
rejected the possibility that other people know them better than
they themselves (question 7).

14. Another topic that guarantees a better idea of those
young people’s profile was to know how their activities
and feelings on a daily basis were.
As we noticed, 10 assertive (in 11) on the subject deserved the group a high
score in relation to the short time in a week (less than one day), making an
average of 215 young people presented a framework in which are not
stagnant in negative feelings about their person. Only to which it referred "a
more depressed state of mind", there was a balanced distribution at all
levels. Thus, there was a concentration on one level.

15. The search for the young people to talk, to communicate, chat and share are all
ramifications of the main word friends, which has different connotations from their
parents´. There are not special people, the closer ones, but all those with whom young
people have only one link within the Social Networks. This conceptual difference is very
important for the configuration of intergenerational differences..
When asked to define in one word what Social Networking meant for them,
showed the following distribution of intensity: of words:

16. IBGE report 2010/2011
For 57.4%, the structure of their families is conventional, with the father and
mother living together.
For 32.9%, the parents live apart and 7.7% of them are already dead.

17. Regarding the constitution of the family, 47.5% marked "home with 2 children,
which, is similar to data of the IBGE census.
IBGE report 2010/2011

18. The position of young people concerning their everyday
relationships with parents on a scale that ranged from "I'm not
able" to "I am fully able."
There is a clear trend of the responses of young
people considering fully capable of good everyday
relationships with their parents, either regarding to
their recommendations, trust placed in them, and in
relation critiques to the possible errors committed.
In this survey group, youth admit that their
views are heard by their parents and they can
review their positions

19. Specifically regarding to parental control the youth
activities on the Internet and Social Networks data
showed the following statistical distribution
Most of the data are distributed at the
intermediate levels, since the curve showed
similar frequencies between 2 and 4 points.
However, the graph is bi-modal, and
becomes more accentuated as it regards
information such as "parents never interfere"
than "always interfere."

20.  Results showed that the group use to communicate, in
more horizontal manner, as siblings and cousins through
the online social network than with parents, since the
parents still prefer cel phone contact with their children

21.  We observed that excessive use of internet (which, no
doubt, is a bad practice) is bound with excessive parental
control over their children's internet use. But, this
situation appears only in few cases

22.  Around 50% average feel that their parents show control
over them regarding the use of online social networks
which is halfway between the absolute control and
carelessness
 The empirical analysis pointed that our group is achieving
well integrate online social networks into their daily life
and in family relationships
 Teens are able to manage their participation in these new
online environments

23.  Data also suggested an unexpected link between greater
control / surveillance of parents and greater harmony and
the presence of teenager’s in family activities.
 This data provide new meaning to the binomial control /
surveillance. In this case they mean care, concern and
counseling

24.  Our data contradicted the need for the family’s strict
control of teens when they are using online social networks
 Family prefers the dialogue with youth rather than severe
control

25.  We can say that our group had a more syntonic than
dystonic intergenerational relationship
 This data contradicted common sense about an alleged
inability of the intergenerational relationship
 The research showed a different no intense generational
gap regarding the use of online social networks.

26. Why?
Because from 10 years ago, most of the parents still did
not use online social networks, considering them
dangerous and not always in tune with the dedication to
homework
Now, most parents understand the value of this
new digital world since they are already inside it.

27. Thanks =]
Maria Apparecida Mamede-Neves
apmamede@gmail.com
Stella Maria Peixoto de Azevedo Pedrosa
smpedrosa@gmail.com
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