"It's not right for me to see horrible stuff": New Zealand Children's Internet Experiences
Abstract: With the increasing availability and use of the Internet by children (Bushong 2002; Dombrowski, LeMasney, Ahia & Dickson 2004) has come an increase in concern regarding how safe it is for them to do so. Research indicates that children are finding and being upset by objectionable materials on the Internet, but provides no consensus as to what proportion of children are being upset by what they see on the Internet, nor is it clear exactly what type of materials they find upsetting. Children in New Zealand appear to be more safety conscious when using the Internet with fewer unpleasant experiences than reported in the international literature. Further research is needed to determine whether this is indeed the case, and if so, identify what it is that these children are doing that can be used to help children in other countries minimise the chances of becoming distressed while using the Internet.