Educating the child: digital literacy and wellbeing

But technology is only part of the story. Evolving parenting styles, shifting educational practices, the changing nature of work and the erosion of institutional trust have converged to create a world where critical literacy (the ability to interrogate information, authority and systems), ethical reasoning and resilient selfhood are necessities for modern thriving.  

Safeguarding digital wellbeing demands more than simplistic measures such as controlling screen time, as this fails to capture the complexity of children's digital experiences. We must teach young people to live well with technology, not apart from it, cultivating the capacities of conscience, critical judgement and courage: qualities that enable young people to live ethically, wisely and resiliently in a world where online and offline realities are blended. 

Positive, purposeful digital engagement can enhance learning, expand and strengthen social networks, foster creativity and facilitate civic participation, particularly when scaffolded by adults. However, there are substantial risks, too. Excessive, unstructured, or unsupervised digital use correlates with higher rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption and exposure to harmful content. Vulnerable groups often face intensified risks and reduced support, deepening existing inequalities. AI-driven personalisation can amplify bias, create unhealthy synthetic relationships with AI agents, influencers and created personas, and manipulate attention and emotion for commercial or algorithmic ends and in ways children are ill-prepared to recognise. These dynamics distort trust, loyalty and emotional connection.  

Character education can help to address some of these challenges, but it must be reimagined for the digital age, moving beyond technical fluency to include critical emotional literacy: the ability to recognise manipulation, distinguish authentic from constructed relationships and navigate digital emotional life with care and discernment. It must equip young people to recognise that their attention carries value, and that their agency within digital environments must be consciously protected, not passively surrendered. It’s definitely time to retire the long-pervasive myth of the ‘digital native’. Familiarity with technology does not equip young people with critical literacy, emotional resilience, or ethical judgement. When left unguided, children’s healthy impulses towards curiosity, sociability and creativity can expose them to risks they are not yet equipped to manage.  

Today’s more complex digital ecosystems demand adult leadership, not abdication. Adults must reclaim their role as guides, mentors and ethical coaches in digital life, even if uncertainty makes this uncomfortable. The journey towards digital autonomy requires careful judgement about the child’s reflective capacity, vulnerability to peer influence and ability to recognise and manage risk. It is a developmental task that demands intentional, structured guidance, with scaffolded autonomy matched to the child’s maturity, skills, resilience and the complexity of the digital contexts they inhabit. Without structured, deliberate adult support, children are poorly equipped to recognise manipulation, assess credibility, or manage digital adversity, thus destabilising emotional wellbeing.  

Cognitive resilience can be built by helping young people to assess trustworthiness, recognise manipulation techniques, pause before reacting emotionally and question emotionally charged narratives. Adults need to normalise help-seeking as an act of strength and establish trusted, non-punitive disclosure pathways. They can equip children to set and keep boundaries, helping them to decide what they share, whom they engage with and when to withdraw. Practising refusal strategies, modelling boundary-respecting behaviour and fostering trust in their own judgement can all support this process. Adults who combine warmth, structure and encouragement set clear expectations, build relational trust and offer increasing opportunities for independent decision-making. They respect the child’s agency while ensuring that scaffolding remains until judgement and resilience are sufficiently developed. The goal of digital autonomy is not to eliminate risk but to foster resilient, wise navigation.

From principles to practice: a decision-making framework 

In a world shaped by rapidly evolving technologies, ethical participation, resilience and autonomy cannot be secured through prescriptive regulation alone. Schools and families must exercise principled judgement: a way of thinking that holds fast to developmental truths even as digital landscapes change. I propose a simple decision-making framework that applies three interconnected lenses: 

1. Capability Assess the child’s skills, understanding and resilience in relation to the context. What technical fluency, critical literacy, emotional self-awareness and relational discernment does the child demonstrate? Are they ready to navigate a platform or experience independently, or does it require supervision, coaching, or structured limitation? Capability is not an age, a device, or a checklist; it is a dynamic developmental state that demands careful, individualised judgement. 

2. Conscience Every digital engagement carries ethical dimensions. Educators and families must ask: does this experience encourage critical thought, empathy, integrity and relational responsibility, or does it erode them? Conscience is not simply about preventing harm; it is about building the child’s ability to reason ethically, to act reflectively and to hold to values even when digital spaces challenge them. 

3. Courage Decisions must ask: does this foster the child’s resilience, ethical agency and capacity to make hard choices in complexity? Are we equipping them to act with courage, not merely to comply with supervision? 

This framework is designed to be practical, flexible and enduring. Schools can apply it across digital strategy, curriculum design, pastoral care and parent engagement. Families can use it to guide everyday decisions about platforms, freedoms, responsibilities and risk. 

The realities of digital ecosystems, with their profound influence on learning, relationships, identity and emotional development, demand a response rooted not in fear, but in principled action. Blocking, banning and hoping for the best are not strategies to rely on. The ‘Because I say so’ approach leaves children unprepared to navigate complexity, unarmed against manipulation and unsupported in the ethical development they now urgently require.  

Technology will continue to change; human needs will not. By educating for capability, conscience and courage, we do not merely prepare children to survive digital life; we equip them to shape it – with judgement, integrity and grace. 

This blog is taken from a longer white paper, which you can access here: Educating the Child: Digital Literacy and Wellbeing  

Laura Knight MEd PGCE FCCT FRSA CMgr is the founder and CEO of Sapio, an education consultancy dedicated to helping schools and organisations navigate digital transformation. She has 20 years' experience in both maintained and independent schools in the UK and is an experienced keynote speaker, writer and advisor on technology, AI, digital wellbeing and the future of education.