The study Being digitally skilled starts offline (link is external), conducted among more than one thousand young people aged 10 to 15, shows that as young people grow older, they assess their digital skills increasingly optimistically. For example, three-quarters of the oldest group (aged 14–15) think they have sufficient digital skills, compared with approximately half of the youngest group (aged 10–11). However, when these skills were tested, only 39% achieved a score that can be considered sufficiently digitally skilled.
Less skilled, more vulnerabilities
“So it is not the case that digital skills automatically increase with age,” explains Andrea Berkelder, coordinator of digital literacy for young people at the KB. “Less digitally skilled young people in particular see fewer dangers in using the internet, for example. They often do not know how to deal with unpleasant situations and are also more likely to behave hurtfully online themselves.” Young people with fewer digital skills also rely less on the knowledge of parents and teachers, which, according to Berkelder, can create a vicious circle. “In that situation, a lack of knowledge, reduced resilience, less socially responsible online behavior and a tendency to take less advice from adults seem to reinforce one another. The good news is that the active involvement of adults can turn this dynamic around for the better.” This is also why, Berkelder adds, promoting digital skills is one of the three priorities of public libraries.
Start the conversation with children at a young age
The younger children are when parents first start talking to them about media use, the better. At a younger age, children overestimate themselves less and are more receptive to lessons from their parents. For example, 67% of 12-year-olds say that their parents know more about the internet than they do, compared with just under 40% of 15-year-olds. Berkelder: “An additional advantage is that young children do not yet mind talking about more sensitive subjects. As children grow older, they become less willing to talk to their parents about internet safety, online behavioral norms and their online image. Older young people prefer to discuss these subjects with friends, partly because they think their parents know too little about them.”
Opportunities for parents and teachers
Although the study shows a positive relationship between young people’s digital skills and the extent to which their parents discuss media-related topics with them, those surveyed indicate that parents have shown less involvement in this area over the past three years. Berkelder: “Moreover, when parents do engage in this conversation with young people, it is often about the risks associated with media and the internet, while young people would also like to talk about, for example, how to deal with unacceptable behavior.” The study also shows that attention to digital skills during lessons has a positive influence on their development. More than half of the young people say they learned a lot from media programs at school. Less digitally skilled young people are even more likely to say that they learned a lot from these lessons. “So whether it is at school, at home or, for example, in the library: start that conversation with young people about online and media-related matters,” Berkelder urges. “The development of digital skills begins with a good conversation in real life.”
Peter Nikken, a specialist in digital development at the Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi), recognizes the finding that some young people are less able to keep up in the digital society and face many risks. “That is why it is important that all parents, and especially those in vulnerable situations, are able to provide good media education. In doing so, they should be able to work together with other educators in, for example, education, youth work, the library or family support services.”