Understanding children and young people as digital citizens

This final DigiGen working paper summarises our key findings and research based recommendations for policy and practice. This is enhanced with the development of a conceptual model which aims to understand how children and young people shape of digital technology within and across the domains of their everyday lives, labelling these domains the digital ecosystems. The model considers the vulnerability and risks that the younger generation face but also the competence-building, skill enhancing creativity brought forth by their own initiative and agency.

"The results of the research from DigiGen do show a continued lack of equal access (digital depravation), which can affect children’s and young people’s engagement and confidence in using digital technology. In our work on the family, we find that a lack of access can contribute to exacerbating inequalities as children and their parents may not be able to develop sufficient digital competences to be able to understand risks or to take measures to avoid them. The importance of parental mediation and the avoidance of overprotection should be explored further as an important contribution to understanding how this can contribute to reducing harm and increasing the benefits of digital technology. For children and young people their leisure time activities are a fundamental element in their socialisation." (p.5) "For education challenges seem to revolve more around lack of teacher’s competence as children and young people often feel their own digital skills surpass those of their teachers. Yet, digital inequalities within education exist, which can increase already existing vulnerabilities (both situational and innate). Both within and between the countries participating in this project there exist large gaps where some children and young people do not have the same access to digital devices."(p.6)