South Australian Digital Youth Survey: Research Report: Year 1 Results

Abstract

The South Australian Digital Youth Survey (DYS) is a world-first longitudinal project exploring how adolescents use digital technology and how this changes over the course of adolescence. The project examines the links between how adolescents use technology and pathways into cyber risk-taking. In studying these links, this project seeks to identify the technical, social, and individual circumstances by which adolescents get drawn into cyber risk-taking. Understanding more about these circumstances will inform the development of prevention measures to mitigate such risk. To accomplish this task, the DYS involves a longitudinal survey of a cohort of South Australian Year 8 students commencing in 2018. A total of 18 government schools from the Adelaide Metropolitan Region (i.e. located within 100 kilometres of the CBD) participated in the project with 1,921 students1 completing wave 1 of a paper-based survey. This research report presents results from the first wave of data collection. We will provide longitudinal findings from the DYS at conclusion of wave 2 of the survey (Q1 2020) and at subsequent waves.