Character education might be the key to a better internet and help kids flourish online, suggests a team of researchers in the U.K.

Article Source: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_you_can_help_kids_be_good_people_online

How can we successfully educate children and adolescents to flourish online?

That’s a big question, one that to my knowledge no one has a very good answer to. At least no one has an answer that is comprehensive, based on evidence, and practical—an answer that provides parents and teachers with clear guidance about what to do.

Perhaps some of you reading this might question why we need to do anything. Since Sir Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web, we’ve seen a stream of books, publications, and articles arguing that “the kids are alright” and we should largely leave them to their own (internet-enabled) devices.

So, I want to state from the outset that I am a fan of the internet. In the right hands, it can change society for the good and be an important tool in our fight against global challenges, such as pandemics and the environmental crisis.

However, I only have to listen to stories told to me by my children and their friends to understand that it also brings risks for them and wider society. If we would like our children to make the most of the opportunities and to be exposed to less of the risks, then I think parents and teachers have a duty to intervene and strive to help their children find ways to live well online.

If you agree that parents and teachers should not be hands-off when it comes to educating children to live well online, then you are probably asking (like me) two more big questions. What should we be educating our children about in the digital age, and how should we go about this education? 

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