"Health, privacy, and trust in a digital world: what do children & young people think?", December 2019

Children also have a right to have their views heard, as enshrined within the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child... When asked about healthy and unhealthy uses of technology, participants [children interviewed by UNICEF spoke about]... impact on ‘confidence and self-esteem’ to the ability to access new information effortlessly – technology clearly brings many benefits as well as risks... [P]articipants made it very clear that ‘digital rights are human rights’ and voiced many concerns about their privacy online... [T]hey also acknowledged that ‘we’re not educated enough to know if this is enough’... The mistrust in corporate actors seemed most related to suspicions around how personal data is monetised, and whether it can be used to manipulate thoughts and feelings... [P]articipants had clear ideas of the kinds of changes they would like to see – spanning ‘more legislation especially for under 18s’, to greater transparency, and more power to decide what happens to their data.