A few surprising finding emerge from this research project.
nology, even after changing the rules and setting time limitations, their children are still al- lowed to use the devices (including television) for quite a long time when compared to other families in the sample. However, at the same time these parents consider their rules to now be very restrictive.
2. A low level of tablet use is reported by parents in this study, when compared to other coun- tries. For example, the Ofcom survey (2014) found that in the United Kingdom, 54 % of children aged from 5 to 7 years use tablets. In the Croatian sample, only four families allow their children to use tablets.
3. The families with lower socioeconomic status do not always have fewer devices. For exam- ple, the family HR08 with no income other than social welfare has, in fact, five smartphones - one for each member of the family, including the 6-year-old boy. He doesn’t have a SIM card in his phone, but he does have some simple games installed and is allowed to play them.
4. Most parents have profiles on social networks but - with the exception of one boy who sometimes plays a game on his mother’s Facebook profile - they do not let their children use them. However, they occasionally show them photos of friends and relatives. Yet, when thinking about the good sides of technology use, parents didn’t mention this aspect of com- municating with friends. At the same time, they expressed concerns regarding their chil- dren’s future encounters with social networks.
Cyprus
National socio-economical context
• As of 1 January 2016, the population of Cyprus was estimated to be 1 172 071 people. This is an increase of 1.09 % (12 592 people) compared to the 1 159 479 the year be- fore.. The sex ratio of the total population was 1 044 males per 1 000 females, which is higher than the global ratio. The unemployment rate decreased to 11.60 % in July 2016 from 11.70 % in June.
• According to the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the average size of private households in Cyprus ranged from highs of close to three persons when compared to 2.4 persons in the EU as a whole in 2013. A crude marriage rate of 6.7 was recorded in 2012. Marriage is a common form of family structure, with a low proportion of single-parent families being recorded.
Internet and digital technology
• In the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2016, Cyprus has an overall score of 0.42 and ranks 23rd out of the 28 EU Member States. Fast broadband connections are available to 84 % of households (against 71 % in the EU as a whole) but internet take-up is relatively low. Only 69 % of households subscribe to fixed broadband and Cyprus has a low level of regular internet users (70 %), with 26 % of the Cypriot population never having used the internet (the EU average is 16.4 %).
• Cypriot internet users engage nevertheless in a broad range of online activities. They read news online (79 %), listen to music, watch films and play games online (55 % in 2014), use the internet to communicate via voice or video calls (62 %) or through social networks (75 %) and obtain video content using their broadband connections (though video on demand - 23 %). For most of these activities, engagement among Cypriots is higher than overall in the EU.
General pattern of parenthood
• Families of all socioeconomic statuses are supportive of seeing their children educated and attending tertiary education. While families of medium and high SES are more likely to have children attending universities abroad, families of low SES have their children
attending public schools and national universities or international universities with very low fees (i.e. in Germany and Hungary).
• Parents seem to have accepted that new technologies are part of today’s life and as this trend is increasing they want their children to learn how to use them.
Schooling system for children from 0 to 8-year-old
• The educational system in Cyprus is centralised. The responsibility for educational policy and the administration of Greek-Cypriot schools and the schools of all the other groups lies with the Ministry of Education and Culture. Specifically, the ministry is responsible for the development of educational policy, enforcement of educational laws and the prepa- ration of educational bills. It also prescribes the syllabus, the curricula and the textbooks used in all levels of education (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2007).
• The educational system is divided into four levels: pre-primary (under the administration of the Department of Primary Education), primary education, secondary education and tertiary education (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2007). Pre-primary education has been compulsory since 2004. Access is free to all children who attend public kindergar- tens. The main aims of pre-primary school are children’s overall cognitive and emotional development; the development of skills, attitudes, values and principles; and preparation for primary school. Primary education lasts 6 years and is for children aged 6 years old and above. There are both public and private primary schools.
Age Schooling type
0-3 Crèche
3-6 Kindergarten/pre-school
6-8 Two first grade of primary school
After-school and leisure activities
• Electronic devices are in general part of the parent’s and children’s lives. Children as young as 2 years old seem to be using these devices to a certain extent (games, car- toons, music). The only common activity (all members of family involved at the same time) done using digital technologies is watching films on TV. No children are allowed to take digital media to school, but some are allowed to take the devices to restaurants and to the houses of friends.
• The use of digital devices by children increases a lot during the summer because of the increased free time they have as schools close and the weather is hot, therefore they tend to stay indoors, in cooler places. Children use the digital media as a way of spend- ing their time when they are alone, so they view it as a game that keeps them company when other children are not around. Many children report no interest in using these de- vices when friends come over.
• The vast majority of children are enrolled in after-school leisure activities such as swim- ming, ballet, football, etc.