Digital Skills' Role in Intended and Unintended Exposure to Harmful Online Content Among European Adolescents

Abstract

Digital skills play a crucial role in shaping young people's online experiences, serving both as a shield against harmful content and as a gateway to accessing it. Previous studies on online harmful content have predominantly focused on general exposure, overlooking the distinction between intended and unintended exposure, i.e., whether the child deliberately sought out the content or was unexpectedly exposed to it. Moreover, existing studies did not consider the role of adolescents' digital skills in this matter. This exploratory study aims to newly examine the role of the subtypes of digital skills in intended and unintended exposure to harmful online content among children from four European countries, as well as the influence of protective and risk factors according to the Problem Behavior Theory. Using multinomial logistic regression, a sample of 3,934 children aged 12 to 17 (M = 14.4, SD = 1.3; 51% boys) from Estonia, Finland, Italy, and Poland was examined. The results show different associations with respect to the type of exposure. For instance, knowledge skills, and technical and operational skills were found to figure as risk factors for unintentional exposure to such content, but not for intentional exposure. Similarly, the protective role of the family was found in intentional exposure but not in unintentional exposure. These findings underscore the importance of raising awareness among educators and parents regarding the dual nature of digital skills. Rather than solely emphasizing their protective potential, we shall acknowledge and address the potential risks associated with certain facets of digital proficiency.