An article by Director Mirta Michilli in Agenda Digitale
From the regulation of smartphones in schools to the responsibility of digital platforms, from the role of families to teacher training, the debate on children and the media is currently at the centre of public attention. In two articles published by the magazine Agenda Digitale, the Director General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale Mirta Michilli offers an analysis that moves beyond the most common dichotomies to bring the issue back to its educational and cultural dimensions.
Starting from Karl Popper’s historic reflection on ‘television as a bad teacher’, the analysis shows how the digital transformation has made it increasingly difficult to think in terms of individual tools. Smartphones, social networks, streaming platforms and artificial intelligence systems are now part of an integrated media ecosystem, in which content, algorithms and usage practices are constantly intertwined. In this scenario, limiting intervention to access to devices risks failing to grasp the complexity of the phenomenon.
The discussion then broadens to digital environments and the logic that governs them. Algorithms designed to maximise attention and dwell time, the logic determining content selection and visibility, platform business models, and phenomena such as ‘rabbit holes’ influence not only behaviour but also cognitive processes, self-perception and our relationship with the world. Hence the need to shift the debate from the mere control of tools to the quality of the environments in which the younger generations are growing up.
At the heart of the two articles lies a strategic issue for Europe: the link between digital sovereignty, cognitive sovereignty and the education of young people. The ability to develop critical thinking, autonomy and awareness becomes an essential prerequisite not only for individual well-being, but also for the democratic stability of our societies. This requires long-term public policies, investment in media and AI literacy, support for schools, family involvement and greater responsibility on the part of platforms in the design of digital environments.
A reflection that invites us to look beyond the emergency and build an educational culture capable of guiding young people through the complexities of the present.
Read the articles on Digital Agenda
- Smartphones at school and social media: the limits of bans for minors
The debate on media and minors often focuses on bans, but the digital transformation requires a broader response. From television to social media, the crux remains media literacy, the quality of digital environments and the responsibility of platforms, schools and families - Media and minors: from bans to educational care
The relationship between minors and digital platforms is not just about access and devices. Algorithms, recommendation systems and engagement models affect young people’s experiences, whilst schools, families, institutions and businesses are called upon to build a shared educational responsibility
