1 Involvement and comments from children, young people, and other actors

1.1 Comments and participation from children and young people

The Ministry of Children and Families has gathered the views of children and young people through, among other things, regular dialogue between the Ministry and children’s and youth voluntary organisations and representatives from the county authorities’ youth councils. Separate consultation processes with young people have also been organised.

The county authorities’ youth councils

All county authorities’ youth councils in Norway were invited to submit written comments on the white paper. They were asked what they thought was important for a white paper to address. The comments from young people have helped shape the content of the white paper. The youth councils have provided comments on what they believe is good and not good about participating digitally, what they would like to know more about in terms of using digital platforms, and what they would like adults to better understand about their everyday digital lives. The young people also provided comments on how parents can become more involved in their children’s everyday online lives.

The Minister for Children and Families holds an annual dialogue forum with youth representatives from all the county authorities’ youth councils. The youth representatives were given the opportunity to provide comments on the work on the white paper.

Child and youth volunteer organisations

Child and youth organisations are important voices for children and young people. The organisations have provided comments on the white paper, including at the annual contact conference between the Minister of Children and Families and children and youth volunteers. The contact conference is an important meeting place between the Minister of Children and Families and child and youth volunteer organisations. Twenty organisations provided comments on the topic of “future organisations and the digitalisation of children’s leisure time”. The Ministry of Children and Families has also engaged in dialogue with child and youth volunteer organisations about the work on the white paper through biannual contact meetings between umbrella organisations in the field and the Ministry.

Survey of young people on ung.no

The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs was commissioned to conduct a survey among children and young people. Respondents were recruited via ung.no, the public information channel for young people. The purpose of the survey was to gather comments from children and young people. 1,017 children and young people answered questions about social media, age limits, privacy, digital competence, and artificial intelligence. Given the scope and methodology of the survey, it does not carry the same weight as research conducted in the field. Nevertheless, it is interesting to compare the responses in this survey with responses in other surveys that ask the same or similar questions.

Consultation meetings with DigiUngdomspanel

DigiUngdomspanel is DigiUng’s user participation body and comprises 27 young people aged 13–21 from across Norway. The young people reflect Norway’s diverse youth. The Ministry held a consultation meeting where DigiUngdomspanel was asked for comments on what the white paper should address and on the challenges in this field that politicians should address. In addition, the young people were asked questions about their digital leisure time and what opportunities and challenges they experience growing up with the internet.

Youth Network for work on a safe digital upbringing

The Norwegian Media Authority established a Youth Network in connection with the preparation of the action plan for a safe digital upbringing. The Youth Network consists of representatives from the Norwegian Children and Youth Council (LNU), the School Student Union of Norway, Press – Save the Children Youth Norway, Youth Work Norway, KANDU – Creative Active Norwegian Computer Youth, Hyperion – Norwegian Association for Fantastic Activities, Skeiv Ungdom (Queer Youth), Stop Hate Speech, LightUp Norway and SNU – Seksualpolitisk Nettverk for Ungdom (Sexual Rights Network for Youth). In the work on the white paper, the network has assisted in various phases, both in formulating questions to be used to gather the views of various stakeholders and in drafting the content of the white paper. They have also been asked to provide comments on specific parts of the white paper. In August 2023, the Youth Network submitted its demands to the Minister of Children and Families on what it believes can provide a safe digital upbringing.

1.2 Other comments

Consultation meetings with relevant actors

The Ministry of Children and Families has held several consultation meetings with non-profit organisations, social media actors, and technology industry actors. These are actors who play a role in children and young people’s digital upbringing in various ways. Save the Children Norway, Barnevakten, the Norwegian Red Cross, and UNICEF participated in the consultation meeting with non-profit organisations. The social media actors who participated in the consultation meeting included TikTok, Meta, Google, and Snapchat. ICT Norway, Sopra Steria, Telenor, Telia, Microsoft, and Vipps participated in the consultation meeting with actors in the technology industry. A separate consultation meeting on children’s consumer protection in digital media was held in spring 2023, during which comments were requested for the Ministry’s review. A consultation meeting on age limits and social media was also held in May 2024.

Survey of parents

The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs has conducted a survey to gather parents’ comments. The parent survey was answered by 701 parents with children aged 4–17. Given the scope and methodology of the survey, the responses must be used with caution when making general statements about Norwegian parents’ views on various aspects of children’s digital upbringing. Nevertheless, the comments from parents collected through the survey do say something about the issues that concern them about children’s digital upbringing.