Precarious Childhood: Law and its (Ir)Relevance in The Digital Lives of Children

36 Pages Posted: 6 Mar 2020

See all articles by Liat Franco

Liat Franco

Zefat Academic College

Shulamit Almog

University of Haifa - Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

This research provides insight to the way children perceive law and its relevance in the digital realm drawing on in- depth semi-structured interviews with sixty-six eighth- and ninth-grade students from three different Israeli middle schools. According to the findings, children experience the digital world as a precarious environment. Most children interviewed were unaware of or misunderstood relevant legal norms designed to protect web users in general and children in particular. Moreover, children experienced a lack of legal or other appropriate responses to severe incidents of cyberbullying that they experienced firsthand or witnessed as bystanders. Even though children are considered by adults to be digital savvy, as they are spending a growing share of time online and on social media apps, they have almost no awareness of their rights in this sphere. This study provides evidence suggesting that this low-level legal consciousness is responsible for the anxiety and fear articulated by the children we interviewed.

Suggested Citation

Franco, Liat and Almog, Shulamit, Precarious Childhood: Law and its (Ir)Relevance in The Digital Lives of Children (2019). Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3531860

Liat Franco

Zefat Academic College ( email )

11 Jerusalem St.
Zefat, 1320611
Israel

Shulamit Almog (Contact Author)

University of Haifa - Faculty of Law ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

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