The problem of child safety in the digital space

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technologies has transformed the lives of children and young people. The digital space offers children endless opportunities to learn, play, communicate and express themselves. However, it also poses a number of risks and threats, such as cyberbullying, grooming and exposure to harmful content. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current state of the criminological safety of a child in the digital space based on a survey among Ukrainian schoolchildren aged 11-17. Our task is to determine the level of awareness of teenagers about safe behavior on the Internet, as well as to identify the most common threats and assess the level of risky behavior of Ukrainian children on the Internet. The article emphasizes that the range of threats to underage Internet users is much wider than to adults due to the peculiarities of this age group. Empirical research shows that schoolchildren tend to act rather carelessly in the digital space, particularly in regards to making new contacts and communicating online. We believe that the family and the school should play the dominant role in familiarizing children with existing online threats and the fundamentals of safe behavior in the digital space.