Designing Digital Childhood
Children aged 8 –15 are growing up inside platforms designed for adult attention markets, increasingly shaped by AI systems that personalise, persuade and profile. The dominant industry response has been surveillance: parental controls, monitoring apps and screen-time blockers. But filtering a child’s internet is not the same as preparing a child for it. Three shifts make this conversation urgent: (1) AI is rapidly changing what children encounter online, from synthetic media to algorithmic peer dynamics; (2) commercial design logic increasingly diverges from what is good for children’s development; and (3) the public debate has narrowed to “how do we restrict?” instead of “how do we equip?”. This evening, we bring researchers, educators, parents, and builders together for an honest dialogue about digital childhood. We will discuss what the latest research reveals about the real risks and opportunities children face online, reflect on which public values, agency, judgment, care, inclusivity, should shape how kids learn to navigate digital life; and offer a hopeful perspective by zooming in on tangible, skills-first alternatives being tested in the Netherlands and beyond.
This event can only be attended physically at our studio. The recordings will be made available later on and can be viewed via dezwijger.nl/terugkijken or via our YouTube channel. In conversation with Misagh Akhondzad Founder & CEO of WiseGen