The smartphone is the tool that confirms itself as the undisputed leader in Italy for accessing the web by children between 9 and 17 years old: in fact, 88% of these access social networks or instant messaging services such as WhatsApp since mobile phone at least once a day, with the percentage rising to 94% among 13-14 year olds reaching 95% among 15-17 year olds; among the increasing risks on the web for very young people is exposure to “user generated” content that incites violence and hatred, and to a lesser extent sexting and bullying.
These are the main results of the research carried out on a sample of 350 young men and women representative of the Italian population in the 9-17 age group "Smartphones, social network and instant messaging services: challenges for children, parents and teachers" presented today in Rome in the conference Global Trends in Online Safety: Creating a National Framework, promoted and hosted by the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) and TIM. In particular, the meeting was organized to bring together relevant experts on online safety for minors and adolescents and discuss the important efforts undertaken in Italy in building a national digital strategy.
The research (curated by Giovanna Mascheroni) makes it possible to observe the trends already detected in the European study Net Children Go Mobile and above all highlights the surprising figure relating to children aged 9-10, three quarters of whom in fact use a smartphone to access WhatsApp , Facebook and, to a lesser extent, YouTube. The research highlights how the use of smartphones is accompanied by an increase in network risks, which can be traced in the dissemination of user generated content:
– in fact, exposure to violent and racist content – hate speech – on social networks is growing: 36% of 13-14 year olds and 44% of 15-17 year olds have seen people posting discriminatory messages on social networks , racist and violent;
– sexting (that is, the exchange of messages of a sexual nature) is another risky situation cited by teenagers, even though more than half of those who received messages of this type declare that they weren't too upset by it; the phenomenon grows with age – it concerns 15% of 15-17 year old boys, 7% of 13-14 year olds and only 3% of 11-12 year old pre-adolescents – it mainly involves girls – 11% against 9% of young people - and it happens above all on Facebook;
– bullying, on the other hand, is relatively uncommon – 9% of those interviewed have been bullied online or offline in the last year – but it is confirmed as the most painful experience for young people: two-thirds of those who have been bullied say in fact to have suffered much or enough for what happened; bullying grows among the very young, but among 9-10 year olds the phenomenon remains mainly face-to-face: it is starting from middle school that boys report episodes of cyberbullying, which occur mainly on WhatsApp among pre-adolescents and on Facebook among teenagers.
The research also shows how worried Italian parents are today about the safety of their children on the internet: two out of three parents suggest to their children how to behave on social networks and respond to friend requests from strangers, however parents tend to consider teenagers and pre-adolescents as more at risk and to assist the little ones less.
Teachers, on the other hand, are less active in mediating the use of the internet and social networks or messaging, with only one teacher out of three giving suggestions for using communication platforms in a safe way.
Also stimulated by the results of the research, the meeting therefore gave rise to an international discussion on web safety for minors and adolescents and on public-private synergies for responsible digital development for families, analyzing how governments, industry and the NGO sector must strengthen, develop and implement system solutions at local and international level, in which the following took part: Giuseppe Recchi (President of Telecom Italia), Stephen Balkam (CEO of FOSI), Antonello Giacomelli (Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economic Development), Marlene Holzner ( EU Cabinet Member Commissioner – Digital Economy and Society), Joanna Shields (UK Undersecretary – Online Security), as well as leading international experts on web security.
By tackling digital challenges globally, TIM has confirmed its commitment to creating a digital strategy so that the use of new technologies becomes a founding principle for social inclusion and economic development, with true creation of value for the community. Today's initiative is part of TIM's Corporate Shared Value “#ilfuturoèditutti” activities, a program of actions based on the creation of shared value with the communities in which the Telecom Italia Group operates.
“We are thrilled to be a partner of TIM and to participate in this important event”, said Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, “We hope that other countries will take into account the Italian experience when defining a national model for online security".
Giuseppe Recchi, Telecom Italia Chairman, commented: “Today's initiative represents another important step in the strategy that the Telecom Italia Group is pursuing to bridge the country's digital culture gap. We are increasingly committed to developing educational tools and paths aimed at young people, their parents and teachers, promoting the introduction of digital technologies in schools, to contribute to the development of greater responsibility and a critical sense necessary to recognize possible risks and dangers inherent in the use of technologies”.
