How to accompany children in using the web in a conscious and safe way?

Smartphones, online video games, class chats, first approaches to social networks: between the ages of 11 and 13, digital technology starts to become an increasingly daily presence in the lives of girls and boys. For many parents, this phase opens up concrete questions: how to establish shared rules, how to talk about safety without creating anxiety, how to help their children develop autonomy and a critical sense in their use of technology.

It is not only tools that come into play, but issues that are increasingly present in the daily lives of families and schools: digital citizenship, online identity, information management, fake news, artificial intelligence, cyberbullying and digital well-being. Complex issues that require time, dialogue and age-appropriate educational tools. "The real challenge today is not to protect children from the digital, but to help them orient themselves in this space in a conscious manner," explains Vania Zadro, pedagogist and digital education expert. "In this growth phase, emotional, cognitive and relational skills become central, enabling them to recognise the risks but also the opportunities of the web. When school and family share the same educational approach, the digital world can be experienced with greater serenity by adults and children alike".

Alongside family dialogue, school can become a valuable ally. This is the aim behind NeoConnessi Young, a free national project within Wind Tre's NeoConnessi programme. Aimed at secondary schools, it is designed to accompany students, teachers and families in the development of safe and responsible digital skills. The heart of the initiative is the Digital Skills Patent, an educational path that takes place at school and helps girls and boys understand digital as an environment of citizenship, relationships and participation.

The course uses a practical and engaging approach: through the Digital Camp platform, students, accompanied by teachers, participate in quizzes, challenges and problem-solving activities that transform complex topics into concrete learning experiences. The aim is to make learning accessible and motivating, helping the students to develop useful skills to deal with the situations they encounter online every day with greater awareness. At the end of the course, a final test leads to the Digital Skills Patent, making the educational work done in the classroom visible.

The topic of online safety is addressed in an educational and preventive manner, without alarmism, thanks to the contribution of the State Police, the Italian Society of Paediatrics and the National Council of the Order of Psychologists, who are part of the Scientific Committee of the NeoConnessi project. "Prevention in the digital sphere passes first and foremost through knowledge," emphasises Roberta Mestichella, Deputy Quaestor of the State Police. "Accompanying girls and boys in understanding online behaviour and the responsibilities linked to the use of technologies means providing concrete tools to move around the web in a safer way."