Safer Internet Day
Following pioneering steps taken by Australia, and subsequent initiative in France, Spain has now joined the plan aimed at banning social media for under-16s. In this context, the current debate on its access regulation has gained renewed momentum. Safer Internet Day invites us to reflect on how to build a digital environment that is safer, more inclusive, and more respectful of the rights of children and adolescents.
Initiatives by those countries respond to legitimate concerns about exposure to online risks such as cyberbullying, inappropriate content, disinformation, and potential impacts on mental health. However, the available scientific evidence on the effectiveness of blanket bans on smartphones or social media remains limited. Existing studies do not provide robust conclusions showing that prohibitions alone improve children’s well-being or sustainably reduce digital harms. In some cases, the opposite effect has been observed: a displacement of use to less visible and less supported spaces.
Talking about online safety therefore requires moving beyond a logic of prohibition. According to the NESET Analytical Report (2020) on Effects of the use of digital technology on children’s empathy and attention capacity, the negative effects that digital technology can have on children are related to when its content and use involve antisocial approaches and violent content. These effects can be avoided through the development of media literacy, including critical thinking skills.
Additionally, digital experiences are also a key source of socialisation and a sense of belonging, especially during adolescence. For many young people, social media platforms are spaces where they build identity, maintain relationships, and participate in communities they may not find in their offline environments. In the case of the LGBTIQ+ community, for example, according to research published in Topoi, many individuals find in social media a space where they can connect with others who share similar lived experiences. These platforms often become environments for expressing emotions, exchanging support, and fostering a stronger sense of belonging. Ignoring this dimension risks fostering exclusion and deepening social and educational inequalities.
From a children’s digital rights perspective, the challenge lies in balancing protection, participation, and progressive autonomy. Children and adolescents are not only individuals to be protected; they are rights holders, including the right to be heard. One of the key findings of a qualitative study on the experiences of students and teachers regarding smartphone bans in schools, carried out by the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, was that students’ voices had not been included in decision-making processes around restrictions on smartphone use at school. Students explicitly expressed a desire for their perspectives to be heard, both in relation to this issue and to other aspects of their school lives. The same pattern is evident in current debates on restricting access to social media. Decisions are often made about children rather than with them. Therefore, incorporating children’s and adolescents’ voices into the design of public policies and digital safety strategies—through meaningful co-creation processes—is not only desirable, but essential to achieving effective solutions with social impact. We are still in time to co-design measures that promote a safer internet while taking into account the voices of all stakeholders involved. Only by doing so can we develop initiatives and legislation that generate positive social impact across our societies.
Editor of Daily 27.
Predoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology in University of Barcelona.