Bianca Balea - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Bianca Balea

Papers by Bianca Balea

The emergence of new mobile devices such as Smartphones and tablets in children's everyday life h... more The emergence of new mobile devices such as Smartphones and tablets in children's everyday life has facilitated the rise of Internet private use among them, making it possible for them to go online at anytime and anywhere. As studies show, ownership and private use of a Smartphone shape the quality of children's online experience in a meaningful way (Mascheroni & Cuman, 2014). Accordingly, a broader range of access locations and devices relates to more unsupervised access and thus more independent use of the Internet, which are likely to be related to higher skill levels. This paper aims to investigate, using linear and multilinear regressions, whether owning or having access to Smartphones leads to increasing digital inequalities among children. Results show that demographic variables are significant predictors for the level of Smartphone related skills. However, when variables related with children's Smartphone and Internet use are introduced in the model, the influence of demographic variables is reduced, showing evidence for second-level of digital divide among children. The present study reports on the Net Children Go Mobile dataset. The project collected data in 2013 from random stratified survey samples of around 500 children aged 9-16, who are Internet users, in seven European country, including Romania. For the purpose of this paper, only responses from Romanian children were taken into account (N=522).

The present paper challenges the dominance of the digital natives' agenda and turns its attention... more The present paper challenges the dominance of the digital natives' agenda and turns its attention to the social context in which Internet usage among adolescents occurs. Findings indicate that even when young people are using the Internet with the same frequency, i.e. every day, the differences among them remain significant. Therefore, it can be argued that considering an entire cohort to be similar in terms of Internet use only due its age is a misconception. The way children make use of the Internet and the gratifications they gain after using it depend, as van Dijk (2005) showed, on the quality of access, on the level of skills, and on the personal (e.g. Experience, self-efficacy, confidence) and positional resources (e.g. Age, gender, socioeconomic status). Questioning the main determinants that lead to the most advanced way to make use of the Internet, the logistic analysis shows that, in order for a Romanian adolescent to turn into an experienced user once he or she embedded the Internet in his or her everyday life, is a matter of skills, experience, and time online, and is less a matter of socioeconomic background. However, we have to keep in mind the previous path analysis' findings, which emphasize that online experience, time spent online, self-efficacy, and digital skills are all determined, through direct or indirect effects, by demographic variables (i.e. age, gender and socioeconomic status), even when age is held constant (Fizesan [Balea], 2012).

Drawing on the literature of digital inclusion, this article aims to show how differences in digi... more Drawing on the literature of digital inclusion, this article aims to show how differences in digital engagement among children from Romania and Bulgaria persist even if they incorporate the use of the Internet in their everyday lives. In order to identify variations in digital skills, self-efficacy and, therefore, in digital engagement of Romanian and Bulgarian 9-16 years old, a path analysis was conducted using AMOS. Demographic variables like age, gender, parental educational level (as a proxy for socioeconomic status) and parents' age were introduced in the model. Additionally, since factors like autonomy of use and the receipt of social support are likely to influence children's digital outcomes, the relations between these variables and those of skills, self-efficacy and digital engagement are also examined. Findings reveal that older children from higher educational backgrounds exhibit more digital skills and self-efficacy and a stronger digital engagement. Moreover, a more autonomous use and a higher amount of social support help children to be involved in more online activities. This analysis also reports differences of intergenerational digital transfer, with younger parents more supportive for their children's Internet usage, which is expected since in Romania and Bulgaria there are still significant intergenerational digital gaps.

Drawing on the EU Kids Online data, this article aims to emphasize how the differences in Interne... more Drawing on the EU Kids Online data, this article aims to emphasize how the differences in Internet use of adolescents in Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) persist in spite of their incorporation of the internet in their everyday life. The findings show that once children use the internet on a daily basis, demographic variables do not account for difference in use, but other factors fuel 'silent inequalities', which in turn reinforce already existing inequalities, digital and social. Adolescents who are online for more years, use the internet for a larger amount of time, have internet access from their bedroom, or are more skilled are more likely to engage in creative activities and therefore to undertake a wider range of online opportunities. Parental education (which also predicts parental digital literacy) influences the likelihood of children engaging in creative internet activities both in direct and indirect ways.

Reports by Bianca Balea

The emergence of new mobile devices such as Smartphones and tablets in children's everyday life h... more The emergence of new mobile devices such as Smartphones and tablets in children's everyday life has facilitated the rise of Internet private use among them, making it possible for them to go online at anytime and anywhere. As studies show, ownership and private use of a Smartphone shape the quality of children's online experience in a meaningful way (Mascheroni & Cuman, 2014). Accordingly, a broader range of access locations and devices relates to more unsupervised access and thus more independent use of the Internet, which are likely to be related to higher skill levels. This paper aims to investigate, using linear and multilinear regressions, whether owning or having access to Smartphones leads to increasing digital inequalities among children. Results show that demographic variables are significant predictors for the level of Smartphone related skills. However, when variables related with children's Smartphone and Internet use are introduced in the model, the influence of demographic variables is reduced, showing evidence for second-level of digital divide among children. The present study reports on the Net Children Go Mobile dataset. The project collected data in 2013 from random stratified survey samples of around 500 children aged 9-16, who are Internet users, in seven European country, including Romania. For the purpose of this paper, only responses from Romanian children were taken into account (N=522).

The present paper challenges the dominance of the digital natives' agenda and turns its attention... more The present paper challenges the dominance of the digital natives' agenda and turns its attention to the social context in which Internet usage among adolescents occurs. Findings indicate that even when young people are using the Internet with the same frequency, i.e. every day, the differences among them remain significant. Therefore, it can be argued that considering an entire cohort to be similar in terms of Internet use only due its age is a misconception. The way children make use of the Internet and the gratifications they gain after using it depend, as van Dijk (2005) showed, on the quality of access, on the level of skills, and on the personal (e.g. Experience, self-efficacy, confidence) and positional resources (e.g. Age, gender, socioeconomic status). Questioning the main determinants that lead to the most advanced way to make use of the Internet, the logistic analysis shows that, in order for a Romanian adolescent to turn into an experienced user once he or she embedded the Internet in his or her everyday life, is a matter of skills, experience, and time online, and is less a matter of socioeconomic background. However, we have to keep in mind the previous path analysis' findings, which emphasize that online experience, time spent online, self-efficacy, and digital skills are all determined, through direct or indirect effects, by demographic variables (i.e. age, gender and socioeconomic status), even when age is held constant (Fizesan [Balea], 2012).

Drawing on the literature of digital inclusion, this article aims to show how differences in digi... more Drawing on the literature of digital inclusion, this article aims to show how differences in digital engagement among children from Romania and Bulgaria persist even if they incorporate the use of the Internet in their everyday lives. In order to identify variations in digital skills, self-efficacy and, therefore, in digital engagement of Romanian and Bulgarian 9-16 years old, a path analysis was conducted using AMOS. Demographic variables like age, gender, parental educational level (as a proxy for socioeconomic status) and parents' age were introduced in the model. Additionally, since factors like autonomy of use and the receipt of social support are likely to influence children's digital outcomes, the relations between these variables and those of skills, self-efficacy and digital engagement are also examined. Findings reveal that older children from higher educational backgrounds exhibit more digital skills and self-efficacy and a stronger digital engagement. Moreover, a more autonomous use and a higher amount of social support help children to be involved in more online activities. This analysis also reports differences of intergenerational digital transfer, with younger parents more supportive for their children's Internet usage, which is expected since in Romania and Bulgaria there are still significant intergenerational digital gaps.

Drawing on the EU Kids Online data, this article aims to emphasize how the differences in Interne... more Drawing on the EU Kids Online data, this article aims to emphasize how the differences in Internet use of adolescents in Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) persist in spite of their incorporation of the internet in their everyday life. The findings show that once children use the internet on a daily basis, demographic variables do not account for difference in use, but other factors fuel 'silent inequalities', which in turn reinforce already existing inequalities, digital and social. Adolescents who are online for more years, use the internet for a larger amount of time, have internet access from their bedroom, or are more skilled are more likely to engage in creative activities and therefore to undertake a wider range of online opportunities. Parental education (which also predicts parental digital literacy) influences the likelihood of children engaging in creative internet activities both in direct and indirect ways.