IDEAL Future Work Package 2 Report

14 Section 2: Overview of the literature The previous section discussed the context of educators and educational leaders use of digital learning within their role and the European and national policy landscape. This section aims to explore the practical experiences reported by students and teachers with regard to digital technology. 2.1 Students experiences There is much negative press about the use regarding young people’s use of technology. Research has highlighted the negative impact on our young people’s mental health and physical wellbeing. Two research reports that have explored digital experiences through the eyes of young people are The children’s society report published in 2022 on Young people's digital lives and well-being and a report published by the EU #D igitalDecade4YOUth on how to make young people’s digital lives better in 2021 we will largely draw on these. Both reports have portrayed young people’s digital experience as largely positive using technology Particularly to keep in contact with their friends outside of structured activities. This is particularly important as young people’s free time becomes more structured. This more frequent communication is connected to stronger friendships (The children’s society, 2022). However cyberbullying particularly amongst females remains a concern with 29% being bullied online in the previous 6 months.( (The children’s society, 2022). and: 69% of 11-17 year know people who have been bullied online in the past 6 months. Also 40% of young people feel pressure to impress online (Nominet, 2022) There is a strong need to support the development of digital social and emotional intelligence skills in an online environment, building empathy and hearing minority voices, particularly of those who have experienced bullying and exclusion. Therefore ‘older generations ‘and educators must accept the embeddedness of social media within young people’s lives and consider the ways in which the distinct features of social media platforms, and the practices of young people when they use them, as the means to promote positive mental health (O’Reilly et al, 2018: O’Reilly, 2020; Hollis, Livingstone and Sonuga-Barke, 2020) In addition, young people spoke about the role of the internet in providing entertainment a source of creativity and the ability to support their ability to find out information and learn outside of school Research has shown that overall, children and young people have a good understanding of the limitations associated with technology, particularly with regards to safety, and recognised the need to address - Cyberbullying and hateful behaviour online - Fake News - Privacy (#DigitalDecade4YOUth, 2021) Young people use a variety of print, digital and voice active media to find information. Children as young as five years of age are not simply uncritical consumers of information, but also engage in evaluation, appropriation and creation of information in various forms, taking the information that they have found about their interests and incorporating that information into their own activities, creating new artefact’s and experiences that build on the information available to them. These findings highlight the active agency of these young children when engaging with information, an area that is not widely recognized in the discourse surrounding young children’s information behaviour/practices. (Barraige 2022)