Within the framework of its Digital Citizenship Programme, Telefono Azzurro will shortly present the results of new research carried out in cooperation with Doxa Kids on children’s rights in the digital environment.

The Programme’s objective is to raise awareness about potential risks for children online. To this aim, children and teachers will be educated to navigate the digital world in a safe way, making the best of opportunities online.

Children and adolescents have been consulted on various issues such as their online habits, the risks of the digital environment, the impact of COVID-19 on their rights, age verification (whether they are for or against it), the need for safe digital spaces, the principle of non-discrimination, how much time they spend online, the importance of making hotlines/helplines accessible via chat or text functions, the digital reputation.

The research shows that, for instance, the children interviewed: share photos and videos online without being asked to give their consent; have been insulted online at least once during the lockdown; consider their right to privacy as one of the most important rights online but at the same time the most infringed.

Moreover, children report that the internet, especially while in confinement, helped them to maintain contact with their friends, and believe that the chat is a useful tool to ask for help and access to hotlines/helplines.