UK Safer Internet Centre Director David Wright has looked at the expectations and effects this time has had towards children online during the Covid-19 pandemic in a new, full report.

Covid-19 has affected the lives of billions of people across the world, with unprecedented peacetime restrictions imposed.  The reaction has been an extraordinary digital migration; a migration online to maintain some form of normality in terms of social, economic, entertainment and learning.

The increased use of digital infrastructure and services is clear to see right across the sector and resulted in a challenge for providers to meet the heighten demand and maintain access to their services.   As Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s digital chief pointed out “we have had a full-scale crash test of everything digital”.

When it comes to online technology, children are usually early adopters and sadly face threats and harms online.  As the global pandemic and associated digital migration intensified, organisations started to highlight the increased risk of harm to children. 

The predictions of threats and harms have highlighted a broad range of impacts on children, spanning child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse material online through the impact of the restrictions and school closures on children’s health and wellbeing.

Whilst helpful to focus the mind and support preventative measures, appreciating the realisation of predictions is important.  Whilst still a matter of weeks into the global pandemic, evidence of impact on children has started to emerge, published by organisations and youth groups as they share their experience and data.  This is helpful in understanding the emerging impact on children online and compiled in this report

In terms of the early evidence published, this would suggest that

It is important to continue to consider the impact on children online and appreciate the evidence of impact especially as different phases of the pandemic progresses.