ISTANBUL

Childhood is being reshaped at a historic scale as digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and global connectivity redefine how young people learn, socialize, and develop, experts told Anadolu.

Speaking on the sidelines of the TRT International Children’s Media Summit 2025, held on Saturday in Istanbul, policymakers, academics, and media leaders stressed that while digital tools offer unprecedented opportunities for creativity and learning, they also introduce new risks that demand coordinated action by governments, schools, families, and technology companies.

Historic transformation and need for shared responsibility

Douglas K. Hartman, writer and professor of education, described the moment as a turning point without historical precedent.

“I think what we're facing now is a transformation on a different scale, and a major different type of scale than we've ever faced in human history,” he said, pointing to the speed and ease of online connections.

“As we mature into young adulthood … we have to think carefully about how media can step in and be a part of that maturing process.”

Hartman underlined that digital childhood is no longer shaped by a single actor.

“Digital platforms, schools and governments now [are] shaping childhood together,” he said, calling for “a wide kind of policy coordination and shared responsibility … to ensure digital ecosystems serve children's long-term well-being rather than short-term interests.”

He added that societies are still “in the early days of understanding how to design platforms” aligned with human values, urging governments to support multiple approaches rather than a single model. “To not settle on just one option, one singular option … but to support several baskets of development and see which of those would be most effective and most ethical,” Hartman said.

'Digital natives'

From a policy perspective, Chi Kim Cheung, an academic and media researcher, emphasized the need to balance protection with empowerment.

“Protecting children is very, very important,” he told Anadolu, “but then we have to think of another side of it, that is empowering children.”

While the internet and AI can expand learning — “the sky is the limit,” he said, adding that they also expose children to harm because “they cannot distinguish what is right and what is wrong.”

Cheung argued that governments must intervene with informed regulation while investing in education for adults around children. Teachers and parents, he noted, need support to become media- and AI-literate.

“Children are digital natives,” he said, while many parents “need to know what is going on in order to help our children, to protect them in a safer manner.”

Addressing cross-border challenges such as misinformation, data exploitation and unequal access, Cheung said no single country can respond alone.

He pointed to international comparisons and media literacy studies, noting that while Finland is often cited as a positive example, “each country should be contextualized to think about what can be done.”

Collaboration, he said, can help turn crisis into opportunity.

Culture, values and children’s voices in digital future

Jennifer Kaberi, founder of Mtoto News and an academic, warned that rapid technological change is outpacing families’ ability to adapt.

Quoting Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan, she said: “We are not digital immigrants; we built this world. But now, our children are growing up in that digital world.”

Kaberi said parents are forced to constantly catch up as platforms evolve daily, affecting “attention and attachment” within families.

“Everybody is in the same house, but everybody is in their own world,” she said, adding that technology has replaced traditional forms of bonding, from shared meals to bedtime stories.

As a result, she warned, children may begin to trust technology more than human relationships. “These children are growing up trusting technology more than they are trusting their parents,” Kaberi said.

She described the Istanbul summit as a rare and timely space for voices beyond Europe, the US and China, particularly for discussions that integrate culture, values and religion into digital policy.

“Our values are being diluted,” she recalled hearing from Turkish officials — a message she said is rarely voiced at technology conferences.

Kaberi also stressed the importance of including children directly in shaping their digital futures. “We can’t build a digital world without children,” she said.

“We can’t make decisions without including children.” Instead of imposing bans without consultation, she called for dialogue, workshops and co-design. “Let them build for themselves,” she said.