Project report
New technologies and 21st century children
Julie Hooft Graafland ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This report synthesises literature on how new technologies affect children aged 0–18 years. It examines trends in technology access and use, identifies online opportunities and risks, and explores how economic, social and cultural factors create digital inequalities. The report recommends building digital resilience through active internet use, e-safety education in schools, and support from teachers and parents.
Key points
- New technologies create both opportunities and risks for 21st century children
- Economic, social and cultural status underlie differences in technology access and use
- Online and offline inequalities are interconnected
- Digital resilience is an important skill for children to develop
- Effective strategies include active rather than passive internet use, e-safety in school curriculum, and ICT support from teachers and parents
Limitations
This is a literature synthesis and does not report original empirical findings or test any intervention. It cannot tell us the effectiveness of specific strategies or provide quantitative evidence of impact on child outcomes.
Abstract
This paper provides a synthesis of the literature on and recent trends in new technologies and its effect on 21st century children (0-18 years old). It begins by providing an overview of recent trends in the access and use of new technologies as well as a summary of online opportunities and risks. It then explores a variety of factors, including economic, social and cultural status which underlie these trends and lead to online and offline inequalities. Building digital resilience is an important skill for 21st century children. Effective strategies to accomplish this include encouragement of active rather than passive Internet use, e-safety in the school curriculum, and teacher and parental Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support. A focus on younger children (primary school or younger) and the effects of new emerging technologies would be helpful for future research.