Workshop “Challenges to learning and enacting digital safety and well-being: children, youth and specific concerns of harmful online content and experiences”
Mariana Rodrigues and Pedro Daniel Ferreira, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto
Digitalization is present in all areas of our lives. Digital technologies and products have an important influence on contemporary culture, and on how are now integral to how (most) people communicate, socialize, work, learn and/or spend leisure time. That includes children and young people in the diverse contexts of their lives. Even though living and growing up with digital technologies can offer positive experiences and opportunities, it also imposes unique demands and challenges that cannot be ignored. As digitalization deepens, and new technologies emerge, new risks and potential harms also come by. Consequences for well-being and safety are often discussed and need to be intentionally addressed as part of education.
This workshop (2 hours long, and maximum of 25 people) will provide relevant data and information on digital safety and well-being among children and young people and share concrete, practical recommendations. Besides, participants will engage in collaborative reflection on practical cases involving different forms of harmful online experiences, from cyberbullying to disinformation, and their implications for live online and offline. Discussion will particularly focus on the challenges these issues present and which often emerge in digital environments but have consequences that extend beyond the internet, affecting how people communicate, build knowledge, establish relationships, and participate in social and democratic life
Mariana Rodrigues is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto and a researcher at the Centre for Research and Intervention in Education (CIIE). She holds a PhD in Education Sciences from the University of Porto and coordinated the research project CARING – Exposure to Online Harmful Content among Youth in Portugal. Her research focuses on democracy and citizenship education, digital transformation, youth participation, sociopolitical development, and well-being.
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Pedro Daniel Ferreira holds a PhD in Psychology and works as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto. He is a member of the Centre for Research and Intervention in Education (CIIE) and has been studying issues of civic and political participation and political development, including how digital contexts and technologies are relevant to the construction and practices of citizenship. He has taken part and coordinated national and international projects on digital education, including projects on cybersecurity education in Portugal.