Combating Discrimination: Internet Literacy to Strengthen Children’s Rights in the Digital Environment | Combate à discriminação: educação digital para fortalecer os direitos das crianças no ambiente digital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/publicum.2019.47203Keywords:
Children’s rights, Internet literacy, participation, equality, discrimination. | Direitos das crianças, Tecnologia digital, Educação digital, Participação, Discriminação..Abstract
Abstract: The Internet has opened up innovative pathways for children to participate in social life. Besides making available an extensive body of knowledge and enhancing their communication, it has allowed children to show support for issues they care about. Giving children a voice in the public debate, digital technology may critically improve the democratic character of society and foster equality. However, the Internet is also a complex phenomenon and requires relevant knowledge and the competence to sift through information, searching and evaluating content. Such a pivotal need for ‘Internet literacy’ bears a remarkable potential for discrimination. Research has pointed out that only a small percentage of children reaches the most advanced step of Internet usage, with individuals with a higher socioeconomic status more likely to produce creative and politically relevant content than disadvantaged people. The article specifically focuses on the European situation, analysing the relevant legal framework to foster Internet literacy and children’s rights in the digital environment. It explores some pivotal pathways to address the issue together with the different actors, whose involvement is made unavoidable by the interdisciplinary nature of the digital world. This article argues for a stronger awareness on the risk of discrimination arising from the need of Internet literacy for children. Consequently, it advocates for a coordinated educational response by public and private actors to improve children’s rights in the digital environment irrespective of existing social inequalities.
Resumo: A Internet abriu caminhos inovadores para as crianças participarem da vida social. Além de disponibilizar um extenso corpo de conhecimentos e aprimorar sua comunicação, permitiu que as crianças mostrassem apoio aos problemas com os quais se preocupam. Dando voz às crianças no debate público, a tecnologia digital pode melhorar criticamente o caráter democrático da sociedade e promover a igualdade. No entanto, a Internet também é um fenômeno complexo e requer conhecimento relevante e competência para filtrar informações, pesquisas e avaliação de conteúdo. Uma necessidade tão essencial de educação digital traz um potencial notável de discriminação. Pesquisas apontam que apenas uma pequena porcentagem de crianças atinge a etapa mais avançada do uso da Internet, sendo que indivíduos com um status socioeconômico mais alto são mais propensos a produzir conteúdo criativo e politicamente relevante do que as pessoas desfavorecidas. O artigo concentra-se especificamente na situação europeia, analisando a estrutura legal relevante para promover a educação digital e os direitos das crianças no ambiente digital. Explora alguns caminhos fundamentais para abordar a questão junto com os diferentes atores, cujo envolvimento é inevitável pela natureza interdisciplinar do mundo digital. Este artigo defende uma conscientização mais forte sobre o risco de discriminação decorrente da necessidade de educação digital para crianças. Consequentemente, defende uma resposta educacional coordenada de atores públicos e privados para melhorar os direitos das crianças no ambiente digital, independentemente das desigualdades sociais existentes.
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