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UNU Alm.del Bilag 38
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SUMMARY
THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
Children in a
Digital World
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL
MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017
00:01 (GMT)
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To download the
full report, please visit
www.unicef.org/SOWC2017
Published by UNICEF Division of Communication
3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA
[email protected]
www.unicef.org
© United Nations Children’s Fund
December 2017
Front cover image: Children at St. Columba’s School in Delhi,
India, use a mobile phone. © UNICEF/UN036675/Sharma
ISBN 978-92-806-4938-3
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SUMMARY
THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
Children in a
Digital World
The State of the World’s Children 2017
examines the
ways in which digital technology has already changed
children’s lives and life chances – and explores what
the future may hold.
If leveraged in the right way and universally accessible,
digital technology can be a game changer for children
being left behind – whether because of poverty, race,
ethnicity, gender, disability, displacement or geographic
isolation – connecting them to a world of opportunity
and providing them with the skills they need to succeed
in a digital world.
But unless we expand access, digital technology may
create new divides that prevent children from fulilling their
potential. And if we don’t act now to keep pace with rapid
change, online risks may make vulnerable children more
susceptible to exploitation, abuse and even traficking –
as well as more subtle threats to their well-being.
This report argues for faster action, focused investment
and greater cooperation to protect children from the
harms of a more connected world – while harnessing
the opportunities of the digital age to beneit every child.
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Contents
Foreword
Key messages
Introduction: Children in a digital world
U-report poll: What do adolescents and youth
think of life online?
1
3
6
10
Chapter 1
DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY – The promise of connectivity
Chapter 2
DIGITAL DIVIDES – Missed opportunities
Chapter 3
DIGITAL DANGERS – The harms of life online
Chapter 4
DIGITAL CHILDHOODS – Living online
Chapter 5
DIGITAL PRIORITIES – Harness the good, limit the harm
12
16
20
24
28
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FOREWORD
1
Foreword
The State of the World’s Children 2017
is about an extraordinary subject that
increasingly affects almost every aspect of
life for millions of children around the world
and, indeed, for us all: digital technology.
As the inluence of digital technology –
and especially the internet – has increased,
the debate about its impact has grown
louder: Is it a boon to humankind, offering
unlimited opportunity for communication
and commerce, learning and free
expression? Or is it a threat to our way
of life, undermining the social fabric,
even the political order, and threatening
our well-being?
This is an interesting but essentially
academic debate. Because for better and
for worse, digital technology is a fact of
our lives. Irreversibly.
For better:
The boy living with cerebral palsy, interacting
online on an equal footing with his peers,
for the irst time in his life his
abilities
more
‘visible’ than his
disability.
The girl who led the violence in the Syrian
Arab Republic with her family, recapturing
her future guided by a teacher at the Za’atari
refugee camp as she uses a digital tablet
to learn.
A boy driven nearly to suicide by
cyberbullying that follows him everywhere.
A 14-year-old girl whose ex-boyfriend
created a social media proile featuring nude
pictures he forced her to take of herself.
An eight-year-old girl in the Philippines
forced to perform live-stream sex acts by
a neighbour who operates a child sexual
abuse website.
The young blogger in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo using the internet
to report on the lack of safe water and
sanitation and other serious issues
in his community.
For worse:
The girl who is forbidden by the rules
of her family or her society to go online,
missing out on the chance to learn and
connect with friends.
The teenager whose personal
information is misused by marketers
and shared online.
The boy whose video game habit has
taken over his life, at least according
to his parents.
And worse still:
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2
UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
Beyond the harm to individual children that
digital technology can enable or abet is its
capacity to incite violence on a massive
scale that affects the lives and futures of
hundreds of thousands of children. We need
look no further for conirmation of this grim
potential than an insidious social media
campaign in Myanmar this year that incited
horriic violence against members of the
Rohingya ethnic minority, which resulted
in the killing and maiming of children and
forced hundreds of thousands to lee
towards uncertain futures.
The internet is all of these things, relecting
and amplifying the best and worst of human
nature. It is a tool that will always be used
for good and for ill. Our job is to mitigate the
harms and expand the opportunities digital
technology makes possible.
That’s what this report is about. It surveys
the landscape of digital opportunity as
it relates to – and affects – children. It
examines the digital divides that prevent
millions of children from accessing through
the internet new opportunities to learn
and, someday, to participate in the digital
economy, helping to break intergenerational
cycles of poverty.
It also explores the undeniably dark side
of the internet and digital technology, from
cyberbullying to online child sexual abuse to
dark web transactions and currencies that
can make it easier to conceal traficking and
other illegal activities that harm children.
It reviews some of the debates about less
obvious harms children may suffer from life
in a digital age – from digital dependencies
to the possible impact of digital technology
on brain development and cognition. And it
outlines a set of practical recommendations
that can help guide more effective
policymaking and more responsible business
practices to beneit children in a digital age.
Equally important, this report includes
the perspectives of children and young
people on the impact of digital technology
in their lives – telling their own stories
about the issues that most affect them.
Their voices matter ever more – and
are louder than ever before – in a digital
world. A world they are not only inheriting,
but helping to shape.
By protecting children from the worst
digital technology has to offer, and
expanding their access to the best,
we can tip the balance for the better.
Anthony Lake
UNICEF Executive Director
© UNICEF/UN024828/Nesbitt
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KEY MESSAGES
3
The State of the World’s Children — Children in a Digital World
Key messages
Digital technology has already changed
the world – and as more and more
children go online around the world,
it is increasingly changing childhood.
Youth (ages 15–24) are the most
connected age group. Worldwide,
71 per cent are online compared with
48 per cent of the total population.
Children and adolescents under 18
account for an estimated one in three
internet users around the world.
A growing body of evidence indicates
that children are accessing the internet
at increasingly younger ages. In some
countries, children under 15 are as likely
to use the internet as adults over 25.
Smartphones are fuelling a ‘bedroom
culture’, with online access for many children
becoming more personal, more private
and less supervised.
Digital technologies can deliver economic
opportunity by providing young people with
training opportunities and job-matching
services, and by creating new kinds of work.
To accelerate learning, information
and communication technology (ICT) in
education needs to be backed by training
for teachers and strong pedagogy.
But digital access is becoming the new
dividing line, as millions of the children
who could most beneit from digital
technology are missing out.
About 29 per cent of youth worldwide –
around 346 million individuals – are
not
online.
African youth are the least connected.
Around 60 per cent are not online, compared
with just 4 per cent in Europe.
Digital divides go beyond the question
of access. Children who rely on mobile
phones rather than computers may get
only a second-best online experience,
and those who lack digital skills or speak
minority languages often can’t ind relevant
content online.
Digital divides also mirror prevailing
economic gaps, amplifying the advantages
of children from wealthier backgrounds and
failing to deliver opportunities to the poorest
and most disadvantaged children.
There is a digital gender gap as well.
Globally, 12 per cent more men than women
used the internet in 2017. In India, less than
one third of internet users are female.
Connectivity can be a game
changer for some of the world’s
most marginalized children, helping
them fulil their potential and break
intergenerational cycles of poverty.
Digital technologies are bringing
opportunities for learning and education to
children, especially in remote regions and
during humanitarian crises.
Digital technologies also allow children
to access information on issues that affect
their communities and can give them a role
in helping to solve them.
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4
UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
“One of the key challenges many young people are struggling with
is the proper veriication of sources. Even though technological
innovations have accelerated the pace of life, it’s important that we
take our time to check the validity, credibility and overall quality
of the sources of information that we use.”
DENNAR GARY ALVAREZ
MEJIA, 19,
SANTA
CRUZ DE LA SIERRA,
PLURINATIONAL STATE
OF BOLIVIA
Digital technology can also
make children more susceptible
to harm both online and off. Already
vulnerable children may be at greater
risk of harm, including loss of privacy.
ICTs are intensifying traditional
childhood risks, such as bullying, and
fuelling new forms of child abuse and
exploitation, such as ‘made-to-order’ child
sexual abuse material and live streaming
of child sexual abuse.
Predators can more easily make
contact with unsuspecting children through
anonymous and unprotected social media
proiles and game forums.
New technologies – like cryptocurrencies
and the Dark Web – are fuelling live
streaming of child sexual abuse and other
harmful content, and challenging the ability
of law enforcement to keep up.
VOICES OF YOUTH
Young bloggers
speak out
Voices of Youth is UNICEF’s
digital platform for young people
to learn more about issues
affecting their lives. This vibrant
community of youth bloggers
from all over the world offers
inspiring, original insights and
opinions on a variety of topics.
Full articles by youth contributors
featured in
The State of the
World’s Children 2017
can
be found at: http://www.
voicesofyouth.org/en/sections/
content/pages/sowc-2017
The potential impact of ICTs on
children’s health and happiness is
a matter of growing public concern
– and an area that is ripe for further
research and data.
Although most children who are online
view it as a positive experience, many
parents and teachers worry that immersion
in screens is making children depressed,
creating internet dependency and even
contributing to obesity.
Inconsistent advice can be confusing
for caregivers and educators, underlining
the need for more high-quality research
on the impact of ICTs on well-being.
Researchers acknowledge that
excessive use of digital technology can
contribute to childhood depression and
anxiety. Conversely, children who struggle
ofline can sometimes develop friendships
and receive social support online that they
are not receiving elsewhere.
For most children, underlying issues
– such as depression or problems at
home – have a greater impact on health
and happiness than screen time.
Taking a ‘Goldilocks’ approach
to children’s screen time – not too
much, not too little – and focusing
more on what children are doing online
and less on how long they are online,
can better protect them and help
them make the most of their time online.
Ninety-two per cent of all child sexual
abuse URLs identiied globally by the
Internet Watch Foundation are hosted in
just ive countries: the Netherlands, the
United States, Canada, France and the
Russian Federation.
Efforts to protect children need to focus
particularly on vulnerable and disadvantaged
children, who may be less likely to
understand online risks – including loss
of privacy – and more likely to suffer harms.
While attitudes vary by culture, children
often turn irst to their peers when they
experience risks and harms online, making
it harder for parents to protect their children.
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KEY MESSAGES
5
“In Benin, a lot of young people and children do not have access
to digital technologies and the internet. This lack of access to the
digital world puts young people at a grave disadvantage. I have
been in numerous situations where the lack of internet access was
a serious problem.”
EMMANUELLA AYIVI, 15,
COTONOU, BENIN
The private sector – especially in the
technology and telecommunication
industries – has a special responsibility
and a unique ability to shape the
impact of digital technology on children.
The power and inluence of the private
sector should be leveraged to advance
industry-wide ethical standards on data
and privacy, as well as other practices that
beneit and protect children online.
Governments can promote market
strategies and incentives that foster
innovation and competition among
service providers to help lower the cost
of connecting to the internet, thereby
expanding access for disadvantaged
children and families.
Technology and internet companies
should take steps to prevent their networks
and services from being used by offenders
to collect and distribute child sexual
abuse images or commit other violations
against children.
Media stories about the potential
impact of connectivity on children’s healthy
development and well-being should
be grounded in empirical research and
data analysis.
And internet companies should work
with partners to create more locally
developed and locally relevant content,
especially content for children who speak
minority languages, live in remote locations
and belong to marginalized groups.
The State of the World’s Children 2017
concludes with six
priority actions to harness the power of digitalization while
beneiting the most disadvantaged children and limiting harm
to the most vulnerable.
1.
Provide all children with affordable access to high-quality
online resources.
2.
Protect children from harm online – including abuse, exploitation,
traficking, cyberbullying and exposure to unsuitable materials.
3.
Safeguard children’s privacy and identities online.
4.
Teach digital literacy to keep children informed, engaged and
safe online.
5.
Leverage the power of the private sector to advance ethical
standards and practices that protect and beneit children online.
6.
Put children at the centre of digital policy.
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UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
Introduction:
Children in
a digital world
Like globalization and urbanization, ‘digitalization’ has already
changed the world. The rapid proliferation of information and
communication technology (ICT) is an unstoppable force, touching
virtually every sphere of modern life, from economies to societies
to cultures … and shaping everyday life.
Childhood is no exception. From the
moment hundreds of millions of children
enter the world, they are steeped in a
steady stream of digital communication
and connection – from the way their
medical care is managed and delivered
to the online pictures of their irst
precious moments.
As children grow, the capacity of
digitalization to shape their life experiences
grows with them, offering seemingly
limitless opportunities to learn and to
socialize, to be counted and to be heard.
Especially for children living in remote
locations, or those held back by poverty,
exclusion and emergencies that force them
to lee their homes,
digital technology and
innovation can open a door to a better
future,
offering greater access to learning,
communities of interest, markets and
services, and other beneits that can
help them fulil their potential, in turn
breaking cycles of disadvantage.
But millions of children do not enjoy that
access, or their
access is intermittent or
of inferior quality
– and they are most often
the children who are already most deprived.
This only compounds their deprivation,
effectively denying them the skills and
knowledge that could help them fulil their
potential and helping
break intergenerational
cycles of disadvantage and poverty.
Digital technology and interactivity also pose
signiicant
risks to children’s safety, privacy
and well-being,
magnifying threats and
harms that many children already face ofline
and making already vulnerable children
even more vulnerable.
Even as ICT has made it easier to share
knowledge and collaborate, so, too, has it
made it
easier to produce, distribute and
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INTRODUCTION
7
share sexually explicit material
and other
illegal content that exploits and abuses
children. Such technology has opened
new channels for the
traficking of children
and new means of concealing those
transactions from law enforcement. It has
also made it far easier for children to access
inappropriate and potentially harmful content
– and, more shockingly, to produce such
content themselves.
Even as ICT has made it easier for children
to connect to one another and share
experiences online, it has also made it easier
to use those
new channels of connectivity
and communication for online bullying,
with
a much greater reach – and thus potentially
greater risk – than ofline bullying. Similarly,
it has increased opportunities for wider
misuse and exploitation of children’s privacy,
and changed the way children regard their
own private information.
Even as the internet and digital entertainment
have spurred tremendous creativity and
expanded children’s access to a wealth of
enriching and entertaining content, they have
also raised questions of
digital dependency,
and ‘screen addiction’, among children.
And even as such technologies have greatly
enlarged platforms for the free expression
of ideas, they have also broadened the
distribution of hate speech and other negative
content that can shape our children’s view
of the world – and of themselves.
Some of the impacts of digitalization on
children’s well-being are not universally
agreed. Indeed, some are the subject of
growing public debate among policymakers
and parents
alike. And while the potentially
equalizing power of digitalization on
children’s chances in life cannot be denied,
that promise has yet to be realized.
These challenges will only intensify as the
reach and range of digitalization expands
and its many opportunities continue to be
exploited commercially and otherwise.
More digital devices, online platforms and
application will be available for children’s
use. The Internet of Things, artiicial
intelligence and machine learning are
here to stay, creating new opportunities
but also new challenges.
What can governments, international
organizations, civil society, communities,
families and children themselves do to
help limit the harms of a more connected
world, while harnessing the opportunities
of a digital world to beneit every child?
First and foremost, we need to
identify and
close the gaps:
in access to quality online
resources, in knowledge about how children
use the internet and children’s knowledge
of how to protect themselves online,
and in both policymaking and regulatory
frameworks that have not caught up with
the pace of change.
Despite the rapid spread of access to
digital and online experiences around the
world, there are still
wide gaps in children’s
access to digital and communications
technology.
Access to ICTs – and the quality
of that access – has become
a new dividing
line.
For example, children whose access
is limited to a small range of local content
services viewed via inferior devices with
a slow connection are missing out on the
full range of content and opportunities
their better-connected peers enjoy.
These disparities mirror and potentially
exacerbate those already affecting
disadvantaged children ofline.
Gaps in our knowledge about children’s lives
online, including the
impact of connectivity
on cognition, learning and social emotional
development,
make it more dificult to
develop dynamic policies that get ahead
of issues by addressing risks and making
the most of opportunities. Gaps in our
understanding about
how children feel
about
their experience of connectivity – including
their perceptions of risks – further limit us.
There are also clear gaps in
children’s
knowledge about risks online, and despite
rapidly increasing usage among children
“
State of the
The
World’s Children
2017
provides a
timely review based
on prevailing and
new data sources
of children’s lives
in a digital world –
examining the evidence
and exploring key
controversies, as
well as proposing
principles and concrete
recommendations.
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8
UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
and adolescents, many lack digital skills
and the critical ability to gauge the safety
and credibility of content and relationships
they experience online. This relects a need
for much more widespread
digital literacy
opportunities
that can both safeguard
and empower children.
Finally, and crucially, all these gaps both
relect and produce
lags in policymaking:
regulatory frameworks for digital protection,
digital opportunity, digital governance and
digital accountability are not keeping pace
with the rapidly changing digital landscape,
and are overlooking
the unique impact
digital technologies have on children.
If left unclosed, those regulatory gaps will
quickly be exploited. There is no shortage
of principles and guidelines for digital
policymaking; what is lacking is
consistent
coordination and a commitment to tackling
common challenges
with children’s
interests at the fore.
Especially now, as the world works to
realize the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development,
ICTs and the internet can be
powerful enablers, helping realize the promise
of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) to
leave no one behind.
But action –
by governments, international organizations,
civil society, academia, the private sector,
and families, children and young people –
must match the pace of change.
The State of the World’s Children 2017:
Children in a Digital World
provides a
timely review based on prevailing and
The constant churn of new
technologies, such as virtual
reality – enjoyed here by
12-year-old Mansoor in the
Za’atari refugee camp, Jordan –
is making it hard for policy
to keep up.
© UNICEF/UN051295/Herwig
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INTRODUCTION
9
new data sources of children’s lives in
a digital world – examining the evidence,
discussing the issues and exploring
some of the key controversies, as well
as proposing principles and concrete
recommendations.
Throughout, the report presents the
perspectives of industry leaders and
digital activists, and includes the views
of children and young people, gleaned
through adolescent workshops carried out
in 26 countries, a specially commissioned
U-Report poll that asked adolescents in
24 countries about their digital experiences,
commentary by youth bloggers from
UNICEF’s Voices of Youth, and analysis
drawn from the pioneering Global Kids
Online Survey.
The report concludes with
priority
actions and practical recommendations
for how society can harness the power
of digitalization to beneit the most
disadvantaged children and limit the
harms to protect those children who
are most vulnerable. These actions
and recommendations underscore
the need to provide all children with
affordable access to high-quality online
resources; protect children from harm
online; safeguard children’s privacy
and
identities online;
teach digital literacy
to
keep children informed, engaged and safe
online;
leverage the power of the private
sector
to advance ethical standards and
practices that protect and beneit children
online; and
put children at the centre
of digital policy.
Despite the rapid spread of
access to digital and online
experiences around the world,
there are still
wide gaps in
children’s access to digital and
communications technology.
YOUTH IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES ARE LEAST LIKELY TO CONNECT
PROPORTION OF YOUTH (15–24) WHO ARE NOT USING THE INTERNET (%)
Note:
This map does not reflect
a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the
delimitation of any frontiers. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and
Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed
upon by the parties. The final boundary between the Sudan and South Sudan has not yet been determined.
The final status of the Abyei area has not yet been determined.
Source:
International Telecommunication Union estimates, 2017
.
Percentage
0
20
40
60
80
100
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10
UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
What do adolescents
and youth think of
life online?
As part of the research for
The State of the World’s
Children 2017,
U‑Report – an innovative social
messaging tool used by nearly 4 million young
people around the world to share their views on
a range of common concerns – sent four questions
to U‑Reporters worldwide. The poll garnered a
total of 63,000 responses. Data highlighted here
reflect
the responses of adolescents and youth
(ages 13–24) from 24 countries.*
What do you like
about the internet?
Learning things for
school or health
40%
Learning skills I can’t
learn at school
How did you learn
to use the internet?
Learned on their own
Honduras
CAR
Indonesia
Burundi
24%
Brazil
42%
69% of young people in
Honduras said they learned
on their own compared to
19% in the Central African
Republic (CAR).
“Learning skills that I
can’t learn at school”
was especially
important to those
in Indonesia (47%),
Burundi (35%)
and Brazil (34%).
Learned from friends or siblings
Reported more
often by those
in low‑income
countries.
Read about politics and/or
improving my community
More popular
among older
age groups.
39%
9%
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FOREWORD
11
https://ureport.in
What do you dislike
about the internet?
Violence
Girls
Boys
What would make the
internet better for you?
Young people from low-income
countries were 2.5 times more likely to
ask for greater access to digital devices
23%
Girls are more likely
to be upset by violence
(27% vs. 20% for boys).
Unwanted sexual content
Girls
Boys
33%
Reported equally by
girls (32%) and boys (33%).
31%
12%
10%
High
income
9%
Upper
middle
income
Low-income countries
High-income countries
Low
income
Lower
middle
income
Young people in low-income countries are more
likely to be upset by unwanted sexual content
(42% vs. 16% in high-income countries).
“There is nothing I dislike
about the internet.”
13%
3%
Low-income countries
High-income countries
* Only countries with a minimum of 100 respondents
each were included in the ‘country’ category analysis,
namely: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad,
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
India, Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia,
Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Thailand and Ukraine.
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01
Opportunity:
Digital
The promise
of connectivity
CHAPTER 1: KEY POINTS
Digital technology
has enormous potential
to extend the reach and
improve the quality of
education – but what is
wrong with education
cannot be fixed by
technology alone. To
improve children’s
learning, digital tools
must be supported
with
strong teachers,
motivated learners
and sound pedagogy.
Connected children
and youth are making
their voices heard
through blogs, videos,
social media, magazines,
cartoons, hashtags,
podcasts and other
forms. They recognize
the potential of digital
tools to help them
access information
and seek solutions
to problems affecting
their communities.
The digital economy
is opening up new
markets and creating job
opportunities, including
for youth without
specialized skills.
Digital technologies
are increasingly being
used to help one of the
world’s most vulnerable
groups: children
caught in humanitarian
situations. ICTs are
being used to
enhance
communication and
information sharing,
facilitate digital cash
transfers and generate
new forms of data
that
can beneit children and
families in emergencies.
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01
DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY: THE PROMISE OF CONNECTIVITY
13
This chapter looks at the opportunities digitalization offers to children
everywhere, but especially children disadvantaged by poverty, exclusion,
conflicts and other crises. For example, ICTs are bringing education to
children in remote parts of Brazil and Cameroon and to girls in Afghanistan
who cannot leave their homes. ICTs are also enabling child bloggers
and reporters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to advocate for
their rights. They’re increasingly supporting children and their families in
emergencies. And they’re literally giving a voice to children with disabilities:
“The day
I received an electronic notepad connected to the internet, my
life literally changed,” Ivan Bakaidov, an 18‑year‑old with cerebral palsy,
writes in this report.
There are countless stories and
examples of how
children around the
world are capturing opportunities to learn
and enjoy themselves online and to shape
their own paths into adulthood. These
opportunities must be considered alongside
the reality that they are not available to
millions of children, as well as the risks
of life online and the potential impact of
connectivity on children’s well-being.
But they provide an exciting glimpse of
what is already happening and a sense
of what could happen in the future.
The idea that digital connectivity could
transform education has attracted global
interest and opened up new possibilities,
as development organizations, commercial
software and hardware producers and
educational institutions develop, pilot and
try to scale up new digital products and
services in the education sector. ICTs are
already expanding access to high-quality
educational content, including textbooks,
video material and remote instruction,
and at a much lower cost than in the past.
They can potentially increase student
motivation by making learning more fun
and relatable. And they have the potential
to create opportunities for personalized
learning, helping students to learn at their
own pace and helping educators with limited
resources provide students with better
learning opportunities.
How well are digital technologies fulilling
this promise? Without question, they have
opened access to learning opportunities
for children around the world, especially
those in remote regions. They have allowed
children to participate in e-learning and
to access a wide range of educational
and learning content that was unavailable
to previous generations of children.
But when it comes to whether or not
digital technologies are accelerating
learning in the classroom, the picture has
up to now been much more mixed. ICTs
have already opened avenues for children
to develop, learn, participate and improve
themselves and their situation. However,
these beneits are far from equally shared –
and the beneits and opportunities emerging
for children do not necessarily look the
same in all parts of the world.
Assessing the extent to which these
opportunities can expand, and the
actual beneits they bring for children,
is challenging. This underscores the need
for more research and evaluation to better
understand how children are availing
themselves of opportunities in the digital
age and, especially, to understand why
some children beneit more than others.
To transform opportunities into real beneits
for children in a digital age, especially
“
technology
Digital
could be the great game
changer of our time
if it is used to give all
children a fair chance,
starting with those
most left behind.
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14
UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
for learning, participation and social
inclusion, it is
critical to understand the
context of children’s digital experiences
and provide adequate guidance and
support, especially for children on the
move, excluded children and those
living with disabilities.
Technology is still at the service
of human capacities and human
constraints. In education, these would
include student motivation, teacher
capability and sound pedagogy. Evidence
suggests that technology has beneits
where positive human forces for
learning are already in place. A digital
tool cannot ix dysfunctional bureaucracies
or decrease educational inequality
where these are not being addressed
by the larger society.
To truly beneit children, especially the
most disadvantaged, the design process
for digital products must begin by
considering children’s speciic needs –
using the principles of Universal Design
as a guiding reference, for example.
Connected children see digital connectivity
as an overwhelmingly positive part of their
lives. Their enthusiasm, fascination and
motivation to connect is a relection of
the clear power and potential these tools
have to offer – not just to improve their
everyday lives but also to expand their
chances for a better future. This power
and potential fully needs to be supported,
in particular by bringing connectivity to as
many children as possible and giving them
the skills to maximize the beneits of life
in the digital world.
Voices from
The State of the
World’s Children 2017
workshops
“My sister made a video call from
Spain and illed my family with joy.”
BOY, 16, PERU
“I learned coding through YouTube.
I watched so many videos about coding.”
GIRL, 17, BANGLADESH
“I will use technology to change the
world. Use it to design better stuff,
create new things, and make education
more interesting through technology.”
BOY, 17, FIJI
“If we do not use the computer, if we
do not know computer, then we do not
know anything, including … good things
for our lives.”
GIRL, 14, TIMOR-LESTE
“I will use technology to advocate
to people about health issues.”
GIRL, 15, NIGERIA
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01
DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY: THE PROMISE OF CONNECTIVITY
15
Primary-school-age children from the Central African Republic attend class in
a UNICEF‑supported temporary learning space at the Danamadja refugee camp
in southern Chad. Despite unreliable service in the area, mobile phones help older
children and young people in Danamadja keep in touch with relatives and friends
at home – and even further their education. “I use the internet to do research,
especially in biology,” says one 16‑year‑old boy. “There is no library in the camp.”
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02
Divides:
Digital
Missed opportunities
CHAPTER 2: KEY POINTS
Basic internet
connectivity still remains
a challenge for children
in the poorest countries
and in rural areas. But
‘second-level’ divides
– which go beyond
access and relate
to how children use
the internet – are
increasingly key
to
closing the digital divide.
Factors such as
education, user skills,
device type and the
availability of local
language content all
impact how children
use the internet, what
they do when they
are online and
how
they can maximize
online opportunities.
Right now,
unconnected children
are missing out
on
educational resources
and access to global
information, as well as
opportunities to learn
digital skills, explore
friendships and develop
new forms of self-
expression.
As children
emerge into adulthood
and the world of
work, connectivity
in the digital age will
increasingly mean the
difference between
young people’s ability
to earn a livelihood
or not.
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02
DIGITAL DIVIDES: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
17
This chapter examines the data on who is being left behind and what
it means
to be unconnected in a digital world. The top‑line numbers are
striking: In Africa, 3 out of 5 youth (ages 15 to 24) are ofline; in Europe,
the proportion is just 1 in 25. But digital divides go deeper than connectivity
alone. In a world where 56 per cent of websites are in English, many children
cannot ind content they understand or that’s relevant to their lives. Many
also lack the skills, as well as the access to devices like laptops, that would
allow them to make the most of online opportunities. If these digital divides
are not bridged, they will deepen existing socio‑economic divisions.
Digital divides mirror broader socio-
economic divides – between rich and poor,
men and women, cities and rural areas,
and between those with education and
those without. For example, 81 per cent
of people in developed countries use the
internet, more than double the proportion
in developing countries (40 per cent),
which, in turn, is more than double the
proportion in least developed countries
(15 per cent).
But digital divides do not merely
separate the connected and the
unconnected. They go deeper, concerning
how
people – including children – use
ICTs, as well as the
quality
of the online
experience. Both of these can vary greatly,
relecting factors that include the level of
users’ skills and education, the types of
devices they use, family income and the
availability of content in their own language.
Some children going online for the irst time
ind themselves in a digital space where
their language, culture and concerns are
notable by their absence.
Why does all this matter? Regardless
of whether they are fully online, partly
online or completely unconnected,
every child today is growing up in a
digital world powered by technology
and information. In the immediate term,
children who are unconnected are
missing out on rich educational resources,
access to global information and online
opportunities for learning; they are also
forgoing ways to explore new friendships
and self-expression.
For disadvantaged children, such as
those living with disabilities, connectivity
can mean the difference between social
exclusion and equal opportunity. For
children on the move, it can mean a safer
journey, the chance to remain in touch
with family members and a better chance
to ind work and educational opportunities
in a foreign land.
As children reach adulthood and enter
the world of work, connectivity will
increasingly mean the difference between
their ability to earn a living or not. Those
with access to digital technologies and the
skills to make the best use of them will
have the advantage over those who are
unconnected and unskilled. Evidence from
adult populations shows that the beneits
of digital technology go to those with the
skills to leverage it.
According to data from the world’s
wealthiest countries, ICT experience has
had a large impact on participation in the
labour force and on wages in countries
like Australia and the United States. Adults
without ICT experience, even if employed,
were likely to earn less than those with ICT
skills. Other studies of adult populations in
countries such as India and Tunisia relect
similar indings.
“
connectivity
Digital
is not only the ‘new
necessity of our times’;
it offers the potential to
break intergenerational
cycles of disadvantage.
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UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
The risk that connectivity can become
a driver of inequity, not an equalizer of
opportunity, is both real and immediate.
Consider mobile technology, which has
become embedded in every aspect of
daily life – and at a singular pace. As the
World Bank’s
World Development Report
2016: Digital dividends
points out, “More
households in developing countries own
a mobile phone than have access to
electricity or clean water, and nearly 70 per
cent of the bottom fifth of the population in
developing countries own a mobile phone.”
Connectivity via mobile may have a long
way to go to shrink the divide. However,
as smartphone
adoption skyrockets in many
countries, including emerging economies,
it is easy to imagine how central access
will be or is already.
Digital connectivity is not only the
‘new necessity of our times’; it offers the
potential to break intergenerational cycles
of disadvantage from which the poorest
children may not otherwise be able to
break away.
Voices from
The State of the
World’s Children 2017
workshops
“I need to share the iPad with all
my family so I use it just a little bit.”
GIRL, 15, REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
“Slow connection – it’s always shutting
down and all my tabs get lost.”
GIRL, 16, TUNISIA
“Sometimes I want to go online but
there is no one to help me and show me.”
GIRL, 12, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
“We have computers and a computer lab.
We can use it whenever we want.”
GIRL, 16, BHUTAN
“No availability of technology.”
BOY, 15, JORDAN
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02
DIGITAL DIVIDES: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
19
In early 2017, Waibai Buka,
a young girl from the Far North region of Cameroon,
was able to use the internet for the irst time ever through the UNICEF‑supported
Connect My School project. Schoolchildren from the region – which has been
deeply affected by the Lake Chad humanitarian crisis – gained access to satellite
internet equipment and tablets through the project, and UNICEF asked them
to tell stories about their daily life through pictures and video.
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03
Dangers:
Digital
The harms
of life online
CHAPTER 3: KEY POINTS
ICTs have ampliied
traditional dangers
(bullying, for example)
and created new
forms of child abuse
and exploitation,
such
as made-to-order child
sexual abuse material,
self-generated content
and the broadcasting
of live
sex abuse.
Cryptocurrencies,
end-to-end encrypted
platforms and the
Dark Web
facilitate
the escalation of live
streaming and present
real challenges for
law enforcement.
Children are
disproportionately
affected by online
dangers,
including loss
of privacy. They are less
likely to understand the
risks and more likely to
suffer the harms. This
particular vulnerability
sheds light on when risk
turns into actual harm
for children.
Since 2012, an
estimated 100 million
children, most from
Africa and South-East
Asia, have connected to
the internet for the irst
time. Without proper
safeguards,
the world’s
most disadvantaged
children will face even
greater risk
when
exposed to the online
risk of harm.
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03
DIGITAL DANGERS: THE HARMS OF LIFE ONLINE
21
This chapter delves into the digital dark side and the risks and harms of
life online, including the internet’s impact on children’s right to privacy and
expression. ICTs have amplified some of the traditional dangers of childhood:
Once confined to the schoolyard, the bully can now follow victims into their
homes. But they have also created new dangers, such as expanding the reach
of predators, fostering the creation of ‘made to order’ child sexual abuse
material, and broadening the market for the broadcasting of live sex abuse.
As one child victim of online streaming said, “When the foreigner says, ‘get
naked,’ then we undress.” And then there are the dangers that many children
and parents are unaware of – the threats to children’s privacy and identity,
for example,
from the industrial‑scale data processing that the internet
has now made possible.
No child who is online is entirely safe from
online risk, but the most vulnerable are
those most likely to suffer the harms.
In Madagascar, a 17-year-old girl was asked
by her teacher for the equivalent of about
US$300 in exchange for a passing grade.
Desperate to find the money, she reached
out to a man she’d been in contact with
online for six months. “He kidnapped me
and kept me locked in his house for two
months. He raped me repeatedly,” she says.
After her rescue by a new cybercrime police
unit, she received medical attention, advice
and psychological support at a One-Stop
Service Centre managed by the government
with support from UNICEF. The man
and
teacher were both arrested. “I’m doing
OK now. I’ve gone back to school,” she
says. “I wish I had had some guidance.
My parents didn’t know I was talking
to strangers.”
For most parents and caregivers, the girl’s
story represents their worst nightmare of
what can happen when a child goes online.
Although her experience represents an
extreme example of online harms, it goes
to the heart of widespread concerns about
the threats facing children on the internet:
Namely, that going online can dismantle
the traditional protections most societies
try to place around children, exposing them
to unacceptable content, unacceptable
behaviour and potentially dangerous
contacts with the outside world.
These risks are not entirely new –
children have long bullied and been bullied,
have often been exposed to, or sought
out, violent and sexual material, and have
always been at risk from sexual offenders.
But most parents probably feel it was easier
to protect previous generations from such
risks. The front door was once a barrier to
schoolyard bullies; now, social media allows
them to follow their victims into their homes.
Researchers now typically organize the
wide range of risks encountered online into
three categories – content, contact and
conduct risks.
Content risks:
Where a child is exposed
to unwelcome and inappropriate content.
This can include sexual, pornographic
and violent images; some forms of
advertising; racist, discriminatory or hate-
speech material; and websites advocating
unhealthy or dangerous behaviours, such
as self-harm, suicide and anorexia.
Contact risks:
Where a child participates
in risky communication, such as with
an adult seeking inappropriate contact
or soliciting a child for sexual purposes,
“
child is safe from
No
online risk, and it has
never been easier for
bullies, sex offenders,
trafickers and those
who harm children
to target the most
vulnerable.
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22
UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
or with individuals
attempting to radicalize
a child or persuade him or her to take part
in unhealthy or dangerous behaviours.
Conduct risks:
Where a child behaves
in a way that contributes to risky content
or contact. This may include children
writing or creating hateful materials about
other children, inciting racism or posting
or distributing sexual images, including
material they have produced themselves.
These risks must be seen in context.
All children face the possibility of
encountering harm as a result of internet
technologies. But for most children, the
possibility remains just that – a possibility.
Understanding why risk translates into
actual harm for certain children, and not
for others, is crucial. It opens our eyes to
the underlying vulnerabilities in the child’s
life that can place him or her at greater risk.
By understanding and addressing these
vulnerabilities, we can better protect children
both online and ofline, and enable them
to enjoy the opportunities that come from
being connected in a digital world.
Voices from
The State of the
World’s Children 2017
workshops
“I … posted a photo on Facebook
and I received a comment that threw
me into a panic.”
BOY, 14, SENEGAL
“I take care of my privacy, I make sure
not everyone can see what I share,
my pictures and status.”
BOY, 15, GUATEMALA
“I get upset when my mom posts a
photo of mine without my permission.”
GIRL, 15, PARAGUAY
“I worry that one might publish bad things
in my name if my account is hacked.”
GIRL, 16, BURUNDI
“I am careful to avoid privacy invasion.”
GIRL, 17, BRAZIL
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03
DIGITAL DANGERS: THE HARMS OF LIFE ONLINE
23
Angeline Chong, 17, walks to
lunch with school friends in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A past victim of cyberbullying, Angeline was inspired to join a youth journalism
platform called R.AGE after seeing a report about its 2016 undercover investigation
of sexual predators who use mobile chatting apps to prey on underage girls.
According to the Malaysia police sex crimes unit, children aged 10–18 made
up 80 per cent of victims raped by an internet acquaintance in 2015.
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04
Childhoods:
Digital
Living online
CHAPTER 4: KEY POINTS
Whether and how
much children benefit
from digital experiences
has much to do with
their
starting points.
Children with strong
relationships use the
internet to bolster
these, while children
experiencing depression,
stress or problems at
home may find that
their digital
experience
compounds their
existing dificulties.
Not using digital
media at all and
excessively using
digital media tend
towards negative
effects,
while
moderate use has
positive effects.
Are children
addicted? According
to science, no.
Using addiction
terminology in relation
to children’s everyday
tech use – including in
media coverage of these
issues – is unhelpful and
at times harmful.
Parents’ and
educators’ concerns
about excessive screen
time should not be
discounted but need
to be addressed in the
context of
many other
factors affecting
children’s well-being
–
from family functioning
and school dynamics to
physical activity and diet.
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04
DIGITAL CHILDHOODS: LIVING ONLINE
25
This chapter explores some of the ways digitalization is changing
childhood, for
better and for worse. ICTs have changed how children form
and maintain their friendships, allowing them to maintain almost‑constant
contact with their peers. They have also transformed how many children
spend their leisure time, providing them with a constant feed of videos, social
media updates and highly immersive games. Many adults fear these changes
are not all for the better, and worry that excessive screen time is isolating
children from their families and surroundings, fuelling depression and
even making children obese.
Video games. Television. Comic books.
Radio. A Google search on societal –
and parental
– worries about the impact
of technology on children’s well-being
makes clear that such concerns are
nothing new.
Radio was blamed for sleeplessness.
Comic books for making children
‘criminal and promiscuous’. Television
for social isolation. And video games
for ofline aggression.
As far back as the sixteenth century,
some feared writing would increase
forgetfulness, because people would
no longer rely on memory for information.
They also worried that books and the
printing press would lead to what today
we would call information overload.
Yet, compared with its innovative
predecessors, the internet – and how
children use it – raises concerns of a
different magnitude. Connectivity and
interactivity are harder to take away or
turn off. Their use by children is harder
to monitor. And while children access
entertainment, information or social
networks via a connected device, those
devices gather information on them too.
Questions about the impact of connectivity
and interactivity abound among parents,
educators, policymakers and industry
leaders. Is digital engagement a threat to
children’s well-being? Are they spending
too much time at it? Who is most at
risk? What can parents and caregivers
do to allow children space to explore
and develop independently while also
providing enough oversight?
Whether and how much children beneit
from digital experiences has much to do
with their starting points in life. While
those with strong social and familial
relationships are likely to use the internet
to bolster these relationships – leading to
improved well-being – children experiencing
loneliness, stress, depression or problems
at home, for example, may ind that the
internet compounds some of these existing
dificulties. Conversely, children who
struggle with their social lives ofline can
sometimes develop friendships and receive
social support online that they are not
receiving elsewhere.
Questions of screen time for
connected children, while still debated,
are increasingly obsolete. This is because
there is no clear agreement on
when
time
spent on digital technology shifts from
moderate to excessive; ‘how much is too
much’ is highly individual, dependent on
a child’s age, individual characteristics and
broader life context. And many children in
high-connectivity contexts ind it dificult to
estimate how much time they spend with
digital technology, because they are more
or less using it
all of the time.
“
and
Parents
teachers struggle
with conlicting
messages that they
should limit screen time
on the one hand, or get
the latest device – so
their children can keep
up – on the other.
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26
UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
As these issues are debated and
studied, some
basic truths seem to
be emerging. Rather than restricting
children’s digital media use, more attentive
and supportive mediation by parents and
educators holds the most promise for
enabling children to draw maximum beneit
and minimum risk from connectivity.
More attention should be given to the
content and activities of children’s digital
experiences – what they are doing online
and why – rather than strictly to how
much time they spend in front of screens.
Finally, future research and policy should
consider a child’s full life context – age,
gender, personality, life situation, social
and cultural environment and other factors –
to understand where to draw the line
between healthy and harmful use.
To improve children’s well-being, it is
important to take a holistic approach and
focus on other factors known to have a
stronger impact than screen time, such
as family functioning, social dynamics at
school and socio-economic conditions,
while also encouraging the moderate
use of digital technology.
Voices from
The State of the
World’s Children 2017
workshops
“I got on bad terms with my mom for
spending too much time with digital
devices and not spending enough time
on school studies.”
GIRL, 13, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
“I am afraid of my school performance
being worse.”
GIRL, 16, THAILAND
“There have been so many devices
around since childhood and it is so easy
to get addicted.”
BOY, 15, JAPAN
“I think that the internet brought us closer
to those who are far away and pulled us
away from those who are close by….”
GIRL, 16, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF
THE CONGO
“My teacher was scared that I am not
going to do homework that she gave me
and then I am going to waste time online.”
BOY, 17, MALAYSIA
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DIGITAL CHILDHOODS: LIVING ONLINE
27
In Porumbeni village near Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, Gabriela Vlad, 17, uses
a cellphone to chat with her mother as her foster mother looks on. An estimated
21 per cent of Moldovan children under 18 have at least one biological parent
living abroad to pursue economic opportunities and send money home to their
families. Digital technology provides a communication lifeline to help children,
adolescents and adults cope with the ‘parent drain’ phenomenon.
© UNICEF/UN0139548/Gilbertson VII Photo
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05
Priorities:
Digital
Harness the good,
limit the harm
© UNICEF Timor-Leste/2017/Helin
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DIGITAL PRIORITIES: HARNESS THE GOOD, LIMIT THE HARM
29
There is no doubt that the futures of a rapidly growing number of children
will be increasingly affected by digital technology. Children already account
for a substantial percentage of the global networked population, and their
share will only increase in the near future as internet penetration reaches
ever further into regions with the most rapidly growing share of children and
young people. More digital devices and online platforms, not fewer, will be
available for their use. ICTs will continue shaping children’s lives, for better
and for worse, just as emerging technologies like the Internet of Things and
artificial intelligence help transform the digital landscape at a global scale.
The way children will continue to
experience these
transformations varies
widely in ways that relect the way they
also experience ‘the real world’. Not
surprisingly, the most disadvantaged and
marginalized are most likely to be excluded
from reaping the beneits of the internet and
connectivity and most likely to experience
harm from the negative aspects of
technology. Other critical factors – including
gender, education status, traditional norms,
language and location – all play a role in
the impact digital technologies have in
children’s lives, for better and for worse.
There is no shortage of international
instruments, guidelines, agreements and
principles that deal with issues such as
internet freedom, openness, net neutrality,
accessibility and respect for human rights.
What is needed are not more guidelines, per
se, but agreed principles and priority actions
that recognize the responsibility we share
to protect children from the perils of a digital
world and to help every child beneit from
the promise of connectivity.
This is not only in the best interests of
children. In a digital world, it is also in the
best interests of their societies, which can
only beneit from children who are digitally
literate, able to navigate among the myriad
opportunities and risks of connectivity and
chart a course to more productive futures.
The action points outlined here are by
no means exhaustive, but together,
they relect a core principle that should
guide policymaking and practical action
in the digital sphere:
Respect and protect
the child.
1. Provide all children with
affordable access to high-
quality online resources
Digital access is increasingly a
determinant of equal opportunity for
children, enabling them to beneit from
access to information, knowledge,
employment opportunities, community
participation and social engagement.
However, children face a range of barriers
to accessing the internet and, if they do
manage to get online, making the best
use of online resources.
The State of the World’s Children
2017
calls for the following actions to
expand children’s access to high-quality
online resources:
Bring down the cost of connectivity.
Market strategies that foster innovation
and competition among service providers
can help lower the cost of connecting
to the internet. Integrating ibre-optic
cables into existing infrastructure can also
lower the cost of expanding connectivity.
And providing tax and other incentives for
the telecom industry to bring down the
Opposite: Adolescent workshop
participants in Timor-Leste use
icons to illustrate barriers to
online access.
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UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
A 17-year-old girl in the state of
Minas Gerais,
Brazil, holds up her
phone showing the mobile application
Proteja Brasil (Protect Brazil). UNICEF
Brazil and partners developed the app
to facilitate the reporting of violence
against children and adolescents,
including online violence and
sexual exploitation.
© UNICEF/UN017615/Ueslei Marcelino
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DIGITAL PRIORITIES: HARNESS THE GOOD, LIMIT THE HARM
31
cost of connectivity
for disadvantaged
communities and families could make
a signiicant difference.
Invest in public-access hotspots.
Public access points in schools, libraries,
community centres, parks and shopping
centres can dramatically increase access
for unconnected children. In low-income
neighbourhoods, mobile units such as
buses with Wi-Fi access can similarly
boost connectivity.
Promote the creation of content
that is relevant to children and in their
own languages.
Both the public and
the private sectors should work to create
more locally developed and locally relevant
content, especially in minority languages
and targeting remote areas with low
population density.
Break cultural, social and gender
barriers to equal online access.
Training programmes that provide girls
with opportunities for safe internet use and
enhance their digital skills can both build
girls’ conidence in using digital technology
and help address family concerns. Promoting
community dialogue can help dispel
myths around girls’ use of technology and
the internet. Assistive technologies and
internet platforms can enable children living
with disabilities to communicate more
easily, support them in learning, and help
them be more independent.
Provide children on the move
with access to digital devices and
connectivity.
Governments, aid agencies
and the private sector should provide
public internet access in refugee camps,
immigration centres and other public spaces
frequented by children on the move to
help them stay in touch with families and
friends. Aid agencies should also consider
working with the private sector more closely
to include data services and digital devices
as part of their overall aid packages.
2. Protect children from
harm online
The digital age has ampliied existing
risks to children, and created new ones.
Child abuse, exploitation and traficking
online are still prevalent, not only on the
Dark Web but also on mainstream digital
platforms and social media. In addition,
children face a range of other online risks,
including cyberbullying and exposure to
unsuitable materials such as pornographic
or gambling sites. While most children
navigate these latter risks successfully,
for some the impact can be devastating
and life-changing.
The State of the World’s Children 2017
calls for the following actions to protect
children from existing and emerging
risks online:
Support law enforcement and child
protection efforts.
The private sector, and
particularly technology irms, have a vital role
to play in sharing digital tools, knowledge
and expertise with law enforcement
agencies to protect children online.
Adopt and implement the WePROTECT
Global Alliance strategic framework.
Designed to combat sexual exploitation
online, the WePROTECT Global Alliance
framework has already been adopted by 77
countries. The model sets out a coordinated
response, with recommendations for action
across a range of areas.
Tailor protections to relect children’s
evolving capacities.
Strategies to promote
children’s safety online should take account
of a child’s age and maturity. Younger
children are likely to need a great deal of
support and guidance from parents, teachers
and other trusted adults. But older children
are likely to have greater agency and a desire
to sometimes take risks. Within reason, such
risk-taking is necessary for children to learn
how to adapt and to develop resilience.
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UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
Support the people who can support
children.
Evidence-based programmes and
policies can guide us to develop strategies
for parents and other caregivers to develop
the skills they need to positively mediate
– rather than simply restrict – children’s
use of ICTs. In addition, peer mentoring
programmes can help children help each
other more effectively.
conditions and privacy policies in clear
language that children can understand
and provide them with easy ways to report
breaches of privacy or other concerns.
Don’t exploit children’s personal
data for commercial gain.
Businesses
should not seek to monetize children’s
personal information, such as through
targeted advertising. They should develop
ethical protocols and implement heightened
scrutiny and protection for the full
range of data concerning children.
Respect encryption for child-
related and children’s data.
Given
children’s potential vulnerabilities, additional
layers of protection and privacy should be
used to safeguard their data. Decisions
to decrypt children’s data to aid law
enforcement agencies investigating online
crimes such as child sexual abuse and
grooming should be guided by the best
interests of the child.
3. Safeguard children’s privacy
and identities online
In a world where every digital move can
be recorded and content can reach vast
audiences with a single click, children face
new risks to their privacy, reputation and
identity. Data generated through their use
of social media, for example, can be used
for inappropriate advertising and marketing,
proiling and surveillance. In addition, toys
connected to the internet can transmit
the thoughts and feelings of even very
young children to toy manufacturers and,
potentially, other adults.
The State of the World’s Children 2017
calls for the following actions to protect
children’s privacy and identities:
Put safeguards in place to protect
children’s privacy, personal information
and reputation.
Governments, businesses,
schools and many other institutions handle an
increasing amount of data related to children
that are either collected or stored online.
All actors need to put in place safeguards
to protect these data in accordance with
international and ethical standards.
Set children’s privacy settings at
maximum by default.
Maximum privacy
protection should be the basic setting for
digital tools and platforms used by children,
and privacy should be included in the design
of all new technologies from the outset.
In addition, social media and other platform
companies should write their terms and
4. Teach digital literacy to keep
children informed, engaged
and safe online
Today’s children are digital natives, but
that doesn’t mean they do not require
guidance and support to make the most
of connectivity. Similarly, they do not
automatically understand their vulnerability
to online risks, or their own responsibility
to be good digital citizens.
The State of the World’s Children 2017
calls for the following actions to improve
digital literacy and make better use of
ICTs in education…
Teach digital literacy in schools.
With children going online at ever younger
ages, schools – and especially public
schools – need to incorporate digital literacy
programmes from the earliest grades.
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DIGITAL PRIORITIES: HARNESS THE GOOD, LIMIT THE HARM
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Provide children with access to
proven online education opportunities.
The somewhat
disappointing track record
of ICTs in education underscores the
need to pilot and test various models
that really improve learning outcomes
and can widen access to effective
education opportunities.
Develop opportunities to learn
ICT skills in non-formal education.
Disadvantaged children who have slipped
outside, or were never part of, formal
education systems frequently have the most
to gain from online learning opportunities.
Providing digital access in vocational training
centres may be their only chance to engage
with ICTs.
Support the development of teachers’
own digital skills and literacies.
Teachers
need to be able to develop their own skills
and knowledge to support their students’
use of ICTs and to help them develop an
understanding of safe internet use beyond
the classroom.
Support the establishment of online
libraries.
Online libraries, such as the
Library for All, can open up a world of
resources – including digital books and
textbooks, videos and music – to children
who would otherwise lack such access.
…and these actions to teach children
about keeping themselves safe online
and respecting other users:
Understand the risks of content
creation and sharing.
Children need to
be taught that everything they post online
– from social media comments to videos –
can no longer be considered private. Equally,
children need to be made aware that self-
generated content, such as sharing sexually
explicit images, opens them up to the risk
of extortion and may well end up being
exchanged by strangers online.
Learn how to protect privacy and
personal data online.
Children need
to be taught how to control their privacy
settings to protect their personal information
– and understand the danger that if such
data are made public it may lead to identity
theft and data mining.
Strengthen the teaching of online
tolerance and empathy.
Children need to
be helped to understand the ways in which
communicating online – with its lack of
verbal and facial clues to meaning and its
potential for anonymity – is different from
traditional communication. Socio-emotional
learning and the teaching of empathy can
develop children’s online resilience and help
diminish online abuse and hateful language.
Be good digital role models for
children.
It’s not just children who are
fascinated by digital technologies. Parents
and other adults need to offer children
models of responsible and respectful
use of ICTs.
5. Leverage the power of the
private sector to advance
ethical standards and practices
that protect and beneit
children online
The private sector has been a key driver of
the digital revolution. As providers of internet
access, producers and providers of content
and other digital goods, and purveyors of
online goods and services, businesses are
now increasingly integrated into children’s
lives. As gatekeepers controlling the
low of information across the networks,
they also have access to vast amounts
of children’s information and data. These
roles provide businesses with considerable
power and inluence – and with these come
heightened responsibilities.
The State of the World’s Children 2017
calls for the following actions to advance
ethical business practices that protect
and beneit children online:
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UNICEF – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2017
Prevent networks and services from
disseminating child-abuse material.
Technology and internet companies should
take steps to prevent their networks and
services from being used by offenders
to collect and distribute child sexual
abuse images. Continuously monitoring
the greatest threats to children, and
working with law enforcement and other
stakeholders to find innovative solutions
to online criminal activities, can help keep
children safer online and off.
Promote non-discriminatory access.
Companies can do more to provide children,
particularly those in underserved areas,
with access to the internet. They should
also uphold shared principles such as net
neutrality, especially when these enable
children to access a wide variety of sources
and information.
Develop ethical standards for
businesses and technologies.
Businesses
should work with policymakers and child
rights advocates to develop minimum
ethical standards for their services, and
embrace the principle of ‘safety by design’,
incorporating safety, privacy and security
features into their products.
Offer parents the tools to create
an age-appropriate online environment.
Businesses should offer parents a fuller
range of easy-to-use tools – such as
password protection, block/allow lists,
age veriication
and iltering – that will
allow them to create a safe online space
for their children, especially younger
children. Businesses should commit
to constant monitoring and evaluation
of these tools.
Participants gather at
The State
of the World’s Children 2017
adolescent workshop in Malaysia,
one of 26 countries where such
sessions were held to add youth
perspectives to the report.
© UNICEF Malaysia/2017
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DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY: THE PROMISE OF CONNECTIVITY
35
6. Put children at the centre
of digital policy
Despite estimates that children account
for one third of internet users, current
international and national internet policies
fail to take sufficient account of children’s
distinctive needs and rights. Policies related
to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and
machine learning, net neutrality and internet
openness look first and foremost at the
adult user. On the other hand, broader
national policies that deal with children’s
rights and welfare, health and education
have yet to universally embrace the
power of digital technologies to help meet
sectoral goals.
The State of the World’s Children 2017
calls for the following actions to put
children’s rights, views and well-being
at the centre of digital policy:
Give children and young people
a voice in the development of digital
policies that affect their lives.
Children’s and young people’s distinctive
needs, experiences and perspectives
should inform digital policy development,
and policymakers should engage with
institutions and organizations that promote
children’s rights and serve the needs
of disadvantaged children, and children
themselves, to deepen their understanding
of these issues. More broadly, government
and civil society should encourage children
to use digital platforms to share their
views with policymakers.
Track disparities in, and barriers to,
access.
To track the impact of internet
access on equity and opportunity, it is
vital to invest in the collection of data
on children’s connectivity. Data should
be disaggregated by wealth, geography,
gender, age and other factors to spotlight
disparities in access and opportunity
and to target programmes and monitor
progress. Evidence should be used to
guide policymaking, monitor and evaluate
the impact of government policies and
strategies, and support the international
sharing of best practices.
Integrate child- and gender-speciic
issues into national policies and
strategies.
The legitimate needs and
concerns of children should be integrated
in all policies concerning ICTs and other
emerging technologies such as artiicial
intelligence. Policies should be guided by
international standards and should seek
to safeguard children’s rights and guard
against discrimination and the restriction
of children’s freedoms.
Given the chance – and provided with
the skills – children will make the most
of connectivity. Millions of children
around the world are already using the
internet to learn, socialize and prepare
themselves to take their place as adults
in the workplace – and to make their
mark upon the world.
They are eager for that chance – and they
deserve it. It is up to all of us to see that
every one of them gets it.
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For every child
Whoever she is.
Wherever he lives.
Every child deserves a childhood.
A future.
A fair chance.
That’s why UNICEF is there.
For each and every child.
Working day in and day out.
In 190 countries and territories.
Reaching the hardest to reach.
The furthest from help.
The most left behind.
The most excluded.
It’s why we stay to the end.
And never give up.
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