Spotlight on digital media and children’s and young people’s wellbeing

The Nordic Welfare Centre has been tasked to lead a new Nordic cooperation project on a safer digital democracy for children and youth. The aim of this two-year project is to promote Nordic cooperation on efforts to protect the wellbeing and safety of children and youth online. A Nordic Steering Group has been appointed and they had a first meeting a few days ago.  

– Their first task is to appoint a Working Group that will map and analyse current knowledge and research on the positive and negative effects of digital media on children and young people, says Clara Sommarin, Senior Adviser and leader of the project. This analysis, and our collective Nordic and international knowledge will be the point of departure for recommendations for Nordic cooperation on these matters.  

Recommendation from Think Tank 

The project was initiated based on a key recommendation from the Nordic Think Tank for Tech and Democracy. Last year they presented 11 recommendations to the Nordic countries on how to protect and strengthen the democratic debate in the Nordic Region. The project specifically follows up on Recommendation 2A “Protect the well-being and safety of children and youth online and push for more general control for citizens.”   

Screen time a hot topic 

Screen time and how the use of digital media affects young people’s mental and physical health repeatedly makes the headlines in the Nordic countries and is also climbing on the political agenda. The members of the Nordic Council of Ministers for Health and Social Affairs agreed at a meeting in Stockholm a few days ago that more work should be done at the Nordic level to address how screen time affects the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Clara Sommarin agrees. 

– This is an important issue. The Working Group will analyse the negative effects of social media and the internet on children and young people, including excessive screen time. 

Children’s own voices important 

On May 7, the Nordic Welfare Centre is hosting a Nordic digital conference on good health and well-being. Steering Group member Sara Fritzell, representing the Public Health Agency of Sweden, is one of the presenters. She will share preliminary results from a knowledge compilation she has been working on regarding health effects from digital media use among children. They have reviewed research literature, analysed survey data but also interviewed about 200 children in Swedish schools and preschools. Collecting Nordic children’s own voices is important also for this project.  

– Within the project, a civil society report will be prepared, giving children and young people a voice on this issue. It is important to highlight their voices and their contribution to increased knowledge and insight into the effects of social media platforms on children and young people, Clara Sommarin says.  

The project Safer Digital Democracy – Nordic cooperation on a safer digital democracy for children and youth ends in 2026 and you can follow the progress, production and results on the project website.