Editorial: The need to train younger students to be smart digital citizens
Parents are probably not surprised to hear children spend 6.5 hours a day on screened devices.
Heck, between computers and tablets, projector screens, TV screens for shows and games and smartphones, that number may even seem low.
In reality, that's a full third of an entire day, providing ample opportunity for children to be exposed to improper solicitation, victimized by harassment and bullying, hurt by releasing too much personal information or by illegally using photos, music or videos.
All in all, there's plenty of potential for youthful indiscretion that could have dangerous and long-term consequences.
In response, a Naperville nonprofit is working with a couple of nearby school districts to take another swing at the issue by offering children more education about the internet.
Because the issue is one that is critically important to children and parents in every school district, it's a new approach that could serve as a model elsewhere.
The youth advocacy organization KidsMatter is hosting a new Digital Leader Summit this week that will give nearly 300 pre-chosen elementary and middle school students the chance to learn about smart digital citizenship and ways they can protect themselves and their peers.
Organizers say addressing younger users is intentional because so much happens at an earlier age that it may be too late to wait until high school to make an impression.
Students from Naperville Unit District 203 and Indian Prairie Unit District 204 who successfully complete the summit will be asked to teach the skills to their peers in fourth through eighth grades.
It will replace a program that organizers said tended to reach tech-savvy kids but didn't push the internet smarts and safety message to all Naperville-area students.
"We're trying to teach them to be positive digital citizens in elementary school so that when they reach high school, they're smart enough that they don't put things out on the internet that will hurt them with their college applications, their internship applications or even their job applications," KidsMatter's Kamala Martinez told our Marie Wilson.
Anyone who frequently uses the internet and actively participates in social media is well aware that finding trouble and encountering bad behavior is only a mouse click away.
How many young adults now regret something they wrote or a picture they posted years ago on social media that lives on in perpetuity?
We'll be watching to see if this approach pays dividends in this important issue, and urge other school districts and youth advocacy groups to reach out to those involved in the Naperville effort for details about potential benefits for them.