Is the perception of risks and opportunities on the Internet changing? The voices of intellectually challenged teens’ parents.
Emma Sorbring and Martin Molin at University West
Charlotta Löfgren-Mårtensson at Malmö University
Previous studies have shown that parents view their children’s Internet use both as positive and negative. In general, parents are far more positive to teens pursuing relationships away from the Internet. However, when it comes to the parents of intellectually challenged teens, this might not be true. In a recent pilot-study, parents talk about the Internet as an opportunity for their teenage child to meet someone and start an intimate relationship. The Internet as a potentially dangerous place is acknowledged, but looked upon as a risk worth taking when it comes to social experience. Due to their children’s specific challenges, these parents see the Internet as offering them great opportunities, at the same time they are afraid their teens could be more susceptible to various kind of content and interactions. Parents both want to encourage more Internet use and simultaneously encourage more time for face-to-face interactions. They perceive the risk that their teen will end up alone, without an intimate partner as more serious than the risks of the Internet. This presentation will discuss ‘positive risk-taking’, which brings into focus the importance of managing risks – not avoiding or ignoring them – but taking the risk because the potential benefits outweigh the potential harm. The parent’s responsibility and support will also be discussed. The empirical material consists of interviews with intellectually challenged teens’ parents, from the pilot study and the main study.