This past year, we’ve really experienced how we, with the help of digitalisation, have created new and exciting opportunities in our everyday lives. Workplaces, schools and other businesses have been forced to take giant digital leaps forward. Lessons have been recorded and made available digitally so that students can participate in them afterwards, for example, if they have been ill. Youth centres all over the country have been digitised and offer online dance classes and yoga, e-sports, chats, and other digital activities for children and young people.
However, as we spend more and more time online, the dangers also increase. How are children and young people affected by a widespread digital everyday life where friends, school, games and dance videos are mixed with bullying and the exploitation of sensitive personal data? What kind of problems do they experience themselves, and how can we, as adults, empower them to navigate safely within their digital worlds? These questions, and many more, were discussed on Safer Internet Day 2021 in a webinar arranged by The Swedish Media Council and the children’s rights organisation Bris.
Participants in the panel included the Director of The Swedish Media Council, Anette Novak, the General Secretary of Bris, Magnus Jägerskog, a representative from The Ombudsman for Children in Sweden and Stockholm University, Kim Ringmar Sylwander, and a youth representative from Save the Children Sweden and The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights, Elias Artur Fjellander.
All of the panellists stressed the importance of adult participation online. Parents, teachers, youth workers, and other adults who interact with children need to increase their internet and media knowledge. It should be as natural for parents to ask their children what they are doing online as it is to ask them what they are doing in school.
“The internet and being online is unavoidable for kids today. It's everywhere from the playroom to the schoolyard to the confidential conversation in the classrooms”, says Anette Novak, Director of the Swedish Media Council.
There are certain groups of kids and youths that are extra exposed to harmful online activities. One of these groups is, for example, girls with neuropsychiatric disabilities. According to a recent report by the Swedish Media Council, 65 per cent of girls aged 13-16 with a neuropsychiatric diagnosis have experienced that someone has asked them for lightly dressed pictures. These alarming numbers show that this specific group might be of extra importance when it comes to developing materials and creating preventative measures.
To be subjected to violations online, especially when it comes to sexual violations, can cause feelings of shame. Children who have been in situations like these might not turn to a parent or even a teacher to talk about what they have been experiencing. Hence, helplines where the kids can be anonymous are important. The children’s rights agency, Bris, which serves as the Swedish helpline within the Safer Internet Centre (SIC), has seen a big increase in internet-related questions from kids in the past five years.
“Adults who see, hear and understand. That is the most important protection factor for children and young people, both online and offline”, said Magnus Jägerskog, General Secretary of Bris.
Find out more about Safer Internet Day in Sweden. Alternatively, find out more about the work of the Swedish Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.
This past year, we’ve really experienced how we, with the help of digitalisation, have created new and exciting opportunities in our everyday lives. Workplaces, schools and other businesses have been forced to take giant digital leaps forward. Lessons have been recorded and made available digitally so that students can participate in them afterwards, for example, if they have been ill. Youth centres all over the country have been digitised and offer online dance classes and yoga, e-sports, chats, and other digital activities for children and young people.
However, as we spend more and more time online, the dangers also increase. How are children and young people affected by a widespread digital everyday life where friends, school, games and dance videos are mixed with bullying and the exploitation of sensitive personal data? What kind of problems do they experience themselves, and how can we, as adults, empower them to navigate safely within their digital worlds? These questions, and many more, were discussed on Safer Internet Day 2021 in a webinar arranged by The Swedish Media Council and the children’s rights organisation Bris.
Participants in the panel included the Director of The Swedish Media Council, Anette Novak, the General Secretary of Bris, Magnus Jägerskog, a representative from The Ombudsman for Children in Sweden and Stockholm University, Kim Ringmar Sylwander, and a youth representative from Save the Children Sweden and The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights, Elias Artur Fjellander.
All of the panellists stressed the importance of adult participation online. Parents, teachers, youth workers, and other adults who interact with children need to increase their internet and media knowledge. It should be as natural for parents to ask their children what they are doing online as it is to ask them what they are doing in school.
“The internet and being online is unavoidable for kids today. It's everywhere from the playroom to the schoolyard to the confidential conversation in the classrooms”, says Anette Novak, Director of the Swedish Media Council.
There are certain groups of kids and youths that are extra exposed to harmful online activities. One of these groups is, for example, girls with neuropsychiatric disabilities. According to a recent report by the Swedish Media Council, 65 per cent of girls aged 13-16 with a neuropsychiatric diagnosis have experienced that someone has asked them for lightly dressed pictures. These alarming numbers show that this specific group might be of extra importance when it comes to developing materials and creating preventative measures.
To be subjected to violations online, especially when it comes to sexual violations, can cause feelings of shame. Children who have been in situations like these might not turn to a parent or even a teacher to talk about what they have been experiencing. Hence, helplines where the kids can be anonymous are important. The children’s rights agency, Bris, which serves as the Swedish helpline within the Safer Internet Centre (SIC), has seen a big increase in internet-related questions from kids in the past five years.
“Adults who see, hear and understand. That is the most important protection factor for children and young people, both online and offline”, said Magnus Jägerskog, General Secretary of Bris.
Find out more about Safer Internet Day in Sweden. Alternatively, find out more about the work of the Swedish Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.
- Safer Internet Day (SID) media literacy campaign
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