Abstract
Objectives
This research was designed to explore the opinions held by primary school pupils about the Internet as a source of assets for health and well-being.
Methods
A qualitative study was carried out based on 8 focus groups comprising 64 pupils from 8 primary schools in Spain.
Results
Our findings describe the Internet as a tool for learning, communication, fun and health care. In addition, they reveal how children understand influences on health and well-being in relation to their view of the Internet. The results are discussed in terms of the public-health implications of digital literacy, as well as its connection to well-being, especially in relation to health assets.
Conclusions
The Internet is an important resource for children’s health and well-being, which, through learning, communication, fun and health care, encourages them to make use of it. Digital and health literacy constitutes the foundation required for browsing the Internet in a positive way, as identified by the children interviewed in this study, and especially in relation to the health assets that the Internet can contain.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their deep gratitude to children and teachers who generously took part in the project. We also owe our deepest gratitude to Dr. Pablo Simón for their comments on the conceptual basis of this research. The study would not have been possible without financial support from the Andalusian Government’s Health Department (Exp. PI 0523/2010). The authors are also grateful for all the comments and suggestions received on earlier drafts of this paper by the editor and anonymous reviewers.
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This article is part of the special issue “Communication Technology, Media Use and the Health of Our Kids”.
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Hernán-García, M., Botello-Díaz, B., Marcos-Marcos, J. et al. Understanding children: a qualitative study on health assets of the Internet in Spain. Int J Public Health 60, 239–247 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0648-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0648-0