Digital technology brings communication, education, shopping, entertainment, news, games, fun and much more to everyone, including children. Technology provides children instantaneous access to huge quantities of beneficial materials and offers them a participatory pathway to involvement in society. Digital technology, especially the Internet, is also a vector for cyber-criminals to dispense harm, annoyance and other wrongdoings.
The proliferation of digital technologies is accompanied by increasing concern about children’s exposure to associated risks and threats. Exposure to risks turns out to be a general side effect of today’s children growing up in a digital world. This calls for a pragmatic approach to mitigate the desire to avoid risks and the necessity to access beneficial materials and to balance the immense benefits of digital technology with the safety of the children.
This study is designed to provide an accurate depiction of how children consume digital technology in Nigeria. As such, the respondent pool is structured in favour of children of 4-16 years of age. The study explores the issue of children’s device ownership, usage and benefits in pari passu with their awareness of the risks and challenges.