More than just access, we need to build Gen Z’s digital skills

Over 40 per cent of the planet’s 7.4 billion people today access the Internet through a keystroke or swipe of their fingertip, opening up a new digital world of opportunities.

The opportunities offered by connectivity – financial inclusion, access to knowledge, better health and education – comes with new risks, most notably in regards to young users. For ‘digital natives’ or Generation Z (born mid-to-late 90s onwards) who have grown up in developed markets with Internet access for as long as they can remember, safe practices around online behaviour have generally been part of their education.

For many markets in the developing world, however, Internet access is more of a novelty and any risks are less evident to parents or first-time users. Consumers in emerging markets are leapfrogging technologies and joining the digital world at unparalleled rates.

 

First in their households online: children

Looking specifically at young users and Internet, the situation is this: Up to 85 per cent of children in emerging Asia will first access the Internet via mobile because devices are cheaper, connectivity more affordable and more instant than ever before. Physically, kids on mobiles are more difficult for parents to supervise when compared to, say, kids on desktop devices. What’s more, in many cases, the children in developing markets will be the first members of their households to go online, not their parents.

From the booming metropolis of Bangkok to the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia, mobile and digital communication services are reaching hundreds and millions of customers across Southeast Asia, quickly – many of them connecting for the first time. Savvy telecommunications leaders must view Internet safety as a core tenant of their business and a personal responsibility to their customers, helping lay safety nets for those who are most at risk and the generations to come.

I believe there are universal principles around safe Internet use that we must apply in all contexts, such as right to privacy; but the art of balancing these principles with the unique nuances of vastly different markets is where global leaders in the telecommunications industry must excel. Nowhere is this more evident than in Asia, where Internet penetration rates are exponentially growing, often in some of the world’s least connected markets, such as Myanmar.

 

A public-private partnership for digital resilience

Having served in leadership roles in emerging Asia since the late 1990s, I feel a deep professional and personal investment in the region. Today, I believe my real duty as a leader within the industry is to apply my knowledge from more established markets, such as Scandinavia, and help shape the future policies and practices that ensure impactful digital safety programmes for future Asian netizens.

Name calling and cyber bullying is one of the more personal areas of interest I believe industry leaders must focus on. Influencers must use their role to help train and educate Internet users how to prevent bullying. And it cannot be lip service amongst ourselves. True leaders must be willing to roll-up their sleeves and take Internet safety messages directly to those who need it most – speaking directly to kids and parents; working with schools and communities; and forming alliances with organisations that mitigate online risks.

Such initiatives can have a resounding impact. The establishment of the GSMA’s Mobile Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Content in 2008, for example, was inspired in public-private collaboration between leaders in the telecommunications space and Interpol to introduce safety and child pornography filters in mobile phones.

Outreach like this is enormously important also in Asia, where fear about the Internet acts as an obstacle to access. Building awareness and digital skills are invaluable in communities that may be wary of what the Internet actually is. When people understand what it can offer and that there are ways to stay safe, it helps to break down self- or community-imposed barriers to access. 

There is no better time than today for the telecoms industry to expand efforts to keep the Internet safe for the estimated 55 million children around the world expected to come online by 2017. I implore companies to work collaboratively and build partnerships that can ensure our kids and new users are off to a safe start in the digital world. We must study how children behave online, conduct large-scale outreach programmes and create resources, such as parental guides on how to talk to children about the Internet.

If we are to succeed and seal our future as an industry, we must remind ourselves that telecommunication and digital services are only as good as the empowerment and protection they provide to our customers. Playing a key role in our customers’ digital lives, the industry must have a vested interest in the wellbeing of our mobile subscribers, especially the youngest and most vulnerable.  It’s collectively as industry peers and public partners that we can take a real step forward and make monumental impacts in the well-being of their newly connected fellow citizens as they explore this new digital world.

 

Sigve Brekke is president and chief executive of Telenor Group