Dr Martyna Gliniecka, Senior Social Sciences Analyst at CASE, comments on the debate around children’s and young people’s online safety in an article published in Wysokie Obcasy.
In the article, titled “Let’s not cut children off from the internet. Let’s make platforms stop exposing them to harm,” Dr Gliniecka argues that the response to online risks should not focus solely on restricting children’s access to the internet or social media. As she emphasizes, the internet is now an integral part of young people’s social lives – a space for relationships, learning, information, play, and participation in culture.
The article also refers to data from Australia, where restrictions on social media use by people under the age of 16 were introduced. The findings show that such bans are easy to bypass and have limited effectiveness. According to Dr Gliniecka, the debate should therefore focus much more strongly on the responsibility of technology platforms.
Dr Gliniecka highlights the need for regulations and standards that limit mechanisms increasing the risk of harm, such as addictive design, profiling, and behavioural advertising targeting children. Digital platforms should be designed with children’s age, development, wellbeing, and rights in mind.
As Dr Gliniecka writes, we do not need an internet without children. We need an internet that stops treating children as a resource to be monetised.
The article was published in Wysokie Obcasy.
Link to the article: https://www.wysokieobcasy.pl/wysokie-obcasy/7,173910,32872263,nie-odcinajmy-dzieci-od-internetu-zmusmy-platformy-by-przestaly.html
