It is exceptional that a teenager does not have social networks, 9 out of 10 connect to the Internet daily or almost every day. The web offers endless options – information, entertainment and friends at the click of a button – but it is too often an unsupervised and not risk-free world. One in 10 ESO students has received at least one sexual proposal from an adult through the Internet or through video games and 11% have pressured them to send photos or videos of themselves with erotic or sexual content. These are conclusions of a report presented by Unicef this Tuesday, which the organization qualifies as the “largest study carried out to date” in Spain and at the European level on the impact of technology on children and adolescents. Among its conclusions, it stands out that one in three minors presents a “problematic use” of the internet, that is, they have a possible hook: they use it daily, more than five hours a day and it prevents them from doing other things, such as interacting with their family, study or rest.
There is a parallel world behind the screens, and Unicef has made an exhaustive X-ray, after consulting more than 50,000 adolescents from 265 Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) centers of the 17 autonomous communities and analyzing a final sample of more than 41,000 boys from 11 to 18 years. They connect looking to have fun, 97% have felt joy or laughter on the internet; 82%, tranquility or relaxation. 58% go online to make friends, and 44% to not feel alone. “For them it is an irreplaceable source of experiences and affections, an emotional source that cannot be denied. The majority share positive emotions, although there are some who also suffer exclusion, anxiety or harassment ”, explains by phone Nacho Guadix, head of Education at UNICEF Spain.
The weight of the screens in your life is indisputable. The average age of the first mobile is 10.96 years, almost half access the Internet more than five hours a day during weekends and 31.5%, even during the week. Almost 60% sleep with their mobile or tablet in the room every or almost every day, and one in five goes online after midnight, “when risky practices increase,” adds Guadix. If to this is added that two out of three have more than one profile on the same social network, which they use “selectively for family and acquaintances or for the group of equals,” says Unicef in the report, “often parents can get to have a false sense of control ”.
“The digital world has entered our lives with low defenses and has crept into our homes. Our children lock themselves in the room with the devices and we do not know what happens ”, explains Guadix. There are two risks of particular concern to the organization. On the one hand, “those related to the sending of sexual photographs or videos, with the grooming [prácticas por la cual un adulto se hace pasar por un menor de edad para ganarse la confianza de los niños con fines sexuales] and with abusive uses ”, adds this expert. 42% of those surveyed claim to have received messages of erotic or sexual content at some time, 44% know what is the dark web and 4.7% have ever entered this hidden part of the network. Adolescents themselves identify cyberbullying, sextortion or access to inappropriate content as the main dangers of technology.
On the other hand, the data reveal victimization rates “significantly higher than those offered by official statistics” of bullying. “The data so far points to one in five taking into account the complaints filed. We estimate that they are one in three, including both victims and victims who are also aggressors “, Guadix points out,” and on the internet, the figure is one in five. ” Very often, in addition, those who suffer from it are not aware of it or do not tend to interpret it in those terms. Only 3% of those surveyed would say that they are experiencing bullying and only 2% cyberbullying.
The study offers a trail of data. It is estimated that more than 600,000 ESO students may present a problematic use of the internet and social networks (33%), which causes damage to their emotional well-being and that Antonio Rial, professor of Psychology at the University of Santiago de Compostela , responsible for the study, defined this Tuesday, during the presentation, as “a public health problem.” Furthermore, “one in five [alrededor de 400.000] I could already have a certain level of addiction to video games ”. The latter is the main leisure and entertainment channel for 6 out of 10 adolescents, and more than half participate in games that are not suitable for their age. In addition, 3.6% of students acknowledge having gambled or gambled money on-line ever in his life, which is equivalent to more than 70,000 students.
Guadix insists that Unicef does not want to fall into a feeling “neither alarmist nor demonizing” of the digital environment, essential for the lives of children, but to create protective environments. “We cannot be oblivious to what is happening. Perhaps if they go down the street we would not let them cross alone at certain ages; in the digital world we have let ourselves go ”, he says. He assures that the families that are involved achieve that the risks “decrease significantly” and that, although a quarter of the respondents say they have discussions with their parents or caregivers about technology at least once a week, only at 29 % put limits or rules on the use of the network.
For this reason, Unicef calls for increasing the digital skills of adolescents, both at home and at school and urges that families have support. “Although there is no measure that can, by itself, eliminate the risks,” says Guadix, it is necessary “to encourage boys and girls to have self-protection measures”, they must be informed. The organization calls on the institutions for “stronger policies” to protect minors online and the technology industry, which guarantees clear recommendations for use and privacy.
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