While the Internet has provided numerous positive opportunities for networking and connection, its borderless nature has also posed significant challenges, including Online Grooming. This study aims to elucidate initiatives for safeguarding minors online and enhance protective measures, by exploring the phenomenon of Online Grooming. It will focus on the characteristics of Online Grooming, victim dynamics, combating measures, and cross-sectoral collaboration within a Danish context. To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted across sectors with 13 professionals selected based on their expertise in either the age group (12-15 years) or the concept of Online Grooming. Thematic analysis was applied in order to obtain a thorough understanding of the phenomenon, and guided by the theoretical frameworks of Routine Activity theory and Shattered Assumptions theory. The empirical findings of this study provided insights to the characteristics of modus operandi and the consequences hereof. Furthermore, the empirical findings of this study revealed correlation between personal vulnerability factors and the characteristics of the age group as risk factors for victimization. This study also underscored a need for an improved systematized and formalized collaboration across sectors to effectively combat Online Grooming, while also cautiously considering the focus of the preventative and reactive initiatives. Finally, the results indicated an emphasis on parental collaboration and involvement as a part of the protective measures. This study and its findings contribute to a better understanding of the complexities of Online Grooming, which can be of relevance for policy implications in continuing the protection of minors online.

This diploma thesis presents aspects of online safety for adults in middle adulthood with primary education. It focuses on the theoretical description of middle adulthood, psychological aspects of internet use, online safety and factors related to online safety. The empirical part of this thesis monitors the perception of online safety, rules of online safety and their creation by adults in middle adulthood with primary education. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection, data were analyzed by the grounded theory method. The results of the empirical part offer a comprehensive view of online safety within the selected group of adults in middle adulthood with primary education and open the topic of online safety for further research.

According to a 2002 National Center for Education Statistics report, 98% of schools in 2001 were connected to the Internet and 63% of public classrooms had Internet connections. According to a 2003 United States Census Bureau report, 68.3% of homes with children subscribed to the Internet. These statistics reveal the scope of access children have to the Internet. This study focused on the children's voice by investigating the children's report of their online activities and their awareness of cyber security, ethics, and safety issues. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the specific reported online activities and Internet safety knowledge of children aged 10-14 years along with their report of parental supervision of their Internet use. The study included data gathered from 446 self-administered surveys completed by 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students in a rural school district in East Tennessee. An analysis of the research confirmed that as children mature, they increase their use of the Internet and their participation in unsafe online practices. The findings indicated that the most common online practices reported by the middle-grade students included emailing, social networking (MySpace), instant messaging, publishing and sharing information about their favorite sports and activities, and using secret codes while messaging with friends. The results of this study indicated significant relationships between the household placement of the computer and the frequency of unsafe online practices; students with computers in private locations reported unsafe online practices with twice the frequency of those with computers that could be monitored. The findings reflected that, in general, students were knowledgeable about unsafe Internet practices and engaged primarily in safe practices; however, many did report practices that could potentially place them at risk. The results from this study demonstrate a need for Internet safety programs to educate parents about the dangers their children face online and how to minimize those risks and to help children to gain the knowledge, decision-making skills, and motivation necessary to make safe and responsible choices when they are using the Internet.

Abstract Children start to use the Internet ever-earlier, which is problematic as it has not been established that young children have the capacity to engage online safely. In this thesis I concentrate on how Finnish children aged 10-12 approach and enact online safety, how their online safety is mediated at home and in schools, and how this mediation could be supported. I use mostly qualitative data collection and analysis methods. I use Nexus analysis as my theoretical lens, as it suits research where focus is on complex social action. Children who participated in my research reported being skilled in online safety. They have confidence in their skills; as do parents and teachers, to a lesser extent. Children also mediate online safety within their own groups. At home, children’s Internet use is monitored and restricted, but parents favour active mediation such as talking and offering help. Technical parental controls are unpopular. To some extent, children and parents disagree on how much parental mediation is provided. In schools, restriction and monitoring are employed, e.g., concerning smartphones, but focus is on active mediation. Teachers believe the message is best received when tied to children’s experiences. Children say they like learning while doing, and hope for a positive tone and concrete advice from online safety education. Schools connect different actors in a dialogue concerning children’s online safety, but division of responsibilities seems blurry. Teachers feel alone in deciding how online safety is taught and wish for support. My results provide implications regarding how we design mediational means for ensuring children’s online safety. When mediating online safety, adults are balancing between necessary control, loving trust, and involvement. While some control is called for, I encourage adults to become involved in children’s online lives, and to build trusting relationships. To support online safety mediation at home, I suggest a combination of technical and active mediation that serves both parents’ and children’s interests, gives parents tools for ensuring children’s safety, and facilitates trust building between family members. To support online safety mediation at school, I suggest a more systematic approach to online safety, as well as teaching practices that facilitate active mediation, fit the children's world, and appeal to teachers. / Tiivistelmä Lapset aloittavat netinkäytön yhä nuorempana, mikä on ongelmallista, koska pienten lasten kyky toimia verkossa turvallisesti on vaillinaista. Väitöskirjassa tarkastelen kuinka suomalaiset 10-12-vuotiaat lapset lähestyvät nettiturvallisuutta, kuinka sitä toteutetaan kotona ja kouluissa ja kuinka nettiturvallisuuden toteuttamista voidaan tukea. Käytän tutkimuksessa pääosin laadullisia tiedonkeruu- ja analysointimetodeja. Teoreettisena linssinä käytän monimutkaisen sosiaalisen toiminnan tutkimiseen soveltuvaa neksusanalyysiä. Tutkimukseeni osallistuneet lapset suhtautuvat itse luottavaisesti taitoihinsa nettiturvallisuuden suhteen, kuten myös vanhemmat ja opettajat, joskin vähäisemmässä määrin. Lapset toteuttavat nettiturvallisuutta myös omissa ryhmissään. Kotona seurataan ja rajoitetaan lasten netinkäyttöä, mutta suositaan nk. aktiivista lähestymistapaa, kuten lapsille puhumista ja avun tarjoamista. Tekninen valvonta ei ole suosittua. Lapset ovat jossain määrin eri mieltä vanhempien kanssa siitä, kuinka paljon vanhemmat tukevat heidän nettiturvallisuuttaan. Kouluissa seurataan ja rajoitetaan mm. älypuhelinten käyttöä, mutta suositaan aktiivista lähestymistapaa. Opettajat uskovat lasten omaksuvan viestin parhaiten sidottuna omiin kokemuksiin. Lapset kertovat pitävänsä tekemällä oppimisesta. Opetukselta he toivovat positiivista sävyä ja konkreettisia neuvoja. Koulut yhdistävät toimijoita vuoropuheluun lasten nettiturvallisuudesta, mutta vastuunjako on epäselvää. Opettajat kokevat olevansa yksin päättämässä siitä, miten nettiturvallisuutta opetetaan ja he kaipaavat tukea. Tuloksillani on vaikutusta siihen, millaisia keinoja kehitämme lasten nettiturvallisuuden varmistamiseksi. Vaikka valvonta ja rajoitukset ovat joskus tarpeen, kannustan tarpeellisen valvonnan, rakastavan luottamuksen ja yhdessä tekemisen välillä tasapainoilevia aikuisia osallistumaan lasten nettielämään ja rakentamaan heihin luottamuksellisia välejä. Nettiturvallisuuden tukemiseksi kotona ehdotan teknisen ja aktiivisen lähestymistavan yhdistelmää, joka palvelee sekä vanhempien että lasten etuja, auttaa vanhempia varmistamaan lasten turvallisuutta ja helpottaa luottamuksen rakentamista. Nettiturvallisuuden tukemiseksi kouluissa ehdotan järjestelmällistä otetta sekä opetuskäytäntöjä, jotka vetoavat opettajiin, helpottavat aiheen aktiivista lähestymistä ja sopivat lasten maailmaan.