Future Shock

A YouGov poll published earlier this week found that 48% of parents were concerned that their children’s university or job prospects might be damaged because of their digital presence now.

The Digital Literacy Report 2009, commissioned by digital communications company Halpern Cowan, was a response to growing concern among parents and policymakers that children are at risk when they are online.

This is a vital topic and I was particularly pleased to see that the poll focused not just on traditional concerns like internet predators but also on the damage which children might inadvertently do to each other and themselves without a full understanding of privacy. Of those surveyed, a massive 69% of parents wanted compulsory lessons in online privacy introduced to school curricula.

I spoke to Louis Halpern, chief executive of Halpern Cowan about their findings and about what he’d like to see happen next.

What kind of next steps would you like to see made in response to your findings?

 In my own opinion, I believe in the state providing a safe environment for me to live my life and that it has an obligation to stop life being nasty, brutish and short.  Therefore, if something you write as a child online could have a profound effect on your future then we should be educating people about it.  I'd like the national curriculum to teach digital literacy in the same way as they teach grammar and spelling.

What is your personal opinion of how early "digital literacy lessons" should start in a child's education?

 As soon as they get to school they should start. My experience tells me that some kids start using the internet before they can talk.  Once the foundations of reading set in they are able to interact online.  It's important they know the neighbourhood rules as soon as they start playing there.

What do you think an effective lesson on safe social networking might look like?

 I've written a book about helping adults manage their online reputation, but in terms of a kid’s lesson, my first take is for the teachers to set a homework that involves collaboration. 

We've done a project called Polar Pairs for a charity called Living Earth that enables collaboration between kids in Scotland & Alaska, where the teachers share teaching resources.  It's the first step in implementing safe social networking. 

The most important consideration is to get the teachers involved and give them a reason to participate. That's a great start.

What is the most fundamental lesson for people to understand safe social networking?

There needs to dialogue between parents and their children, as well as at school, where online socialising is recognised as a social and technical skill for contemporary society. Schools as well should be looking to ways to encourage children to use the online tools at their disposal in a positive way. Unlike adults, they’re not streetwise, and they often don’t understand the threats.

If we do not proactively teach young people about the impact of their online activity how can they better protect and promote themselves?

Louis blogs on reputation management and digital issues over at http://www.louishalpern.com/ .