FMP- Research and Findings

The research that I have carried out was a combination of two different interviews. This has changed slightly from my original plan, as I have had a number of issues with the organisation of the focus groups. This plan was in fact plan C for my research! Plan A was originally to visit my local primary school and talk to a few of the older children for my research. However the school had contacted me at a later date, informing me that they cannot go ahead because of SATs at the time. My backup plan (plan B) was discussed with my tutor Jo, who gave me a contact that I could email, this specific contact is involved with two youth clubs near me. I emailed him and I received an automated email back, mentioning that he is currently on holiday and won't be back until 8th May, which would be cutting it a bit fine with the deadline. So that is the explanation of why I have resulted in plan C.

The Interviews:

The first interview was with Ruby, aged 13, which is part my target audience of children aged between 8-13. The other interview, was Heather, aged 48, who is a parent and is of an older generation. In these interviews I got a variety of results ranging from one extreme to the other. For example, one said that social media is a bad influence on younger children and that it could lead them to isolation and bullying. Whereas on the other hand, another said it is completely ok and that it helps children connect and 'fit in', actually avoiding the chance of physical bullying. Both of these I believe are valid reasons and because of the interview method, it has helped with the understanding of these points. This is because it enables people to explain their reasonings, as in comparison to a survey where the answers are very black and white.

The main points which I found out from Ruby's interview:

• That she is on Facebook purely for the games.
• Has Facebook and Instagram.
• Her mum does know about the social media accounts she is on.
• She knows everyone linked to her account.
• She does take notice of the posters around school.
• Is careful with her passwords and log in details.

I will a link to the feedback below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EJglESQ_J5ST791qK6JJltDPEskuaoyqZhNLVaBuk64/edit?usp=sharing

The main points which I found out from Heather's interview:

• Was aware of daughter's social media account.
• Concerned of how much time her daughter spends on Facebook.
• Does take notice of the posters around school.
• Trusts her daughter to be safe with passwords.
• Is unsure of online games and if they use their own online messaging platform.

I will include a link to the audio of this interview:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ozmGisBBAONVFmLWZGVHNQejQ/view?usp=sharing