Keys for young people to acquire digital habits that safeguard them from discrimination and cyberbullying

Last year, more than 20 underage girls were shocked to discover that some of their classmates had used artificial intelligence to create fake images that showed them naked. These images were circulating in the WhatsApp groups of schoolchildren in the town of Almendralejo, in Extremadura. This was not an isolated case; similar situations were occurring almost simultaneously in Huelva and Madrid.

These are examples of deep fake pornography, which relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to generate explicit images using the stolen faces of other people. You don't need to be an expert to create these images, you just need to download an app or visit a website, as demonstrated by the case of these children, which is currently being heard in court.

According to data collected by Qustodio, the online safety platform for families, last year alone one in five children between the ages of four and 18 used some kind of generative AI tool, such as ChatGPT or OpenAI.

"Many young people start using AI at a very young age and never really ask themselves how these tools work," said Milagros Sáinz, lead researcher of the Gender and ICT group (GenTIC) of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Sáinz explained how these digital technologies are subject to biases, stereotypes and discrimination, and can affect the mental health and emotional well-being of minors, especially girls, who are the ones on the receiving end of most cyberattacks and cyberbullying.

"We must instil in young people the need to make ethical and responsible use of these resources to achieve a balance and ensure their physical and mental well-being," she said. To do so, according to this expert, it is necessary to educate young people in digital well-being, a concept that encompasses all those habits that foster a safe, healthy, balanced and critical use not only of AI, but of digital media in general. She stressed that this should be done including the gender perspective.

Training teachers

Sáinz, in collaboration with the EduAlter association, which focuses on education for global justice, has produced a report and a set of information sheets for teachers – primarily in secondary schools, though applicable to other age groups as well. The aim is to have a positive impact by providing teachers with tools to educate and empower students, encouraging critical use of digital media. The information sheets have been prepared as part of the Reto project, with funding from the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

"We've developed a content kit to introduce digital tools with a gender perspective into the classroom, with the aim of avoiding social exclusion and empowering young people digitally," Sáinz said.

Above all, she added, we are talking about girls and young women, since they are the ones who receive the most harassment and cyberattacks – according to a report prepared by the Spanish Women's Institute in 2022 – whether it is to insult them, criticize them, convince them to get in touch with people of dubious identity and intentions, to make them the target of sexist attacks or to ask them to send intimate photos. The report also shows that eight out of ten respondents reported having suffered some form of harassment on social media, half of which was driven by the desire for an intimate relationship.

For Sáinz, it is crucial that teachers be able to work with students in the classroom on issues such as not sharing compromising content, or passwords, photos or personal information. "Just as you wouldn't let a stranger into your home, you shouldn't let them have access to your computer or share your digital identity," she said, pointing out that girls and women are more likely to be the target of attacks on social media than boys and men.

"Social media simply extends or amplifies existing gender inequalities, and digital media merely take advantage of these weaknesses and the vulnerability of young women, who are highly susceptible to pressure about their appearance, especially in their early teens," said Sáinz.

Breaking the stereotypes

The pressure to conform to stereotypes, which has a strong influence on girls, is one of the aspects addressed in the material prepared by GenTIC for teachers to work with in the classroom. Just look, said Sáinz, at all the filters they use on their photos on social networks.

Some scientific studies show how teenagers seek social acceptance or validation, especially from their peer group, through social media, which affects both their well-being and their self-esteem. This is especially true during adolescence because they place great importance on their image and physical appearance. Some studies show how the use of social media is even associated with body image disorders.

From the moment a teenager has a mobile phone in their hands, they are unconsciously influenced by the algorithms of the different apps and websites which, depending on whether they are girls or boys, already offer them content related to what they are supposed to like, from music to personal interests. Without questioning the results they receive, young people perpetuate discrimination and inequalities.

Sáinz therefore insists on the importance of educating in digital well-being: "We have to empower them so that they can face the challenges that a digital future will bring with it."

This project contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 3, Good Health and Well-being; 4, Quality Education; 5, Gender Equality; and 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

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Over 500 researchers and more than 50 research groups work in the UOC's seven faculties, its eLearning Research programme and its two research centres: the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) and the eHealth Center (eHC).

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