The celebration of World Day dedicated to the positive use of the Internet
Bianchi: “With digital it is possible to share study and life projects. The school provides the tools to navigate our time "
The World Day for Network Security, established and promoted by the European Commission, was celebrated today at the Ministry of Education. This year the appointment with the Safer Internet Day, accompanied by the slogan "Together for a better Internet", provided for a full program of initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Education, coordinator of the "Generations connected" project, the Safer Internet Center, Italian Center for Network Security.
This morning's national event was attended by institutions, political decision-makers and related experts who met with young people from lower and upper secondary schools, to explore the issues of Better Internet for Kids, or opportunities and critical issues connected to the world. of digital technologies. Among the participants, influencers, young people and "activists" of the Youth Panel, schools enrolled in Generazioni Connesse, with examples of virtuous Italian actions relating to the use of new technologies.
The events at local and national level were promoted together with the main partners of “Generazioni Connesse”: the Guarantor Authority for Childhood and Adolescence, the State Police, Telefono Azzurro and Save the Children. On the Internet, the initiatives were accompanied by the hashtags # SID2022 and #SICItalia.
“Digital offers us the possibility to open the school, to expand it more and more to share study and life projects”, said Minister Patrizio Bianchi. “The digital skills we pass on to our girls and boys are not just about knowing the tools, but about governing them. And my invitation is to do it responsibly. In this, the school plays a fundamental role: it has the task of providing the tools to navigate in our time. Words are stones, they are often thrown on the Net with little attention, but every word counts and the school must teach it ”.
"Digital is an opportunity to realize the rights of children and young people: from education to play, from socializing to the right to express oneself" - said the Guarantor of Childhood and Adolescence, Carla Garlatti. “But it can also pose a number of risks. First of all, that of being excluded from them: a condition that can not only accentuate inequalities, but create new ones. And precisely the prevention of the dangers that can come from the Net and from its use, initiatives such as Safer Internet Day are involved. One of these dangers, to which one can be exposed both as authors and as victims, is that of the various forms of prevarication and harassment carried out through the Internet: to remind everyone, just yesterday, the National Day against Bullying and Cyberbullying was celebrated ”, he added. “The most important answer to the risks of the Net lies in the awareness of adults and children. This is why it is necessary to invest in digital education: the Guarantor Authority for childhood and adolescence will do so starting with the youngest, with an initiative aimed at primary school children, and will also do so by contributing to awareness campaigns and definition of guidelines for managers, together with other authorities and institutions ".
In addition, the Head of the Education Department of Save the Children, Francesca Bilotta, intervened on the strategic role of the school: “The e-policies promoted by Generazioni Connesse represent, in this perspective, a valid tool at the service of the school. Furthermore, the active role of the students is fundamental, in defining them and in the educational action between peers aimed at contributing to the understanding of the digital world. "
"The time that children and young people spend on the Net has increased during the period of the DAD and DDI, but there is a greater awareness of online risks", underlined Daniele De Martino, Director of the Postal Police and Communication Department.
Webinars, live broadcasts and interviews with experts enriched the day. We also reflected on the quantity and quality of the hours spent on the Net by girls and boys, starting from the research data carried out by Generazioni Connesse. Compared to 2020 and 2021, the annual research by Generazioni Connesse finds a reduction in the time spent online by young people. "Only" 42% connect from 5 to 10 hours a day, against 59% in the year of the lockdown. Those who are "always connected" drops from 18% in 2021 to 12% in 2022. This is due to a gradual return to normality after the restrictions of the most difficult period of the pandemic, which in any case something has taught: 55% claim, in fact, to have received information on online safety, especially from teachers.
The research
Less time spent online and greater awareness of the risks that can be encountered on the web. This, in summary, is the picture that emerges from the annual research conducted by Generazioni Connesse, in collaboration with Skuola.net, University of Florence and Sapienza University of Rome - CIRMPA, on the occasion of Safer Internet Day 2022, on a sample of 2.472 first and second grade secondary school students.
If, in fact, between 2019 and 2020 the percentage of those who said they were connected from 5 to 10 hours a day had more than doubled - going from 23% to 59% - in the last year the figure has slowly started to return on pre-pandemic levels up to the most recent survey according to which 42% of young people were connected to the web for such a long average time.
Less hours on the Internet even for those who declare that they are "always connected", which drop from 18% recorded in 2021 to 12% in the first survey of 2022. The remaining 46% of adolescents involved in the research, on the other hand, estimate that they go online less than 4 hours a day, against 23% overall 12 months ago.
The awareness of boys and, in particular, of those who exploit the knowledge acquired on the mechanisms of the Internet to help their peers in difficulty increases: in the last year, 95% of the students involved in the research declare that they have supported girls and boys of their own age with tips and tricks to improve their experience in the digital dimension. The most popular? Avoid sharing sensitive data online, pay attention to people known on the Net, do not share private photos and videos on the web, do not share sensitive information about other people without their consent, check the trustworthiness of those who send us links before opening them. These interventions are very useful, given that while awareness of the potential and risks of the Internet is growing, phenomena such as sexting or cyberbullying are far from defeated. In the last 2-3 months alone, 24% of respondents say they have exchanged their intimate images, while 7% declare that they have been the victim of cyberbullying, in addition to 2% of cyberbullies and 21% of spectators. of such acts.
Among the positive effects that the slow return to normality is having on the digital life of the new generations, there is also a strong focus on online security issues. In the last year, more than half of the young people (55%) say they have received useful information and indications to defend themselves from the dangers of the Internet. A figure almost double compared to twelve months ago, when just 29% said they were confronted on these topics . The role of the school is fundamental: the greater diffusion of digital culture is largely due to the action carried out by teachers. Female students and students who received online safety teaching from their teachers have gone from 12% a year ago to 31% today. However, 68% of girls and boys have never heard of the new regulation for the processing of personal data, the GDPR, which came into force in 2018 and are concerned about the possibility that the websites they visit can share their information. personal with others. Similar percentages are also reported with respect to the tracking of what they do online (a little worried 52%; very worried 39%) and possible unauthorized uses of the data provided (a little worried 65%; very worried 23%).
The communication campaign "The Month of Safety on the Net"
With the SID 2022, the 6th edition of the campaign “The month of Network Safety” was launched. Throughout the month of February, schools interested in participating in training and awareness-raising activities relating to the conscious use of digital tools will be able to find information relating to events organized by associations, institutions and companies on the website www.generazioniconnesse.it
Schools will be able to offer a contribution throughout the month of February. It will be possible, in fact, to upload online your own events created for the day and throughout the month, on the website www.generazioniconnesse.it at the following link https://www.generazioniconnesse.it/site/it/iniziative-e-lavori-delle-scuole/
Over the years, Safer Internet Day (SID) has become an eagerly awaited event for all operators in the sector, institutions, civil society organizations. For information on events organized around the world, you can consult the European Commission's website dedicated to the day: https://www.saferinternetday.org/
Finally, during the day the message "Stop bullying with sport" was relaunched, the theme of the "Honest in sport" competition that the Ministry of Education and the Giulio Onesti Foundation - Italian National Olympic Academy have also promoted for this school year. to accompany female students and secondary school students to reflect on the educational value of sport as an instrument of contrast to social phenomena characterized by behaviors that convey exclusion and violence. Phenomena even more to be analyzed in the present moment in which the social distance and the limited freedom of movement have further affected the way of acting and living of young people. The aim of the competition is the production of a multimedia project through the use of digital methodologies chosen by the students. Here all the details: https://www.miur.gov.it/web/guest/-/scuola-al-via-la-decima- Edizione-di-onesti-nello-sport-il-concorso-nazionale-per -promoting-and-disseminating-the-culture-of-sporting-legality
The live video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6kc8ZyLeSo&t=3s
The gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/miursocial/sets/72177720296540431/