Data and findings from the survey on the relationship between ‘Children and new technologies’ in 9 municipalities of Gallura belonging to the Plus
PRESS RELEASE
Data and findings from the survey on the relationship between ‘Children and new technologies’ in 9 municipalities of Gallura belonging to the Plus
The Eurispes survey on the relationship between children and digital technology has produced a vast wealth of data and information. At least a significant summary of it was presented at the conference held on Friday 16 October, organised by the research institute and attended by three qualified experts in early childhood: the pedagogist Barbara Pala, contact person for the Plus, a project involving 9 municipalities in Gallura with Tempio Pausania as lead partner; the sociologist Fulvia Romanino, a scientific collaborator of Eurispes; and Benedetta Uda, media educator at Cremit (Research Centre on Media Education, Innovation and Technology), part of the Università Cattolica in Milan. At the conference, chaired by Giuseppe Pulina, philosophy teacher, journalist and scientific collaborator of Eurispes, the main town of Gallura, which played a leading role in the project, was represented by the lawyer Edvige Baldino and by Professor Brunella Manconi. Both stressed the importance of the topic and the pedagogical urgency it carries. This point was also taken up in the opening address by the Director of Eurispes Sardinia, Gerolamo Balata, who also recalled how the Institute, through its studies and its staff, has long been at the forefront in analysing the world of young people in Sardinia.
The latest survey, carried out with the support of the Region of Sardinia, involved the parents of boys and girls aged 6 or under, and therefore attending private facilities or nursery schools in the 9 municipalities covered by the survey (in addition to Tempio Pausania, Aggius, Aglientu, Badesi, Bortigiadas, Calangianus, Luogosanto, Luras and Trinità d’Agultu). In all, 285, matching the number of questionnaires completed and analysed. Not a small number, if one relates it to the total sample. The aim of the survey was to examine household practices in relation to the technologies present in the home. In other words, what guided the observational lens of the Eurispes analysts was the need to establish how far, and how much, people can be said to be concerned about the invasiveness and danger that digital technologies can display when their unfiltered use becomes part of the everyday lives of the youngest children, whether directly or indirectly. A dynamic that brings into play the more or less indirect roles and responsibilities of adults.
Barbara Pala underlined the importance of studies on local trends, ‘important’, she stated, ‘to prevent signs of distress before they become emergencies’. One of these, pointed out by the Plus pedagogist, is, for example, digital educational poverty, which is widening disparities and inequalities in the world of new technologies too.
The analysis of the survey data, enriched with figures and precise reflections, was presented by Fulvia Romanino. The sociologist pointed out that the smartphone is the device mainly used by the parents interviewed, whereas the smart TV proves to be a widely used medium owing to its more direct and easy accessibility. These are the interfaces between the digital dimension and the curious, irrepressible activity of the youngest children. There also appears to be a time of day when access to digital media is easier and more frequent for children: the afternoon and evening hours, when they are not at school and when, perhaps, parents are distractedly busy with several tasks at once.
Benedetta Uda, who is against any preconceived demonisation of digital technology, offered partial praise of it, not to be understood as a mere instrumental support. ‘Digital and new technologies’, she stated, ‘can be useful tools in many fields. They can, for example, foster intergenerational relationships, building bridges between young and old, and they are also essential for documentation, which research and pedagogical practice cannot do without.’ In short, it would be a matter of making good use of the new technological resources. An example? ‘A gentle digital that adapts to the child, rather than asking the child to adapt to it. And then its integrated use within the direct, everyday experience of the youngest children.’ This is a way to ‘normalise’ and optimise the use of technologies that are a cause of concern for many parents. Of these, it emerged, only half use parental control to protect young children from viewing inappropriate television and media content, while (a figure that struck the researchers and the conference audience alike) 34.7% of the sample interviewed stated that they had never even considered using it.
