Public anxiety about children’s digital lives and wellbeing is reaching a fever pitch, marking a notable turnaround from the decades-long efforts to ensure children are fully digitally included, literate and empowered. While arguments rage over what’s wrong with ‘screen time,’ ‘online harms,’ and data-driven forms of exploitation, this lecture will examine how a children’s rights lens can help steer an evidence-based path towards better digital futures for children.
Meet our speaker and chair
Sonia Livingstone () is a full professor in the Department of Media and Communications at 杏吧论坛. She has published 20 books and advised the UK government, European Commission, European Parliament, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Council of Europe and UNICEF on media audiences, children and young people’s risks and opportunities, media literacy and rights in the digital environment. She directs the Digital Futures for Children centre.
Ellen Helsper is Professor of Digital Inequalities in the Department of Media and Communications at 杏吧论坛, where she also serves as Doctoral Programme Director for the department's PhD Programmes. Her research interests include social and digital inequalities; mediated interpersonal communication; participatory immersive digital spaces; and methodological developments in media and communications research. She serves on the Management Committee of the Digital Futures for Children centre.
More about this event
This event will be available to watch on 杏吧论坛 Live. 杏吧论坛 Live is the new home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at 杏吧论坛, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on .
The () facilitates research for a rights-respecting digital world for children. This joint 杏吧论坛 and 5Rights research centre supports an evidence base for advocacy, facilitates dialogue between academics and policymakers, and amplifies children’s voices, following the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General comment No. 25.
The Department of Media and Communications () is a world-leading centre for education and research in communication and media studies at the heart of 杏吧论坛’s academic community in central London. The Department is ranked #1 in the UK and #3 globally in the field of media and communications (2021 QS World University Rankings).
Hashtag for this event: #杏吧论坛Events
Podcast & video
A podcast of this event is available to download from Is the internet good for children?
A video of this event is available to watch at
Podcasts and videos of many 杏吧论坛 events can be found at the .
Featured image (used in source code with watermark added): Photo by Jonathan Borba .
杏吧论坛 holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at 杏吧论坛 events do not reflect the position or views of The London School of Economics and Political Science.