This holiday season, the greatest gift we can give our children is a safer digital world

As families across South Africa prepare for the festive season, many parents are finalising holiday plans, juggling year-end responsibilities and (where they can afford it) deciding whether a tablet, smartphone or gaming device will make the perfect gift for their child or children. In a world increasingly shaped by technology, these devices have become synonymous with opportunities to access education, entertainment, connection, and creativity.

But for millions of children, especially girls, the digital world is also where harm quietly lives. It is thus fitting that this year’s recent United Nations 16 Days of Activism of No Violence Against Gender-based Violence campaign focused on the theme Unite to end digital violence against women and girls.

Children are not only present in the digital world; they are among its largest user groups. Global data tells us that one in three internet users globally is a child, and yet online spaces were not designed with their safety in mind.

The reality is stark: the devices children use for learning and connection are the same devices through which they encounter cyberbullying, grooming, online extortion, misinformation, sexual exploitation and harmful content. And while parents and caregivers work tirelessly to protect their children in the physical world, safety in the digital space has slowly shifted onto their shoulders as well.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) conducted a study on Child Online Safety in South Africa called ‘Disrupting Harm’ in 2022, which found that 84% of internet using children access social media on a weekly basis or more. In addition, 53% of surveyed children aged 9 to 17 years-old had seen sexual images online, and 9% of children said that they had been offered money or gifts in return for sexual images or videos.

These are not fringe risks, they are too often the mainstream experiences of childhood in a connected age.

Ask any parent raising a child today: monitoring a child’s online experiences can feel like fighting an invisible, ever-shifting tide. The internet is saturated with advice columns, apps promising safer browsing, and lengthy guides to digital parenting. Families are told to monitor devices, police apps, negotiate screen time, check privacy settings, and discuss online risks with their children, all while managing day-to-day life, work responsibilities, unpaid care, and school demands.

It is clear that more needs to be done to build the knowledge and skills of parents in an accessible manner and to engage with children around technology and online safety. Protecting children online is a responsibility that extends well beyond the home, and government age limits alone are not enough to keep them safe and can backfire. For many children, especially those who are isolated or marginalized, social media is not a luxury. It is a vital lifeline for learning, connection, play, and self-expression. This means that as children’s digital access grows, so too must societal responsibility.

UNICEF urges governments, regulators, companies, and communities to work with children and families to create digital spaces that are safe, inclusive, and uphold children’s rights.

Governments should ensure age-related rules do not replace companies’ responsibility to design safer platforms, moderate content effectively, and address risks to children’s rights. In South Africa, UNICEF is already working with the Department of Basic Education to strengthen child online safety in the classroom.

Through the rollout of the ‘Online Safety’ Life Orientation curriculum for Grade 8-12 developed in collaboration with Google South Africa, learners are being taught how to identify online risks and respond to cyberbullying.

This is a critical step toward building children’s internet literacy and protection skills nationwide. Tech and social media companies must put child safety at the centre, investing in safer design, effective content moderation which can offer differentiated experiences for younger users in safer environment. UNICEF advocates ‘safety-by-design’, safer platforms, built to protect children from the moment they log on: a proactive approach that requires technology companies to build products that are designed to prevent online harm for children, not just respond to it.

This includes stronger privacy settings for children, reduced data collection, better reporting mechanisms, and algorithms that detect harmful content and block it.

As school holidays begin, this is the moment for families to reset, reconnect, and have conversations that may protect children. South Africa has an opportunity to make a powerful statement: that children have a right not only to survive and thrive, but to be safe in every space they occupy, including the digital one. Indeed, children cannot be left to navigate harmful spaces they did not create.

Parents cannot be left alone to navigate harmful spaces alone, and schools cannot teach safety in a system designed for risk. It is time for technology companies, regulators, educators, caregivers, and communities to move together, to build a digital world safer for children.

l Wedenig is UNICEF South Africa Representative

UNICEF’s five top tips for parents outline simple but effective steps:

1. Talk early, talk often about online experiences.
2. Agree on family rules for device use and privacy.
3. Know the platforms your child is using.
4. Keep communication open so children can report uncomfortable encounters.
5. Model healthy digital habits — children learn from what adults do.

Where to get help?

Childline: 116

Film and Publications: 0800 148 148

Gender Based Violence Command Centre: 0800428 428

THE MERCURY