Towards Resilience and Autonomy-based Approaches for Adolescents Online Safety

TL;DR

The paper addresses adolescent online safety by arguing for a shift from restrictive parental mediation to resilience-based, privacy-preserving interventions that empower teens to self-regulate online behavior. It outlines four resilience-centered strands pursued by the authors: youth advisory boards (Teenovate), joint family oversight via CO-oPS, youth-centered online risk detection, and real-time nudges evaluated through teen co-design and simulation environments. Key findings from ongoing work suggest that teen-centered participatory design improves engagement, transparency, and nuanced understanding of risk contexts, while bidirectional family tools can enhance communication without eroding autonomy. The work aims to inform practice and policy, with anticipated impact on teen digital well-being and privacy-preserving safety mechanisms, and seeks collaboration at venues like KOPS 2023.

Abstract

In this position paper, we discuss the paradigm shift that has emerged in the literature, suggesting to move away from restrictive and authoritarian parental mediation approaches to move toward resilient-based and privacy-preserving solutions to promote adolescents' online safety. We highlight the limitations of restrictive mediation strategies, which often induce a trade-off between teens' privacy and online safety, and call for more teen-centric frameworks that can empower teens to self-regulate while using the technology in meaningful ways. We also present an overview of empirical studies that conceptualized and examined resilience-based approaches to promoting the digital well-being of teens in a way to empower teens to be more resilient.