In 2021, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted General Comment No. 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. This is an official supplement to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the first international legal document to explicitly recognize the application of children’s rights both offline and online.

Children and young people have never been as connected as they are today. Worldwide, 71 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds are already online. One in three internet users is under the age of 18. Children and young people are coming into contact with the digital world at an increasingly young age. This greater connectivity gives rise to many new opportunities, but also to risks. 

Participation in the digital transformation is not guaranteed equally for millions of children worldwide. Young people who lack digital skills are at a disadvantage and have poorer prospects for the future. It is therefore especially important to give all children and young people equal access to the digital environment and promote their digital skills. It is essential that the potential risks associated with digitalization are taken seriously. In addition to issues related to child protection and data privacy, this also includes the mental health burden caused by various aspects. 

You can find out more about the global situation of children and young people with regard to digitalization in the UNICEF report “Children in a Digital World”.

In 2021, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child made the following recommendations in connection with digitalization as part of the States parties’ reporting procedure aimed at implementing children’s rights in Switzerland:

• Promote digital literacy among children, teachers, parents and caregivers.
• Provide special protection for children’s privacy in the digital sphere through regulations and measures.
• Ensure the protection and safety of children by developing standards.
• Ensure legislation respects children’s right to privacy and protects children from harmful content and risks.
• Implement mechanisms for filing complaints and prosecuting violations.

As part of the States parties’ reporting procedure, UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein conducted the survey “Children’s Rights from the Perspective of Children and Young People”. For the first time, young people between the ages of 9 and 17 were asked about the implementation of children’s rights in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

With regard to digitalization, the following findings emerged:

• Nearly one in three children did not feel safe in the digital sphere.
• One in five children in Switzerland saw influencers as role models. In Liechtenstein, the figure was one in four.
• The privacy of one in ten children had been violated by photos and/or videos being shared without their consent.

The MIKE study conducted by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) surveyed more than 100 children between the ages of 6 and 13. The younger children used their phones primarily for entertainment, in the form of music, games and online videos, while children aged 10 and older mostly communicated via social networks. More than half of the children in this age group had their own phone, rising to three-quarters among 12- to 13-year-olds. 

The proportions using their phones at least once a week were as follows:

• 40 percent of 6- to 9-year-olds  
• 68 percent of 10- to 11-year-olds 
• 81 percent of 12- to 13-year-olds

Of the primary school students surveyed:

• 50 percent used WhatsApp 
• 37 percent used TikTok 
• 28 percent used Snapchat
• 17 percent used Instagram

The majority of children had positive experiences on the internet, but just under half of them reported that they had seen frightening content, while 40 percent had seen content unsuitable for children.
 

The JAMES study conducted by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) surveyed 1,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 19. New trends became visible in the 2022 study. Social networks occupied an important place in the everyday lives of young people in Switzerland. Girls began using social networks earlier and were the ones setting the trends there.

The teenagers surveyed used the following social networks several times a week:

• 97 percent WhatsApp
• 81 percent Instagram
• 76 percent Snapchat
• 67 percent TikTok

Young people are repeatedly confronted with sexual harassment and cyberbullying on the internet:

• 50 percent of young people have been sexually harassed online at least once.
• Half of all girls have been asked to send erotic photos of themselves to a stranger.
• False or offensive statements about one in three young people have been shared in private chats.