Children and youth often bear the brunt of risks in today’s information ecosystem and will be most directly affected by the technologies reshaping them, the United Nations is warning.
These groups are among the most connected populations in the world, but face risks associated with disinformation, hate speech, algorithmic manipulation and emerging artificial intelligence technologies, the UN’s Department of Global Communications highlights in a new issue brief.
Published on the eve of International Youth Day, observed on 12 August, the document underlines than more than 82% of young people aged 15 to 24 use the Internet. This unprecedented level of connectivity offers opportunities for learning, civic participation, and economic inclusion. However, growing dependence on digital environments means that the negative impacts of online platforms can have profound consequences for the cognitive, emotional, and social development of younger generations.
Three key risk categories
The UN identifies three main categories of risks to information integrity: technology-enabled risks, linked to the misuse of digital tools and artificial intelligence; access and distribution risks, associated with algorithms, digital inequalities, and the decline of independent journalism; and content-based risks, including disinformation, online harassment and hate speech. These challenges particularly affect children and adolescents, who are still developing the critical skills needed to interpret and assess the information they consume.
Major technology platforms have a key role in creating digital environments designed to maximize user attention, the report highlights. Business models based on data collection and behavioral advertising encourage practices that can exploit children’s psychological vulnerabilities, exposing them to extreme content, addictive mechanisms and highly personalised marketing strategies.
In response to these concerns, governments in various parts of the world have introduced new regulatory measures aimed at strengthening children’s online safety. Among the most widely debated proposals are age-based restrictions on access to social media platforms. However, child rights experts caution that such measures alone are insufficient and may even limit access to digital spaces that play an important role in education, social interaction, and emotional support.
Youth targeted online
Youth-led movements increasingly use online platforms to mobilise support around issues such as climate change, human rights, and the fight against corruption. These groups often face disinformation campaigns, surveillance, coordinated attacks and censorship, reinforcing the need for safer and more transparent information environments.
As a response, the UN advocates the implementation of its five Global Principles for Information Integrity: strengthening societal trust; creating healthier incentives for technology companies; empowering the public; supporting free and independent media; and enhancing transparency and research. Children and young people should be viewed not only as users in need of protection, but also as active participants in shaping the information ecosystem, the report argues.
The UN is calling for coordinated action among governments, technology companies, media organisations, researchers, civil society groups and young people themselves. Meaningful youth participation, combined with evidence-based policies and respect for human rights, will be essential to ensuring that digital transformation contributes to more resilient, informed, and democratic societies.
Read the full report here.
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