Access and use of the internet and mobile devices by children and adolescents inside and outside school. What to do?

The debate about the access and use of the internet and mobile devices by children is happening both inside and outside schools. While in the school environment devices are restricted by law to pedagogical use, at home and in other spaces the scenario is different.

The proportion of children and adolescents who are internet users has been growing in Brazil, as well as the anticipation of the age of first access and an increasingly frequent online participation in recent years. According to the results of the TIC Kids Online Brazil survey, between 2015 and 2024 there was a twelve percentage point increase in internet users aged 9 to 17 who reported that their first access happened before the age of 6 – 23% in 2024, compared to 11% in 2015 (Brazilian Network Information Center [NIC.br], 2024). On Safer Internet Day, February 11, 2025, a mapping was presented on the significant increase in the use of cell phones by young children, from 0 to 8 years old, in Brazil (TIC Kids Online Brazil from Cetic.br - Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society). Given the intensification of online presence and the growing challenges to guarantee security, privacy, protection and promotion of the fundamental rights of children, internet access, computer use and cell phone ownership by this population have become central themes in the current public debate.

Technology continues to evolve, as do the challenges: adolescents now use on average at least 40 apps per week, with increasingly higher numbers, as recent studies show, switching fluidly from app to app. For parents, it may seem impossible to keep up with all the apps their teenage children use. In Brazil alone, more than two-thirds of parents and guardians of adolescents aged 13 to 17 do not use resources to filter the apps that young people can download, according to a recent TIC Kids Online survey. We need to ensure that parents and adolescents are prepared to navigate the online world safely.

This understanding is fundamental to guide parents, educators and public policy makers in building strategies that promote the healthy and responsible use of technology, taking advantage of its benefits and minimizing potential risks. The increasingly early contact with digital technologies raises new questions about the behavior of children and parents or guardians in relation to screens, especially in light of recent changes in cell phone use norms in the school context.

And how has it been to think about classroom practice with the ban on cell phones, working with innovation inside and outside the classroom? Although the use of cell phones in the classroom is restricted, this cannot be an excuse not to prepare students for the digital world. More than ever, we need to teach them to use technological tools ethically, critically and productively. After all, the future demands that they master not only content, but also the skills to transform information into knowledge.

Learning to use the internet consciously is learning to be intentional. This means that children and adolescents are not just using the internet automatically, mechanically or passively. DGwise is the digital safety educational program that helps guide this learning process. Recently launched in Brazil, DGwise seeks to reach children and adolescents, and their families, through schools. Using the internet responsibly and safely is one of the main focuses of our work. Through the program, we provide information and knowledge about cybersecurity, about digital risks, about how to protect students, children and adolescents, and about how to help parents protect their children.

Learn more about how to teach your children and students, visit our website: www.dgwise.com.br.