Social networks are spaces increasingly frequented by minors. Guided by expert psychologists, we explore the risks, the positive aspects and the skills needed to accompany them as they grow up in a digital world.
We are increasingly connected. The world wide web is no longer simply a platform accessible to over four billion people (as reported by the Global digital report 2019 by We are social and Hootsuite, the leading platform in social media management), but rather a "familiar" space that accompanies almost every activity of our daily lives and that involves our children from the very earliest age. They are the true protagonists of the digital era, with all the positive and negative consequences that this entails. On the one hand, technological evolution represents an enormously stimulating opportunity; on the other, it constitutes a vast and sometimes uncontrolled environment that conceals within it a series of dangers and risks. In this scenario, acquiring digital & media literacy (an understanding of digital languages and mechanisms) becomes essential in order to best protect and educate the younger generation.
Particularly sensitive ground is that of social networks: virtual spaces frequented by 3.4 billion people worldwide (Global digital report 2019 data) and increasingly by minors too, who are often technically capable of using them perfectly, yet at the same time lack the appropriate tools to engage with them in a healthy and safe way. Playing a fundamental role in this challenge is, as in all educational contexts, the responsibility of parents, supported by that of educators and teachers.
In order to address the broad topic of the risks and opportunities that social networks offer young people, it is necessary to become aware of the scale and "dimensions" of the phenomenon. First of all, it should be noted that the minimum age to register on a social network such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is 13. From 13 to 16, use is permitted with parental (or guardian) consent. In all cases, however, no verification systems are in place and therefore no official data exists to indicate whether these limits are always respected or not. It is nonetheless possible to report profiles of minors through specific forms made available by social networks such as Facebook. On the subject of privacy and personal data use, the new European GDPR regulation came into force on 25 May 2018, addressing the issue from a legislative standpoint, including the protection of minors.
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According to the report cited above, active users on social networks throughout 2018 numbered 3.484 billion worldwide (45 per cent of the global population and 9 per cent more than in 2017). Of these, 7 per cent (considering users of Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger) are estimated to be teenagers between 13 and 17 years old. Narrowing the focus to our country, the report indicates that 35 million Italians are active on social networks (2.9 per cent more than in 2017) and that of these, 4 per cent (equal to 1,400,000 individuals) is made up of young people in this age group, again considering the same platforms mentioned above. The overall most-visited platform is, however, YouTube, used by 87 per cent of active users, followed by WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. With this picture clearly in mind (albeit one in constant evolution), it is possible to better contextualise the dynamics at play and the risks to watch out for, which concern above all the most defenceless: minors.
Born as tools for sharing and socialising, social networks have over time revealed all the consequences tied to their communication logic. One of the first is that rather than a genuine account of oneself, what Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and the other social networks often end up creating is a spectacularisation of one's own life through an image filtered specifically to gain approval. A mechanism that, on the still fully developing personality of a teenager, can have significant effects and consequences.
"It's not social networks themselves that are dangerous, but the way in which they are used," explains Dr Stefania Sedini, a clinical psychologist who since 2012 has been part of the Massere project, established with the aim of raising awareness among young people and adults (parents, teachers, educators) about the conscious use of the internet, with targeted programmes for lower secondary schools. "In general, the risk that anyone can encounter when using social networks is ending up unable to do without them. The excessive dedication to updating one's own profiles, in search of a like, leads young people to lose track of how much time they spend on the internet. This is encouraged because online everyone can create their own personal virtual identity, embellished, falsified and modified in order to appeal to their followers." A risk of which 33 per cent of young people are aware, according to research conducted by Telefono Azzurro-Doxa Kids.
It is interesting to understand how the use of social networks has changed the way people communicate and relate to one another, and therefore among young people too. "Paradoxically, social networks have on the one hand brought people closer together and opened things up – explains Dr Sedini –, overcoming the limits of space and time, but on the other they have closed people off and distanced them, turning even moments of socialising, such as lunch or dinner with friends and family, into a moment of silence in which everyone is busy 'relating online'. This is because the internet world has a life of its own that is active 24 hours a day and, if you are not up to date at every moment, you feel left out."
These words are also supported by the data gathered by the Telefono Azzurro-Doxa Kids research, according to which 43 per cent of young people between 12 and 18, and as many as 53 per cent of girls, admit to feeling "anxious, agitated or lost" if deprived of social networks for a week. A form of genuine addiction, which stems (and then degenerates) from the desire to remain in constant contact with family and friends.
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"It's not that you can't maintain relationships using social networks, but we certainly can't remove that element of contact and empathy that only a face-to-face relationship can allow. The crux of the matter, I believe, is always the sense and the way in which they are used, and the role they play in our relationships," the psychologist adds.
The mechanism that can be set in motion is explained to us by Dr Nicole Ventura, a psychologist on the Massere team and an expert in psychological and relational dynamics such as cyberbullying, as well as in psychoeducational aspects: "In our sessions with young people we always ask: 'Is it easier to say I like you and I care about you in person or by message?'; 'Is it easier to say something cruel in person or by message?' A debate always opens up among them, oscillating between themes of sincerity, courage, shyness, fear of rejection, fear of consequences, seeing each other face to face and managing emotions. This is a small example of how a screen can convey, in a markedly different way, an emotional and relational world that is forming, taking shape and being experienced. Often having a screen allows you to enjoy a certain detachment that lets you take that extra step, especially if you are shy or embarrassed; it allows you to take the plunge while somehow feeling protected. At other times, however, it allows us to do things, good or bad, that we wouldn't be able to handle in real life, because we would have to confront the other person's pain and distress — which, with a screen in front of you, doesn't show through and therefore it's as if it didn't exist."
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Beyond the relational and educational dynamics that deserve close attention, it is important to be aware of the most dangerous pitfalls of uncontrolled social media use by adolescents. Among these is cyberbullying: it is a 2.0 form of bullying that requires a separate discussion from its predecessor, as it carries characteristics closely tied to virtual reality. Dr Ventura clarifies the ways in which this behaviour can have devastating consequences in the real world: "Cyberbullying operates within a relational dimension — it is private and public at the same time, it is relentless, because it continues offline as well, and very often it can exploit anonymity. Through chats, photos and negative comments, cyberbullies, emboldened by audience approval and sometimes barely aware of the consequences of their actions, target the generally shyer, more defenceless and insecure young person, making their situation worse in 'real' life too. Indeed, as news reports show us, there are still many cases of marginalisation, withdrawal, school dropout and, in the most serious cases, suicide."
Another lurking danger is sexting. "This involves the sending of sexually explicit photos, messages and videos. In itself it is a 2.0 form of adolescent emotional and sexual experimentation, but it takes on destructive and degrading meanings and forms when combined with acts of cyberbullying. In many cases, in fact, a photo that began as a message between two partners ends up circulating throughout an entire school, with no further control over how it spreads."
Social networks are also fertile ground for genuine crimes committed by adults against young people, such as child grooming. "Grooming feeds on the 'I can be whoever I want' aspect of social media," explains Dr Sedini. "Fake profiles are created, friendship requests are sent out on a large scale in the hope that the 'they're friends with them so maybe I know them too' method will work, and in doing so the habits, passions and states of mind of the chosen victim are studied, making the approach easier than expected. Increasingly, given the widespread use of online video games, another phenomenon that is gaining ground is grooming, where ill-intentioned individuals use the pretext of talking about video games to contact children through chats."
When approached in the right way, social networks prove to have many useful and positive aspects too. "As human beings, if we do something it's because deep down that something is good for us," explains Dr Ventura. "The internet and social networks have met a profound human need — the very social one: the need to share, to receive feedback and recognition from others, preferably positive and gratifying. Everything immediately, the idea of having control over one's own life and that of others, showing and being shown, browsing, always being present, being thought of — these are all needs, relational modes inherent to human beings, and in each of us they take shape differently. The benefits can therefore exist, if social networks and our needs intersect in a creative and non-destructive balance, if they open up rather than close down, if they create possibilities rather than deny them."
This vision is also supported by the data from the Telefono Azzurro-Doxa Kids research, which highlighted how 75 per cent of the young people surveyed recognise social networks as an opportunity to "stay connected with friends and family, find new people or people like us, feel less alone, connect with habits and cultures from around the world". For 51 per cent, "the web also allows you to find information and learn new things", or to "carry out social activities such as comparing opinions or asking for help" (33 per cent).
In this context, a crucial role is played (as in all growth contexts) by the education and example provided by adults. If parents and teachers remain distant and "digitally illiterate", it will be far more difficult for them to guide their children and students towards a sound understanding and correct use of social networks and the web. "The level of digital competence among adults matters a great deal, because it allows them to speak the language of young people," explains Dr Sedini. "On these topics, young people are very well-informed and always one step ahead, but seeing that the educational figure is making an effort, is taking a step towards their world, opens things up enormously and allows the two sides to draw closer. In this way it becomes easier to protect them and pass on that awareness which an adult may already have but which still needs to form in them."
Seen in this light, it becomes clear how any blanket ban or demonisation can only make things worse: "A flat-out no or deprivation serves little purpose in the world of the internet and social networks. Firstly because they are everywhere, and so one way or another young people come into contact with them; and also because, like it or not, this is the world we live in and even in a future working life it is hard to manage without digital skills. Unfortunately, we have reached the point where if you don't have a smartphone or a computer you're out of the game. Accepting this, I believe the only way forward is to educate. To do that you need to know these tools — that is, to have a basic understanding of them; you cannot set rules or open a dialogue about something you don't know what it is, whose potential and risks are unknown to you."
The responsibility therefore