The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has concluded a survey across Nigeria on the impact of digital technology on young children.
According to NCC, the survey Titled: Study On Young Children And Digital Technology: A survey Across Nigeria, is designed to examine the current issues of young people and digital technology consistent with the Child Online Protection Policy of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Executive summary of the survey posted by NCC on its website indicates that “Digital technology brings communication, education, shopping, entertainment, news, games, fun and much more to everyone, including children.
“Technology provides children instantaneous access to huge quantities of beneficial materials and offers them a participatory pathway to involvement in society.
“Digital technology, especially the Internet, is also a vector for cyber-criminals to dispense harm, annoyance and other wrongdoings.
“Nowadays, children go online more often, for longer periods, at younger ages with diverse devices and for different purposes. The ways in which the Nigerian child seeks out information, socialises, plays and learns have been altered by the rise and use of new technologies. The proliferation of digital technologies is accompanied by increasing concern about children’s exposure to associated risks and threats.
“Exposure to risks turns out to be a general side effect of today’s children growing up in a digital world. This calls for a pragmatic approach to mitigate the desire to avoid risks and the necessity to access beneficial materials and to balance the immense benefits of digital technology with the safety of the children.
“However, the risks and opportunities of digital technologies are not the same for all children. Large gaps exist in access, skills and use, which can affect both online and offline outcomes for children. In general, children who are vulnerable offline tend to be disadvantaged in online spaces as well. This study is designed to provide an accurate depiction of how children consume digital technology in Nigeria.
“As such, the respondent pool is structured in favour of children of 4-16 years of age. The study explores the children’s device ownership, usage and benefits in pari passu with their awareness of the risks and challenges.
“The survey takes a child-centric approach, relying on the children’s voices and views to identify and analyse the challenges children encounter with digital technology. The focus is to establish what children actually do online as opposed to what adults think they do. This Research & Development Final Report Page 7 includes understanding children’s definitions of digital technology, digital use, online contacts and risky or unsafe behaviour. Stratified multi-stage sampling was the research design chosen for this study.
“The survey population was delineated into four strata with each stratum segmented into four clusters. This ensured that the survey selected samples in such a way that the target sub-groups were represented in the sample in the same proportion that they exist in the population. Secondary data were sourced through extensive desk review of literature focusing on tapping into the knowledge, experience and expertise of many organizations and individuals from across the world that are specialists in the field of child online protection.
“Extant pertinent Laws, Acts, Charters, Policies and Guidelines were comprehensively scrutinised to tease out gaps and ascertain adequacy. The study yielded results in the following broad lines: a) articulation of the level of availability and penetration of technological devices to children (4-16 years of age); b) identification and analysis of challenges encountered by the children; and, c) recommendation of regulatory actions to be taken to shore up online protection for the Nigerian child”.
