Better Internet for Kids

A safe adult is a haven within the media streams  

Mannerheim League for Child Welfare’s (MLL) awareness-raising campaign ‘Blue light generation must be protected’ encourages parents and guardians to see the digital world through children's eyes. As part of the campaign, MLL released a video which aims to motivate families to talk about their digital practices and remind parents and caregivers to support their children living in the streams of digital media. As digital environments become more immersive and indefinite, it is necessary to strengthen children’s and young people’s online safety skills and help them navigate the platforms safely. One part of today’s media literacy is to learn to listen to one’s well-being and how the incidents of the online world affect it.  

At the same time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses new questions for media education and online safety. How do we distinguish trustworthy information from manipulated content? How is AI used ethically and safely? How do you discuss Artificial Intelligence with children? One engaging way to spark conversation on AI with children is simply to ask what they already know about it. What do you know about AI, and how do you think it appears on your devices? As one example, in the MLL’s campaign video called “AI Abyss”, the threats of the online world have been created and generated with AI.  

The video AI Abyss:

The ABCs of media education for homes 

The internet appears quite different to all of us. That is why it is vital to ask what children experience themselves and how they understand their online surroundings. Through conversation, we can better guide the children growing up in the middle of media reality into having safe digital experiences and interactions. 

Versatile media literacy will help a child stay afloat in the media streams. There are many ways to support the development of media literacy, including strengthening critical thinking abilities and digital friendship skills. Having an open conversation about media is one of the best methods of media education at home.  

At the very basic level, this is how you can support a child growing up in the digital sphere.

• Be available 
  Digital media are often a part of a child’s life even before they get their own devices. Try to see things from the child’s point of view when you yourself use digital devices. When you first introduce a digital device into a child’s life, use and explore it together with them. Children will need repetitive practice in what is safe and ok to share about yourself and others and to whom. They will also need help remembering how to take others into account and how to be a good friend online.  
   
• Listen and observe 
  Understanding your child's media landscape makes it easier to guide, support, and set limits around their media use. Show that you are interested in their media usage. Discuss and reflect on media use together.  For instance, ask, what did you do on your phone today? What was fun and what was not? Which digital topics are on the rise among your peers or circle of friends? How does using your phone or the content you see on social media make you feel? What have you been playing recently, and what videos have you seen? What did you think about them? Why do different people encounter different content on their online feeds? Did you interact with something that excited or bothered you? Is there anything you would like to talk about? Let us have a look together, could you show it to me? Most importantly, can I help you with anything now or later?  
   
• Educate by example 
  As adults, we show by daily example how to use digital devices, when to use them, when not to, and how to relate to technology. We also demonstrate how to treat other people every day. Treating yourself as a unique and valuable being will help your child set boundaries for themselves online and offline. Growing up, children will encounter digital content without adult supervision. When that happens, their media literacy and safety skills will help them stay afloat.  

A safe digital environment is a joint effort 

The technologies of today are developed by mechanisms much larger than the child. Parents and children should not be left to deal with this development alone. There is a demand for technologies that better consider children’s well-being. Applications, games, digital services, and platforms should be developed not only considering children but also in collaboration with children. Children’s rights apply also in digital environments. Media education and the development of games and information technology that keep children’s rights in mind are tools for ensuring the safety, well-being, and participation in the everyday lives of children, also online.

The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare is part of the Finnish Safer Internet Centre (FISIC) with the National Audiovisual Institute and Save the Children Finland. 

Find out more about the work of the Finnish Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.