‘There are more risks on the Internet than in real life’, a new campaign by the Agency and the General Council of Psychology

(Madrid, 18 November 2024). Today, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) and the Spanish General Council of Psychology (COP) launched their campaign ‘There are more risks on the internet than in real life’, aimed at enabling families to assess the consequences of giving their children a device with access to all kinds of internet services. The campaign is supported by Atresmedia, Mediaset España and RTVE, who, through their participation, strengthen their commitment to the rights of children and adolescents in the digital environment and will disseminate it through their respective channels.

More than 90 % of 1° students in ESO have their own mobile phone with an internet connection. In parallel, more than 80 % of parents are concerned about the time spent by children and adolescents with these devices, according to the CIS.

With the campaign ‘There are more risks on the internet than in real life’, the AEPD and the COP want to invite families to reflect on what it really means to deliver a smartphone to their children, equating the effects of certain internet services with the dependence and addiction that some substances generate.

The early and intensive use of digital media has an impact on health at the physical, psychological and social levels in the case of children and adolescents, and their delivery means opening the door to a number of situations that seriously damage both their privacy and, in extreme cases, their mental health: receipt and dispatch of promised photos; cyberbullying contacts with adults who pass through children, hyperconnectivity, etc.). As children are in full development of their personality, intensive use could have consequences for their neurodevelopment. Families have often not received information and are not fully aware of the effects of inappropriate or problematic and addictive use of certain internet services on children and adolescents, seriously affecting their personal development, and in particular their health (physical, mental, psychological and social, sexual); their neurodevelopment; their learning; family and social relationships; consumption habits or monetisation of your data.

In addition, over-exposure of personal information makes them more prone to risky situations such as cyberbullying, sexting or grooming, with consequences that are difficult to repair in some cases.

In this regard, the AEPD report ‘Addictive shoes in the processing of personal data’ focuses on platforms, applications and services whose business model, in many cases, relies on prolonging the time users spend on their platform and increasing their level of commitment and the amount of personal data collected. In general, all consumers of digital products are potential victims of addictive behaviour, as the techniques that can be used to get people to spend longer than recommended or healthy are increasingly sophisticated. The ultimate aim is to maintain attention for as long as possible without taking into account the possible harm it may cause to themselves or their family environment, even changing their will or behaviour with negative and sometimes irreversible consequences for their physical or psychological integrity.

The launch of the Agency’s campaign ‘There are more risks on the Internet than in real life’ together with the General Council of Psychology in Spain deepens its comprehensive strategy on children, digital health and privacy, which sets out this public body’s priority lines of action to promote the protection of children and adolescents in their use of the Internet and its services.