An examination of the internet use of middle school students and their parents' digital parenting awareness

Today, when the effects of the internet on individuals are examined, it is seen that it has some physical, psychological and social effects. The digital world offers some positive or negative aspects to its users. Child users constitute the greatest risk group since they have not completed their cognitive and psychological maturation. In this situation, parents' digital parenting skills have an important place in protecting children against possible risks of the internet. In the study, the ways in which middle school students used internet technologies, how family communication shaped the way children used the internet, and parents' digital parenting awareness were discussed. In this context, the aim of the research is to reveal how middle school students' internet usage patterns and their parents' digital parenting attitudes were shaped.Phenomenological designs were used in this study which was designed as a qualitative research. In the study, a semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection technique and interviews were conducted with a total of 36 people, including 18 middle school students and their parents, in accordance with the purposive sampling method. The data obtained from the interview was analyzed by uploading it to the MAXQDA qualitative data analysis program. According to the findings of the research, it was concluded that parents with a high level of digital parenting awareness directed their children to use the internet correctly, they touched more on the risky aspects of the internet within the scope of their role of awareness, and they worried about at this point. It was observed that they were less directive in terms of taking advantage of opportunities and ethical role. It was found that in families where parent-child communication was strong, children had positive internet usage behavior. In addition, it was concluded that children used the internet mostly for education, games, socializing and communicating.