How do parents and other adults in children’s lives shape their digital identity? A national survey
Every day, thousands of photographs, videos and stories about children’s lives are posted on social media. This is often a spontaneous act, driven by the desire to share important moments with friends and family, but it helps to shape children’s digital identity even before they are able to choose how to present themselves online. This reflection has given rise to ‘Dentro il digitale’, a multidisciplinary research project that aims to analyse adults’ online sharing habits, their level of awareness of digital risks and emerging educational needs, with the aim of providing evidence to inform the development of training programmes, awareness-raising initiatives and potential policy measures.
The project is led by a group of professionals with combined expertise in the legal, psychological, criminological and technological fields: Matilde Bellingeri, Noemi Tentori, Edel Margherita Beckman and Ilaria Lavarini. Among them is Edel, a criminologist and victimologist who works as a trainer for the Fondazione Mondo Digitale ETS on issues relating to digital citizenship, the prevention of online violence and the protection of minors.
Sharenting at the heart of the research
In recent years, the international debate has focused increasing attention on sharenting, that is, the sharing by parents of images and information concerning their children. Whilst, on the one hand, these practices represent new forms of interaction and communication, on the other, they raise increasingly significant questions regarding the protection of privacy, the digital self-determination of children and the potential misuse of published content. The research takes these questions as its starting point, aiming to understand not only how much adults share online, but above all why they do so, how they perceive the risks, and which tools they consider useful for guiding their children through their digital upbringing.
A questionnaire aimed at parents and adult caregivers
Data will be collected via an anonymous questionnaire, aimed at adults who fulfil a parental role or have responsibility for children. The study will analyse digital habits, sharing practices, perceptions of risk, motivations and educational needs, with the aim of involving around 1,000 participants from across the country. The results will be presented in aggregated form through reports, outreach materials and training activities, with the aim of supporting schools, institutions, professionals and third-sector organisations in developing interventions based on scientific evidence.
An invitation to take part
The research is currently in the data collection phase and invites parents, guardians and adult caregivers to contribute by completing the online questionnaire. Every response represents a valuable contribution towards understanding how educational practices are changing within the digital ecosystem and towards developing increasingly effective tools for prevention, awareness-raising and the protection of children’s rights.
