Young Adult Perceptions of Internet Communications and the Grooming Concept

Amy C Wood,Jacqueline M Wheatcroft

doi:10.1177/2158244020914573

Amy C Wood, Jacqueline M Wheatcroft

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020914573

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Journal: SAGE Open	Publication Date: Jan 1, 2020
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Liverpool, University of Gloucestershire

Abstract

Research of young people shows a lack of understanding of the term grooming in online communications and that internet risks are taken because internet literacy is poor for this group. However, limited research has investigated the perceptions of young adults in this context. The aim of this study was to understand young adults’ perceptions of risk, their internet behaviors, and understanding of the grooming concept. Furthermore, to understand the types of risk behaviors young people engage in online, whether they perceive these behaviors as risky, and what implications this has for vulnerability to negative experiences. An examination of internet communication perceptions and the grooming concept focused on 10 young males and females aged between 18 and 23 years. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at open access youth organizations in the North West of England, UK, and the duration of each interview was approximately 30 min. The data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Emergent themes were (a) grooming as a concept, (b) virtual lives, and (c) perception of risk. The findings concur there is limited understanding of the term grooming but that explanations may not be simply confined to literacy. Risks being taken online were not always perceived as risky. Recommendations include the need for a more nuanced definition of the term grooming and that more information is available to children and caregivers. Further work should focus on younger participants’ perceptions of grooming to address wider issues, together with a focus on risk taking behaviors among other vulnerable groups.

Highlights

Over the past 10 years, the internet has placed itself at the forefront of communications with 39.3 million internet users recorded in the United Kingdom in 2015
92% of 16- to 24-year olds admitted to spending their internet time on social media (Office for National Statistics, 2015) and young people in general spend a third of their leisure time on devices (Office for National Statistics, 2017)
The thematic analysis allowed the interviews to be analyzed as a whole data set, and it enabled recurrent and significant themes to be extracted for interpretation

Summary

Introduction

Over the past 10 years, the internet has placed itself at the forefront of communications with 39.3 million internet users recorded in the United Kingdom in 2015. 92% of 16- to 24-year olds admitted to spending their internet time on social media (Office for National Statistics, 2015) and young people in general spend a third of their leisure time on devices (Office for National Statistics, 2017). Young people are more inclined to communicate via the internet and most of their arrangements, whether social or formal, are made via social media. Such sites are appealing to children as they are advertised glamorously, and according to The Economist (2019), greater numbers of children have an internet addiction. Children are not always aware of the potential dangers.

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