Young people are mostly aware of the digital processing of their data and what it means for their privacy

Children and young people's online privacy is increasingly at risk due to the digitalisation of the digital world, which is becoming an increasingly important issue for policy-making. Understanding how young people perceive online privacy and what they want to protect it is key to designing effective and rights-friendly policy solutions. This paper explores young people's perceptions in four countries and finds that they have a sophisticated understanding of online privacy and clear and robust ideas on how to improve it. Concerns about young people's privacy and desired protection are often linked to their socio-political environment and level of trust in datafication.

Survey participants were mostly aware of the ways in which the digital world is turning them into data and what this means for their privacy. However, the prevalence of this practice has not led to easy rejection or strong demands for greater privacy. Instead, it seemed to make it difficult to imagine viable or realistic alternatives to their online privacy. Nevertheless, young people in all research sites were able to articulate a clear set of privacy principles that they believed should govern the digital world. 

Comparatively speaking, these principles overlapped to a large extent. Only three principles were completely unique to one country, namely Slovenia. These include: restrictions or limitations on young people, parental control requirements and a broader category of other unrelated proposals, which is to be expected given the sample size. This may reflect the common experience shared by young people in the 'global' online environment. Despite this similarity, unique socially-driven differences were also evident. 

Understanding young people's perspectives and preferences on privacy protection is an increasingly important task. When policy makers around the world take action to protect young people's privacy, it is vital that their voices are heard, as they can contribute to more effective policy solutions. The survey shows that young people are willing and able to participate in debates and highlights the potential and importance of local consultations in shaping privacy policies. 

The research Online Privacy, Young People, and Datafication : Different Perceptions About Online Privacy Across Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Ghana, and Slovenia was conducted by Teaching Assistant Katja Koren Ošljak from Centre for Cultural and Religious Studies.  

Photo: Ministry of education Antigua and Barbuda, Education Brodcasting Unit