Children’s Socialization, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Many authors have researched the Internet’s effects on children’s socialization, and the following research would summarize the findings based on three variables: age, gender and number of hours spent on the Internet per week. The study is intending to reveal the close relationship between the socialization patterns, the methods of research and content assessed.

Thesis: Children’s socialization patterns are highly determined by the Internet, and video games influence gender roles, as well as behavioral patterns.

Previous research

Dill and Thill (2007) have revealed that video games and Internet graphics influence children’s body image. It also explains the idea of developing hyper –masculinity and hyper-femininity. The relationship between adolescents and the internet have been revealed by Lee and Conroy, (2003) and Parker and Plank (2000). Therefore, the research would focus on creating a 5-point Likert scale to analyze the research questions related to Internet usage. Allison (1998) also determined the role of computers in children’s lives.

Sample

The sample group contained 50 children, out of which 23 were male and 27 female. There were 12 belonging to the age group 7-9, 15 in the age group 10-12 and the rest of them were between 13 and 15 years old. The social and ethnic background was not taken into consideration as a variable. Fifteen children used the Internet for 5-10 hours a week, ten accessed it less than 5 hours, while twenty-five children used it more than 10 hours.

Results

The study shows that female and male participants equally trust the Internet regarding gender roles. The mean answer score for females was 3.8, while for males it was 4.2. Those who accessed the Internet for a longer period a week were more trusting and influenced in their socialization. The study also revealed that the older children were the lower their confidence in the Internet’s role on gender socialization was.

References

Allison, D. (1998) “Computers and Kids: My Kid Doesn’t Need A Computer…” January 1998. Online. Internet. 19 September 2000. Available WWW: <http://www.acm.org/sigchi/bulletin/1998.1/kids/html>

Dill, K., Thill, K. “Video Game Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles: Young People’s Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media Depictions”. Sex Roles 57:851– 864

Parker, B. J. and Plank, R. E. (2000) “A uses and gratifications perspective on the internet as a new information source”, American Business Review, 18 (2), pp. 43-49.

Lee, C., Conroy, D. (2003) The Internet: a Consumer Socialization Agent for Teenagers. ANZMAC 2003 Conference Proceedings Adelaide 1-3 December 2003