AVG Early digital surveyed 2!000 parents in ten countries around the world and found that 81% of babies! boys and girls under two years old! already had images published on social media… because their parents had shared them! in many cases even before birth! with prenatal ultrasounds. This is what has been called sharenting ! a combination of the concepts “share” and ” parenting . ”
Thus! a digital footprint begins to be drawn and an
Early digital online identity is shaped in a period when one’s whatsapp number list personality is still under construction and! more importantly! with unpredictable consequences and legacy. What is published on a social network or shared in a mobile chat not only doesn’t disappear! but can be re-disseminated! multiplied! viralized! and expanded to unimaginable limits. It doesn’t matter if the profile has privacy features activated. All you need to do is take a screenshot and re-distribute it.
And connection leads to vulnerability. Cyberbullying! grooming! and interactions: only the number of profile visits. sexting are Anglo-Saxon terms that summarize in one word! respectively! the risk of being bullied at school through social media! sexual abuse or assault by adults posing as minors on social media to entice their victims! and the online dissemination of intimate photos (often initiated by a voluntary! individual posting that becomes widespread! as revenge). Seven out of ten young people in Spain have suffered some form of online violence during their childhood! primarily through social media! according to Save the Children’s ” Viral Violence ” report.
This escalating alarmism fuels the distrust that has been spreading around clean email social media companies since 2018 due to their handling of personal data and their ability to host and encourage hate speech! spread fake news and hoaxes! manipulate opinions! and distort perceptions. If adults aren’t immune to this! how can we expect minors to be?
Continuous learning! crucial
And yet! we cannot forget the environment in which we live! an environment in which technological revolutions are occurring at an accelerated pace! and in which big data ! automation! artificial intelligence! robotics! and the Internet of Things represent an even greater challenge. In this context of constant technological change! continuous learning and the ongoing development of new skills become crucial. Digital natives are not born: they are made! because only through the constant acquisition of skills can we cope with the hectic pace of technological evolution. The acquisition of skills and abilities has virtually no starting age… or end age.