Aimed primarily at young people, their families and education and child protection professionals, World Internet Day, commonly known as “Safer Internet Day”, celebrated on February 07, 2023, aims to theme this year “All for a better internet”.
The question of the future of a safe and desired Internet for children, allowing navigation in complete confidence, requires increased and reinforced awareness for the benefit of a large audience, whose beating heart is the child.
Today and in the world of tomorrow, the Internet has become an indispensable means, in particular with the sudden onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought its share of challenges in terms of connectivity, placing it on the list sectoral priorities, particularly in education and teaching.
According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), over the past thirty years, the number of Internet users worldwide has grown from a few million to almost five billion.
The use of the Internet includes, in addition to search engines, the use of social networks, as well as new means of communication, mainly by young and old.
This inventory has led the Moroccan Center for Polytechnical Research and Innovation (CMRPI), in partnership with the Association of Users of Information Systems in Morocco (AUSIM), and other actors, to launch two studies analytics in 2017 and 2019.
The studies undertaken aimed to “understand how Moroccan children and young people use the Internet, and what behaviors are at risk of cybercrime among this vulnerable population”.
The risky behaviors adopted by these users have had harmful consequences on their well-being, with an addiction to screens which can lead to a lack of sleep, an unbalanced diet and concentration problems which can impact school results, in addition to an inability to develop social skills.
According to the same study, 45% of children and young people surveyed have come across an event online that bothered or upset them.
In addition, the study “Mental Health Concerns in the Digital Age”, conducted by three experts from Clemson University (United States) and published in 2017, in “International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction”, points out that “the consequences of the over-use of technology have an impact on the behavior, the affectivity and on the cognition of the individual”. These adverse impacts include “decreased social skills, motivation, emotional intelligence and empathy, as well as increased conflict with others, neurodevelopmental disorder (ADHD) and depression in young people. ”.
According to this study, mental health concerns increase with reduced social interactions, which may be the result of increased use of technology and reliance on social media.
Faced with these risks taken due to ignorance or misuse of the Internet, many Moroccan initiatives have been launched at the local level, including the online platform “Espace Maroc cyberconfiance” (EMC).
This non-governmental community project, initiated by the CMRPI, aims in particular to make Internet users aware of Internet protection, to train in good cybersecurity practices and to educate Internet users, especially children and young people, in the effective use of the Internet.
In addition to E-STOPLINE (Reporting), E-HELPLINE (Assistance), the E-Training portal includes a multitude of digital media, making it possible to learn good practices for secure Internet browsing.
