Policy guide on children and digital connectivity
Produced by Policy Lab, Division of Data, Research and Policy (DRP)
Highlights
Digital technology and connectivity are fundamentally changing children’s lives. As connectivity spreads to all parts of the globe and the use and application of technology widens, the impact on children and their lives grows.
Children who are connected can benefit from numerous opportunities, but may also be exposed to a myriad of risks.Those who are not connected risk exclusion and disadvantage as most of the modern world remains out of their reach.
The advance of new technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), which powers critical, automated decisions, will affect children’s digital lives in new ways: not only by influencing what they see online (see discussion on ‘fake news’), but also by enabling access to education opportunities, jobs, health insurance and other benefits. This transition toward a digital (and offline) landscape increasingly governed by AI-enabled decisions will have a tremendous impact on children.
