Campaign

Positive Online Content Awareness Month

Positive Online Content Campaign 2022

Children nowadays interact with modern technology and online content from the earliest of ages - which is why it is crucial that their first digital experiences be of the highest quality possible.

The Positive Online Content Campaign (POCC) aims to raise awareness about the importance of positive online content for children, to foster a discussion with youth, parents and teachers to make them aware about the state of positive online content for children in their country, and to encourage a discussion with industry and content producers and providers to encourage the production of more positive online content for children.

 

Positive Online Content Awareness Month 

 

The Positive Online Content Awareness Month took place throughout September 2022, with each week dedicated to one of the above-mentioned stakeholders:

  • Week 1 focused on promoting general positive online content concepts and, above all, the positive online content criteria checklist.
  • Week 2 targeted parents and carers.
  • Week 3 targeted children and young people.
  • Week 4 was dedicated to on industry and content producers, culminating with an industry-centred Focus Group online on Thursday, 29 September 2022.

See also social media promotion of the campaign on Twitter using the #PositiveOnlineContent hashtag.

During Positive Online Content Awareness Month, we shared daily posts on social media highlighting POC resources and quick, interactive polls/quizzes on POC. In addition, a Twitter conversation and Twitter Space were hosted in preparation for the Focus Group. Find more information on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. 

 

Stakeholders

There are various ways in which the different stakeholders can both get involved and benefit from the campaign: 

  • Children (0-12 years of age): "Positive online content: a better digital childhood for you!"

Children have the right to enjoy the best possible online experiences the internet can provide. By providing them with positive online content from an early age, we can help children to learn, develop and express themselves and, above all, have fun in a safe online space in which they are free to participate without risk of harm.

More generally, we believe that children's digital literacy skills should be developed from an early age in order to allow them to assess the content they find online critically, while in turn protecting them from future online risks such as grooming, cyberbullying, sextortion, revenge porn or simply if encountering inappropriate content while surfing the web. By exposing young children to high-quality online content from their very first online experiences, they can learn how to recognise the basic components of appropriate and positive content and services.

  • Parents and carers: "Positive online content: a better digital childhood for your children"

It is in all parents' interests that their children have access to the best online experiences and that they are safe, while at the same time stimulated, informed and empowered. The Positive Online Content Campaign therefore intends to raise awareness and inform parents and carers of what they should be looking for in online services/apps/content that is respectful of their children's needs and learning capacities.

What is more, by developing parents' digital literacy skills, this will empower them to act as digital role models, providing positive examples for their children right from their earliest online experiences. Children need to be monitored and seconded, which is why parents should be able to establish boundaries and guidelines for them. Parents cannot do everything, of course, but as informed consumers, digitally literate parents can play an active role, also by challenging industry, content providers and even politicians to make sure their children gain access to the best available online content.

  • Teachers and educators: "Positive online content: a better digital childhood for your pupils"

Digital content is playing an increasingly significant role in children's education, from an ever-younger age. For this reason, teachers and educators should be equipped to properly and effortlessly navigate through the wide array of online content available, in order to ensure the safest, most informative and engaging experiences for their pupils. Positive online content and services have the potential to enrich lessons - and indeed any educational activities - by taking advantage of children's almost innate fascination and motivation to learn through digital media.

  • Content providers and producers: "Positive online content: a better digital childhood for all"

Producers and providers of digital content who design, develop and distribute online content and services targeted at children up to 12 years of age probably play the biggest role in ensuring that younger generations have access to age appropriate, safe, informative and empowering online experiences from the outset.

Thanks to our tailor-made checklist, content providers and producers from across Europe may design, adapt and customise their products so as to contribute to raising an empowered and digitally-skilled generation of active citizens.