More than a screen: what it means to grow up in the digital age in Maldives

I don’t remember the exact moment the internet became an important part of my life. Maybe that is because, for me, it never really felt like something I entered. It was just simply there.

When I was younger, I mostly used the internet for entertainment and learning. I watched movies, searched for information and relied on Google to learn new things. I never imagined that the same internet I used as a research tool would eventually become one of the places where I found my voice.

Today, the digital world is part of almost everything I do. I use it to learn, communicate, discover opportunities, connect with people and participate in causes I care about. Many of the opportunities that shaped my journey as a young advocate began with something as simple as seeing a post online. A forum led to a conversation. A conversation led to a new connection. A new connection led to an opportunity I might never have found otherwise.

For young people in Maldives, this kind of connectivity can mean even more.

We live across hundreds of islands, and physical distance can determine whether someone gets to attend an event, meet other young people or access an opportunity. Digital spaces have helped make some of those distances smaller. A young person on one island can collaborate with someone on another, participate in a national consultation, attend an international webinar or find a community of people who share their interests without having to leave home.

The internet has not replaced our communities. In many ways, it has helped us build communities across distances.

But being connected does not automatically mean being heard.

Social media has made it easier for young people to speak for themselves. We can share information, discuss issues and bring attention to things that matter to us without waiting for someone else to give us a platform. For me, discovering young people who were already involved in advocacy was part of what made me believe that I could participate too.

However, having a platform and having a voice are not the same thing. A post can educate someone. It can make someone stop and think. It can introduce a person to an issue they had never considered before. But meaningful participation goes beyond that. It requires listening, learning, questioning, collaborating and, eventually, doing something with what we know.

This is especially important when we talk about the opportunities available to young people. We are often encouraged to participate, but meaningful youth participation cannot end with simply putting a young person on a panel or inviting them into a room. Young people need to know that their contributions have been genuinely considered and, where possible, reflected in decisions.

The digital world has given us more ways to speak. Now we need to make sure those voices actually have somewhere to go.

Being connected isn’t the same as being prepared

And that brings me to something I think we don’t talk about enough: being connected is not the same as being prepared.

Young people are expected to navigate an increasingly complicated online world, but are we always taught how to do that?

We need to know how to recognise misinformation, question sources, protect our privacy, identify harmful content and understand what we are actually consuming. Digital literacy cannot simply mean knowing how to operate a device. It also has to include knowing how to think critically about the information we encounter through it, particularly when that information relates to issues that directly affects our lives.

Growing up in Maldives, environmental issues are not distant ideas. We see changes in our oceans, weather and coastlines, and many young people already carry concerns about what the future might look like. When misinformation about environmental threats or disasters spreads online, the consequences can be more than confusion.

False information about things such as tsunami warnings or extreme weather can create fear even when there is no genuine threat. For young people already experiencing climate anxiety, being unable to distinguish between a real warning and misinformation can add another layer of uncertainty.

This is why digital literacy can also be part of climate resilience.

We need to be able to pause before sharing something frightening, check where it came from and understand whether the information is credible. In a world where information can travel across the country in seconds, knowing how to verify it matters. 

Artificial intelligence is already a part of the digital environment young people are growing up in. It is also one of the most complicated conversations we are having about technology. AI can support learning and make certain tasks more accessible, but it also raises important questions about accuracy, transparency, privacy, originality and responsibility.

I don’t think young people should be told simply to embrace AI, nor do I think avoiding the conversation will make it disappear. Instead, we need to understand it.

As these technologies continue to develop, we need to keep learning alongside them. The digital world will not wait for us to catch up. If technology continues evolving while our understanding stays the same, we risk becoming less digitally literate over time, even as we become more digitally connected.

There is another part of this conversation that we cannot ignore: the environmental cost of the technologies we use.

AI and other digital technologies depend on physical infrastructure, energy and resources. As AI continues to develop, we should be asking not only what it can do, but also what its growth means for the environment. If these technologies are going to become a permanent part of our lives, we need to advocate for their responsible and sustainable development and use. Technology will continue to evolve. Our responsibility is to make sure our understanding, our policies and our choices evolve with it.

When the digital world follows us everywhere

At the same time, the opportunities of the digital world exist alongside risks, particularly for children and adolescents. The online environment can expose young people to bullying, manipulation, exploitation and different forms of violence. Harm does not become less real simply because it happens through a screen.

Therefore, protecting children has to include the spaces where they spend their time online. Young people need the knowledge and confidence to navigate those spaces safely, but responsibility cannot rest entirely on them. Families, schools, governments, organisations and technology companies all have a role in creating digital environments that are safe, inclusive and supportive.

For many young people, being online is not something that can simply be switched off. We study online. We communicate online. We organise projects online. We find opportunities online. We maintain friendships and communities online.

So when we talk about digital wellbeing, I don’t think the answer can simply be “spend less time on your phone.” Perhaps the more important question is: Are we using technology intentionally?

There is a difference between using the internet to learn something and scrolling without realising how much time has passed. There is a difference between connecting with people and feeling like you have to constantly be available to everyone. There is a difference between being informed and becoming overwhelmed by everything happening around you.

Digital wellbeing is not about escaping technology. It is about learning how to live alongside it and perhaps that is what growing up digital really means.

Growing with the digital world

My generation is growing up in a world where the boundaries between our online and offline lives are becoming increasingly difficult to separate. The choices we make online can affect our communities offline. The information we encounter can shape how we understand the world. The platforms we use can influence who we meet, what opportunities we find and what issues we care about. It comes with responsibility.

We need young people who question before they share, verify before they believe and continue learning as technology changes. We need young people who can use digital spaces to participate, organise and advocate, while understanding that having a voice also means having a responsibility to use it thoughtfully.

We need schools that teach digital literacy as an essential skill. We need families and communities that can have open conversations about online safety and wellbeing. We need systems that protect children from harm. We need technology to be developed with people and the planet in mind. And we need young people included in these conversations, because we are not simply users of the digital world - we are the generation that’s growing up in it.

The internet has given my generation something I am deeply grateful for: access. Access to information, people, ideas and opportunities that might otherwise have been far beyond our reach. But it is only the beginning. What we do with that access is up to us.

The digital world is going to keep changing. AI will keep developing. New platforms will emerge. New opportunities and new risks will follow. We cannot ask young people to stop growing up digital. We need to make sure they are ready for it. Because the future is not just something we will experience through a screen. It is something we are already helping to shape.