Digital literacy is “absolutely essential” for adults in Jersey if the island is to address online harms against children, politicians have been told.
Dr Carmel Corrigan said she was “absolutely horrified” to find the “myriad of ways” in which children can hide online content when she did digital literacy training.
The Children’s Commissioner said content could be hidden with just two clicks of the mouse.
Dr Corrigan was responding to a question from the Children’s, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, which is carrying out a review into what protections children have in Jersey from online harms, about whether more support was needed for parents and who was responsible for providing it.
“I think educating parents is as essential as educating children,” she said.
I think digital literacy for parents is frightening and but absolutely essential in addressing online harms
Dr Carmel Corrigan, children’s commissioner
Dr Corrigan stressed that she was not implying that every child was hiding content but she said unless parents knew “how to look behind what’s on the screen”, “it’s very difficult for them to actually know what their child is looking at or experiencing”.
She said: “I think digital literacy for parents is frightening and but absolutely essential in addressing online harms.”
A key skill that will be needed is “how to talk to children about their online world, about their online life”, said Dr Corrigan.
She said: “I’m not sure that necessarily rests with Education, or certainly not solely rests with Education. I think that’s a much broader initiative that needs to be looked at.”
Dr Corrigan added: “I think we need to stress this: This is about digital literacy. It’s not about being digitally adept.
“Many, many children are profoundly digitally adept, but that does not mean that they’re digitally literate.”