According to the recent European survey, EU Kids Online, Norwegian children are exposed to hateful content more than most other European children. Only Czech children score higher. Also, there is no significant difference between girls and boys. Norwegian experts find it surprising and alerting.
The participants of the survey were asked whether they have visited websites where people discuss hatred messages directed against certain groups or individuals during the past 12 months. Elisabeth Staksrud, who has headed the Norwegian part of the survey, told NRK that hate websites are aimed at not only adults but also children and suggested there are some pages which are specifically aimed at children.
Staksrud identifies such sites as hate websites directed against individuals or groups in society. She emphasizes it is not the same as cyber bullying.
– These websites promote negative attitudes and hatred against other groups, but it can also be the individuals that children do not know. So it is not what we define as bullying, but there are web pages that is driven with hate ideology, says Staksrud to NRK.
Staksrud has no answer to why children go to these pages, but she hopes a new study for answering it can be initiated soon.
