Technology & Innovation - Issue 12

Educating the child We need to move past the myth of the ‘digital native’ and recognise the online knowledge and skills young people now can’t do without, says Laura Knight ... T he structures of childhood are being reshaped by digital technologies that frame how young people learn, connect, imagine and understand themselves. The boundaries between online and offline experiences continue to collapse – accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and now hastened yet further by the widespread adoption of AI, synthetic media and algorithmic personalisation. Technology is only part of the story, however. Evolving parenting styles, shifting educational practices, the changing nature of work and the erosion of institutional trust have all converged to create a world where critical literacy (the ability to interrogate information, authority and systems), ethical reasoning and resilient selfhood are now necessities for modern life. Digital wellbeing Maintaining digital wellbeing demands more than simple measures such as controlling screen time. To capture the full complexity of children’s digital experiences, we must teach ABOUT THE AUTHOR Laura Knight (MEd PGCE FCCT FRSA CMgr) is the founder and CEO of the education consultancy Sapio, writing for Hachette Learning young people to live well with technology, not apart from it, while showing themhow to cultivate critical judgement and courage. Positive and purposeful digital engagement can enhance learning, while expanding and strengthening social networks, fostering creativity and facilitating civic participation – particularly when scaffolded by adults. That said, excessive, unstructured or unsupervised digital use correlates with higher rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption and exposure to harmful content. AI-driven personalisation can amplify bias, create unhealthy synthetic relationships with AI agents and be used as a tool for manipulating attention and emotion for commercial ends, in ways that children are ill-prepared to recognise. Emotional literacy Character education can help to address some of these challenges, but it must be reimagined for the digital age to include critical emotional literacy – the ability to distinguish authentic from constructed relationships, and navigate digital emotional life with care and discernment. We must equip young people to recognise that their attention carries value, and that their agency within digital environments must be consciously protected, not passively surrendered. It’s time to retire the myth of the ‘digital native’, since mere familiarity with technology doesn’t bestow young people with critical literacy or emotional resilience. If left unguided, children’s healthy impulses towards curiosity, sociability and creativity can expose them to risks they’re not yet equipped to manage. Adults must reclaim their role as guides, mentors and ethical coaches in digital life, even if their uncertainty makes this uncomfortable. The journey towards digital autonomy requires careful judgements around children’s reflective capacity, vulnerability to peer influence and ability to recognise and manage risk. This will demand structured guidance, with scaffolded autonomy matched to children’s maturity, skills and resilience, and the complexity of the digital contexts they inhabit. Fostering trust Adults need to normalise help-seeking as an act of strength, and establish trusted, non-punitive disclosure pathways. They can support children with setting and keeping boundaries, helping them decide what to share, whom they engage with and when to withdraw. By combining warmth with structure, we can set expectations, build trust and provide opportunities for independent decision- making, while respecting the child’s agency. The aim of digital autonomy isn’t to eliminate risk, but to foster resilient and wise navigation. FROMPRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE: ADECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK Ethical participation, resilience and autonomy can’t be secured through prescriptive regulation alone. Schools and families must exercise a way of thinking that holds fast to developmental truths, even as digital landscapes change. I propose that a simple, yet serious decision-making framework be introduced. One grounded in those capacities that education must now cultivate – capability, conscience and courage. Educators and leaders could be invited to apply those three interconnected lenses when shaping their policies, granting freedoms, responding to challenges and guiding children’s digital experiences. Read more and download the full white paper at hachettelearning.com/digital-literacy-blog 63 AT H OM E teachwire.net