E-learning: The Dark Side?

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30 April 2012
Philip E. Banyard, Jean Underwood
Pan European
en, es, bg, da, el, et, cs, de, fi, lt, lv, sl, it, sv, sk, pl, pt-pt, nl, ro, hu, fr
Internet Safety, Competence, eSkills, literacy, media, identity, critical thinking, critical pedagogy, risk groups
Schools, Learning & Society
E-learning: The Dark Side?

There are concerns that the Internet has created new risks for our society and in particular for young people. We argue that the way we frame these risks is affected by the way we view young people, in particular their maturity and ability to make choices for themselves.

A recurrent metaphor concerns the ‘dark-side’ of the Internet which draws on ancient and modern myths about the nature of good and evil. We argue that a knowledge divide between adults and youth has developed concerning the use of digital technologies. Digital natives are able to change the power balance of our society: this threatens the status quo and therefore has created a moral panic.

 

The key areas of concern for risk include: cyber-bullying, game-playing, social networking, sexual solicitation and addictive behaviours. Although these areas present real risks, we note that young people are moderating their own behaviour as they develop understandings about the possibilities offered by new technologies. The answer to our concerns should not be to seek to control digital technologies, but rather to educate adults and young people about what is possible and appropriate, so that they can choose to become responsible, digital citizens of the 21st century.

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