The Horizon 2020-funded DigiGen research project explores how digital technology affects children and young people’s everyday life.

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DigiGen explores the impact of digitalisation on children and youth

A consortium of eight universities in collaboration with COFACE Families Europe has launched DigiGen: a three-year multidisciplinary research project which explores how children and young people are affected by and use digital technologies in their daily life.  

The study considers the positive and negative impacts of using technology on children and young people including by examining how children’s use of digital technologies to communicate with family has an impact on childcare options in Member States where there are varying access to formal childcare.

Researchers will also consider how characteristics such as socioeconomic background and gender affects the extent to which children are able to participate as ‘digital citizens’.

The project focuses particularly on four thematic areas:

• educational institutions,
• the home,
• leisure time and
• children and civic participation.

The study uses quantitative and qualitative methods and in-depth case studies and involves a consortium of eight European universities from Austria, Estonia, Germany,  Greece, Norway, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, and COFACE Families Europe, a European network of civil society associations representing the interests of all families.

The project began in December 2019 and is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Children’s rights in the digital age

The consortium aims to use this research to develop effective social, educational, health and online safety policies, practices and market regulation, in collaboration with interested stakeholders

Stakeholders across the EU and Europe are increasingly recognising the importance of safeguarding children’s rights in the digital age. In 2019, the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) called on national governments, the European Commission, and the Council of Europe to take actions that would ensure that ‘children and young people might be able to enjoy the benefits and opportunities which the digital environment offers’.

EPIC provides a platform for research and policy about children

The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) is a platform which provides resources for Member States and monitors activities triggered by the Recommendation for Investing in Children by sharing good practices for children and families to foster cooperation and mutual learning in the field.

EPIC stores a repository of studies, reports, and statistics relating to EU child and family policy, including child participation, wellbeing, and education. EPIC also collates a searchable database of innovative and evidence-based practices.