From Ai to gender-based violence, word from the younger generation

Young people are not naive; on the contrary, they are aware that the Ai will gradually make existing professions disappear: 80% of the sample think so. 76% are also convinced that new jobs are going to be created, but curiously enough, they are not attracting much interest at the moment: 53% are motivated by the novelty, but a good 47% feel distant or otherwise unable to make an informed statement on the subject.

So, faced with a tool that could revolutionise schools and professions, we need to set up courses that help young people understand how to use it, without compromising learning and attention. "Everyone is talking about Ai today, but there is no serious training programme: we cannot give it to young people without educating them how to use it," Alfieri explains. "There is a lack of constructive moments in schools aimed at educating them on the advantages, disadvantages and limits of artificial intelligence, and the danger remains that, once again, technology may precede rules'.

When it comes to social, concerns about inordinate (and unhealthy) use are obvious. But, looking at the data, one notices a significant shift in the perspective of the young people interviewed when assessing the approach of peers and, subsequently, their relationship with social. The adjectives most frequently chosen to describe the relationship that boys and girls of their age have with platforms such as Instagram and TikTok is, for 23% of the sample, "obsessive", closely followed by "toxic" (reported by 18%) and "intense" (9%). Only at the bottom of the list, with a meagre 2%, do we find 'healthy' and 'constructive'. Apart from the 31% who express positive emotions on the subject, it is the 69% who speak of negative emotions that make the noise. Exactly the opposite of what happens when they are asked to talk about their online habits which, by 17% of respondents, are described as "healthy", in 15% of cases as "active" and only 2% as "toxic". With one significant reversal: when thinking about social media, 66% have positive emotions, compared to 34% who have a negative opinion.

"There is a significant gap between their perception of themselves and their perception of others," Alfieri reflects. "They may think they know how to use social media well but, as Matteo Lancini, president of the Minotauro Foundation, also noted, when asked for an opinion on their peers they probably report an adult-induced judgement, what they think they should say and what they think will reassure them. Turning to personal experience, however, they say exactly what they hear and see. As was also noted in the questions on happiness: they describe themselves as personally happy but the percentage drops when judging the happiness of others'. Discrepancy that is also found when they are asked about a hypothetical disappearance of social media: if they think of their peers, 25% of the sample imagine them reacting, when faced with this scenario, with very little calm and a lot of anxiety waiting for it to be reactivated. And 24% speak of warning and disorientation. But if they found themselves in this situation, the first 'symptom' would be indifference (26%).

"I don't think that banning social media or mobile phones will do any good," she adds. "We need to take action upstream, helping them to manage their emotions in real life, forging quality relationships, talking to them: there is a lack of reference figures and 'significant adults', the time that many parents devote to children today is little, they focus on so many aspects but perhaps leave them alone in front of the computer or on the phone for hours. We need to follow them, we need dialogue'.

In the comparison between real life and the online dimension, the fragilities that emerged in the parterre on the subject of self-concept are consolidated (and perhaps exacerbated). When they roam the web, they feel more alone (58% of the sample) and, in only 29% of cases, sheltered from the judgments of others (compared to 40% in real life). A perimeter that, looking at the survey data, is also in line with the answers on skills and objectives: most of the young people who filled in the questionnaires declared that they had a dream to realise (68%), the desire to pursue it (58%) and the will to get involved (51%). Few, however, seem to have confidence in their abilities (only 35%) and think they have a talent that makes a difference to society (only 29%).

"The first signal that must reach the family and the school is that these adolescents need to regain confidence in their own abilities: they come from situations of perennial crisis, they have experienced a pandemic, they see few prospects at work, that's why they are discouraged. They find it hard to structure themselves emotionally and to grow as persons, which is why they do not feel able to put themselves at the service of the community. We need to work and reflect on this".

The concept of patriarchy proves divisive for the younger generation. While 37% of those interviewed - especially girls - consider it a social structure that is still very present and influential, somewhat surprisingly, given the growing attention in recent years on gender issues, an almost equal percentage of respondents (36%) say they have never thought about this concept. Even more worrying perhaps is young people's approach to jealousy: this emotion is considered natural, even if it must be contained within acceptable boundaries. In fact, 84% of the students interviewed believe that a little jealousy is normal and the same percentage say they can tolerate their partner's jealousy, if within certain limits. Half of them also prefer a jealous partner to an indifferent one and one in three considers jealousy a demonstration of love.

Other alarming phenomena concern the frequency of toxic behaviour in relationships. As many as 47% of respondents - girls, again, prove to be more aware of the toxicity of certain dynamics - believe that it often happens that they sharesocial and device passwords with the person with whom they have an intimate relationship. In 33-39% of cases, they believe it often happens to ask their partner to give up certain friendships, to exchange intimate photos/videos, to dress a certain way and to geolocate others' movements. Heartening, at least, are the answers on awareness of the dangers involved: 79% recognise that jealousy can lead to violence.

Somewhat unexpectedly, however, 88% of the students feel sufficiently informed aboutsex and sexuality, topics that are very close to gender issues, but with significant variations depending on the subject. Consent in sexual relations is the subject on which they feel most knowledgeable (91%), followed by knowledge of the female genital apparatus (87%) and then the male genital apparatus (80%). Contraception (75%) and homosexuality (71%), on the other hand, are the topics on which the students surveyed feel least knowledgeable. Very positive, finally, is the response given by young people on sex education in schools, demonstrating the sensitivity they show to a subject that concerns them closely and which they feel they need in order to know how to correctly orient themselves in interpersonal relationships. Almost all students (90%) are in favour of school intervention in sex education and, among them, the vast majority (63%) believe that middle school is the most appropriate time to start tackling these issues.

"A synergetic effort is definitely needed, a team effort between parents, teachers and children. But, once again, I think the school is the place par excellence to educate, inform and sensitise them,' Alfieri concludes. "And I find it serious that in the programmes there is no education on sexuality and affectivity because it would also help to manage the relationship with the partner, to recognise dangerous attitudes, to change perspective. Or at any rate it would become a safe place where one could talk about these issues and be confronted with competent adults. I am convinced that things can only be changed through culture, there is no other possible weapon. Gender violence and patriarchy is a cultural issue and we need to push for prevention and awareness. This is why we act above all in schools: by planting small seeds we hope that tomorrow society will be populated by young people who have learnt to reflect on inappropriate behaviour and words. Everything starts from there'.