Campaigners and Academics call for a digital environment ‘fit for childhood’

Key recommendations in a major ground-breaking report include education for children receiving a smartphone for the first time, design standards to meet childhood development milestones and government taking account of children’s views when creating policy.

The report 5Rights Digital Childhood, was released on the 3rd of December by a group of academics assembled by Baroness Beeban Kidron OBE and will be the topic of a panel discussion at the Children’s Global Media Summit, taking place in Manchester, 5-7 December 2017.

Dr Elvira Perez Vallejos, Associate Professor of Digital Tech for Mental Health at the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (& former Senior Research Fellow at Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute), University of Nottingham, says “Children and young people are exposed to online environments that have not been designed to promote their wellbeing and mental health. This report brings a clear set of recommendations to ensure that the design norms of technology, consider the age of the user and their emotional and development needs”.