ISSUES
: The Internet of Things
Chapter 1: Digital issues
3
some of the issues discussed in this
paper like identity or bullying, can find
like minded friends and communities
to validate and make them feel less
isolated. There is also a vast quantity of
information – both official and informal
– to allow young people to cope with
their ‘growing pains’ which in previous
times may have isolated them.
That is not to say that this new
world of connectivity does not raise
big questions about peer pressure
and privacy. Whereas previous
generations were subject to peer
pressure largely confined to small
communities within towns or schools,
now young people are confronted
with comparing themselves to their
peer group on a global scale. It is not
clear what impact this may or may not
be having as yet, but it is difficult to
imagine that it does not from time to
time cause insecurities in even the
most confident teenagers. Even the
biggest fish must sometimes feel
small when swimming in the largest
possible pond.
Contrary to popular belief, it seems
young people are actually more
concerned about their online privacy
than other generations, being more
likely to check and adjust privacy
settings on the Internet than other,
older, age groups. This is hardly that
surprising for a generation which is
increasingly aware that onemisjudged
photo or comment online may affect
their job prospects or happiness for
the rest of their lives. It also helps to
explain the popularity among young
people of apps specifically designed
to prevent an archivable record for the
future – like Snapchat, which allows a
photograph to be sent which is then
ostensibly deleted automatically after
a momentary amount of time (usually
six seconds). However, even Snapchat
is not immune to breaches of privacy,
after it emerged last year that third
party apps had allowed messages
to be intercepted and ‘screen grabs’
taken, resulting in user photos being
saved and stored. This has served
to further underline the maxim that,
really, nothing that is posted on the
Internet should ever be assumed to
be ‘deletable’.
So young people are seemingly
caught between two opposing and
contradictory forces – one drives
iRights
The right to remove:
Every child and young person under the age of 18 should have the
right to easily edit or delete any and all content they themselves have
created.
The right to know:
Children and young people have the right to know who is holding and
profiting from their information, what their information is being used
for and whether it is being copied, sold or traded.
The right to safety and support:
Children and young people should be confident that they will be
protected from illegal practices, and supported if confronted by
troubling or upsetting scenarios online.
The right to make informed and conscious choices (agency):
Children and young people should be free to reach into creative and
participatory places online, using digital technologies as tools, but at
the same time have the capacity to disengage at will.
The right to digital literacy:
To access the knowledge that the Internet can deliver, children and
young people need to be taught the skills to use and critique digital
technologies effectively, and given the tools to negotiate emerging
social norms.
them to share online as much as
possible to keep up with their peers,
whilst the other emphasises the
potential pitfalls that one wrong move
on social media etc. might lead to. It
is unknown what strain this might be
putting young people under and what
impact it may be having on the mental
health of some, even at the same time
that the Internet is so celebrated and
cherished by teenagers generally.
The positivity that the Internet can
bring to young people’s lives, though,
must challenge the temptation for
older generations to instinctively
consider the Internet as ultimately
threatening to childhood. The reality
is that like any other technical
advance, there are likely to be myriad
positives and negatives experienced
by young people at an individual
level. For example, an over reliance
on electronic communication by
some young people may be viewed
negatively by some, concerned about
the importance of interpersonal
skills to success in life. But we must
remember there have always been
young people less comfortable with
oral or interpersonal communication
who are now more likely to value
online communication as offering the
benefit of more time and space to
think through and write their thoughts
in a considered way without feeling
a need for an immediate response.
Equally it should be remembered
interpersonal skills may become
considerably less important in an
economy immersed in social media
and online communication anyway.
Following her experiences making
InRealLife
Baroness Kidron has pulled
together a proposal for a series of
‘iRights’ – basic rights which children
and young people should expect
when going online (see box, bottom
right).
May 2015
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The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from Barnardo’s. Please visit
for further
information.
© Barnardo’s 2016
