Abstract:

Today, the importance of consistent and systematic research how technology affects various aspects of the child’s life (learning, leisure, relationships with others, etc.) is constantly emphasized. The impact of technology on education often becomes the object of research, questions are asked and scientific solutions related to the change of teaching/learning methods and environments are sought, it is observed how technology changes children’s learning motivation, etc. These discussions are exacerbated and, at the same time, research is encouraged by the constant media coverage of how children become addicted to technology, how they are unable to distinguish between real life and virtual life, that a child immersed in technology becomes aggressive or loses interest in what is happening around him/her in real social environments. It is emphasized that the computer becomes a means of cognition, creation and self-expression of children’s world, changing their daily activities, leisure, promoting the change of content and forms of communication and cooperation. The opinion formed by the media often becomes significant when various social groups, including education, address the impact of computer activities on a child. This prompted the authors of the article to start a research to analyse how the image of the child as a computer user is formed through online social media.
The aim of the research – to reveal the image of the child as a computer user in the online media.

The methods of the research:
Analysis and synthesis of theoretical literature, content analysis.

The methodology of the research:
During the research, 22 online media articles, which were published on the most popular Lithuanian online informational news portal delfi.lt, were analysed. The articles were published in September 2019-February 2020, their main selection criteria – keywords in the title of the article: child, computer, computer technologies.

The results of the empirical research were analysed using the method of content analysis, revealing the meanings of the child as a computer user constructed in online media articles. The results of the research were structured by distinguishing the predominant categories and subcategories that reflect the image of the child as a computer user.

Results:
The analysis of scientific literature revealed that most researchers pay attention to the purpose of the computer and its functions in the lives of modern children and point out that children’s computer activities determine the interrelationships between family and school community, change them in a positive and sometimes negative direction. It is emphasized that the computer becomes not only a technological information, communication or playful tool, but also a part of the image of a modern child, which determines his/her social status among peers and speaks about contemporaneity, modernity.
The results of the empirical research show that the following characteristics of the child’s image as a computer user are emphasized in the online media: the child as a “maniac” of computer activities, who actively creates various virtual social connections (groups, communities); the child is mobile and communicates freely in the virtual space but in some cases tends to hide his/her identity; the child as a hero of fighting games is emphasized. Weaker features include: a child with limited relationships in real social situations or a child-researcher.

Keywords:

Child, computer, computer technologies, image, media.