Information sources about face-to-face meetings with people from the Internet : Gendered influence on adolescents’ risk perception and behavior

Warning

This publication doesn't include Faculty of Arts. It includes Faculty of Social Studies. Official publication website can be found on muni.cz.
Authors

MÝLEK Vojtěch DĚDKOVÁ Lenka ŠMAHEL David

Year of publication 2023
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source New Media & Society
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Social Studies

Citation
Web https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14614448211014823
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448211014823
Keywords Adolescence; gender differences; information sources; online socializing; people from the Internet; risk perception
Attached files
Description Adolescents commonly make new social connections online that sometimes result in face-to-face meetings. Despite potential benefits, risk-focused discourse dominates public debates and shapes information shared by sources important for adolescents-news media, preventive programs, peers, parents, and teachers. Our study examines how information about face-to-face meetings from these sources relates to adolescents’ risk perception and engagement in such meetings. Using a sample of 707 Czech adolescents (aged 11–16?years, 46% male), we analyzed these effects for male and female adolescents to reflect the gendered nature of the risk-focused discourse. Male adolescents’ risk perception was not affected by information from any source. Female adolescents’ risk perception was negatively affected by information peers with prior experience with face-to-face meetings but not by other information sources. Female adolescents also perceived face-to-face meetings as riskier in general. We discuss gender differences and the limited impact of information sources on risk perception and provide practical recommendations.
Related projects:

You are running an old browser version. We recommend updating your browser to its latest version.