Since the pandemic emergency broke out, excluding the commitment to Dad, the time spent by children and adolescents in front of technological devices has increased by 67% (+ 48% in the North West; + 71% in the North East; + 71 % in the center; + 74% in the south; + 76% in the islands). 87% of parents experienced adverse effects on teens and 52% reported loss of physical contact with others.
At a territorial level, the young people of the islands were most affected by the increase in the use of devices, even 94% of the interviewees found the negative effects. 77%, however, recognized that the use of devices compensated for the lack of relationships by helping their children to deal with forced closure and thus maintain social relationships. In contrast, 40% of parents highlighted that they spent a lot of time with their children, talking a lot. These are some of the data from the survey carried out by the Piepoli Institute on the topic: “Cyber-risk and pandemic”, for the Moige (Italian Parents Movement), asking parents about the use of digital technology by minors during the covid emergency period .
The Moige initiative
On the occasion of Safer Internet Day 2022, Antonio Affinita, director general of Moige today, in connection with over 50 schools, kicked off the VI edition of the “Young Ambassadors for digital citizenship against bullying and cyber risk” project, promoted in collaboration with the State Police, and with ” A blue node ” of the Miur, Anci (National Association of Italian Municipalities).
The cyberbullying campaign
The campaign on cyberbullying and other dangers of the web has so far involved 587,500 parents, 325,000 students and 11,500 teachers on the issues of bullying and web security. In addition, a national network of over 1,200 schools and 5,500 “Young Ambassadors” was created, children chosen by the teachers for their particular aptitudes and sensitivities and trained to “train” their peers.
The schools involved
This year, the initiative will involve a further 250 primary and secondary schools of I and II degree in about 200 municipalities throughout Italy, 62,500 students, 1,250 Young Ambassadors, 1,250 teachers trained through an online platform and school meetings and 125,000 students’ parents. get informed through the dedicated educational material. The 250 school complexes will receive didactic kits and training on web space with contents written by the task of psychologists and expert pedagogists of the Moige.