(Finance) – The Internet and new technologies are certainly a source of countless opportunities, but they can also hide significant risks for individuals. Hate speech, cyberbullying, online fraud and social media addiction these are phenomena that are becoming more and more frequent and affect increasingly younger segments of the population. The 45% of secondary school students have been using social media for more than 5 years, therefore in all probability at an age prior to the legal limit set in Italy at 14 years.
These are some of the data contained in the titled study “Measuring digital well-being” accomplished by the Institute for Competitiveness (I-Com) and Join Group as part of Futur#Lab, the project promoted by I-Com and WINDTRE, in collaboration with Join Group and with the partnership of Ericsson and INWIT which shows that the percentages of students who say they have received a request for personal information are high, respectively 50% of those attending secondary school and 59% of university students. What is worrying is the share of those who claim to have seen messages or emails delivered by malicious individuals, i.e. 80% of university students, a figure which drops to 53% for secondary school students, who however due to their younger age can be considered more exposed.
The survey was presented in Rome during the fourth round table of 2023 which was attended by, in addition to the I-Com president Stefano da Empoli and the Director of External Affairs and Sustainability of WINDTRE Roberto Basso, the director of the I-Com Digital Area Domenico Salerno and the vice-president of I-Com Silvia Compagnucci – who illustrated the research – the Professor of Media Sociology at the University of Milan-Bicocca and Director of the Digital Wellbeing Center Marco Gui, the Head of Public Affairs Inwit Sarah Cantarella, the General Director of Save the Children Italy Daniela Fatarella, the owner of the Management of Complaints Division of the Individual Protection of Persons Service Bank of Italy customers Cristina Giorgiantonio, the director Government & Policy Advocacy Europe Ericsson Telecommunications Antonio Sfameli, the teacher in command at the General Directorate for structural funds for education, school buildings and digital schools Ministry of Education and Thanks to Anna Rita Colella, the member of the Guarantor for the protection of personal data Agostino Ghiglia, the director of the State Police Cristiano Leggeri, the teacher in command at the General Directorate for structural funds for education, school buildings and digital schools Ministry of Education and Merit Anna Nervo and the vice-president of the European Union Policies Commission Senate of the Republic Pierantonio Zanettin. The discussion was moderated by the Senior Advisor Join Group Riccardo Capecchi.
In November 2023, I-Com carried out a sample survey on students and teachers aimed at understanding the level of awareness of Italian students with respect to the main risks linked to the use of IT tools, as well as on possible initiatives useful for enhancing knowledge and skills necessary to face the challenges of the digital ecosystem.
Among the most interesting findings is age to which young people begin to use social networks. In fact, 45% of secondary school students stated that they have been using social media for more than 5 years, therefore in all probability at an age prior to the legal limit set in Italy at 14 years. The percentages of those who received a request for personal information are also very high, respectively 50% of secondary school students and 59% of university students. The share of students who declare they do not want to respond is also considerable, 15% of both secondary school and university students. From this it is clear how vulnerable children can be, if not correctly informed, via these platforms. Also of concern is the share of those who claim to have received messages or emails from malicious individuals, i.e. 80% of university students, a figure which drops by 27 percentage points, to 53%, for secondary school students, who however by virtue of their minor age they can certainly be considered more vulnerable.
The survey also highlights that, at least in the students’ perception, there is a good dissemination of information on how to protect yourself from online dangers. In fact, the largest share of respondents states that they know enough, with a slightly higher percentage among secondary school students, 53% compared to 42% of university students. The latter, again according to a personal opinion, are on average less informed than secondary school students: in fact, 15% and 5% respectively say they are poorly informed. However, this data could be conditioned by the greater awareness of older individuals.
Furthermore, it is also noted that the 52% of university students have never received information on how to protect themselves online, while the large majority of secondary school students declared they had had them, 79% compared to 34% of university students. This could demonstrate a greater sensitivity of educational institutions towards these issues, which leads to a greater diffusion of initiatives dedicated to these issues. What has also emerged is widespread uncertainty regarding who to contact in the event of online problems, such as phishing or identity theft. 36% of secondary school students and 48% of university students don’t know who to turn to.
For 42% of the teachers belonging in secondary schools and primary schools there is little awareness of the dangers of the digital ecosystem among their students, while it is assessed as partial by those who teach in lower secondary schools (35%). The main related critical profiles that young people risk encountering from the teachers’ point of view are: Internet addiction (according to 77% of secondary school teachers, 78% of primary schools and 80% of secondary schools of lower secondary schools), violation of privacy according to 73% of secondary school teachers, cyberbullying according to 63% of primary and lower secondary school teachers. In addition to the dangers explicitly indicated in the questions, among the free answers, pornography, misinformation, propaganda and imitation of models are also identified which produce negative influences linked to the development of violent behavior and the distorted perception of physical appearance.
A positive signalaccording to the I-Com survey, is represented by the fact that the very large majority of young participants in the survey defined it as very (34% of secondary school students and 38% of university students) or quite important (46% and 44%) initiatives to increase digital awareness. From this it can be deduced that almost all young people understand that the digital ecosystem has dark points from which they must defend themselves and that possessing an adequate set of skills is the most important tool for taking action. Similarly, the majority of teachers sampled consider it very or quite useful to participate in initiatives to increase their awareness and competence regarding the dangers of the internet, although there is still a significant minority of teachers who consider it little or not at all useful to be involved in such initiatives training, a large part of which, in particular in the two levels of secondary school. Among the solutions indicated by teachers of all types of institutes to promote digital awareness, the first concerns raising awareness among the class group with the help of experts in the ethical use of digital technologies. Next, the role of families, who also need to be trained on these issues, and support for teacher training.
(Photo: Fabio Lanari CC BY-SA 1.0)