Review: Christine Feil, Regina Decker & Christoph Gieger (2004). Wie entdecken Kinder das Internet? [How Do Children Discover the Internet?]

This book deals with the following questions: When and where do children use the Internet? What search strategies do they deploy? What difficulties do they encounter when surfing the web? In order to answer these questions, the authors interviewed parents and instructors about children’s Internet use. They also observed children surfing the Internet, though these observations were made in a research laboratory-like setting rather than in a natural context. In addition to the results of this empirical study, the book includes a presentation of German-language websites suitable for children and a discussion of the protection of children and young people on the Internet. The text is especially interesting when it becomes apparent, possibly in contradiction to common expectations, how little the Internet has to offer to children apart from commercial web sites. The study is to be understood as an explorative study and therefore lacks a certain theoretical depth. It offers a good overview of the (German-language) Internet for children and allows insights into possible ways in which children deal with the Internet. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs060110