A new study led by a North Carolina State University researcher reveals a need for consistent education about digital safety for elementary school students, school staff and parents. The work addresses concerns raised by teachers about cyberbullying, students accessing inappropriate content online and other issues.

The study, published in the journal TechTrends, was based on interviews with 10 elementary school teachers. Drawing from concerns raised in the study, researchers developed a digital safety summer camp for students and lesson plan on the topic.

“All the kids have gadgets these days — from phones to laptops to desktop computers, and there are many ways to get online,” said the study’s first author Florence Martin, professor of learning, design and technology at NC State. “Education on digital safety really makes a difference, but it has to be ongoing and it has to be reinforced, not only for the kids, but also for teachers and parents.”

Researchers identified five general areas of concern for digital safety from the teacher interviews — concerns that were based on teachers’ observations in classrooms, as well as virtually when coursework was shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The concerns were related to content students were accessing online; their online conduct; contact with others online; “contract”-related issues with privacy; and issues with home use.

In terms of concerns about the type of content students were accessing online, teachers reported elementary students were attempting to access or searching for inappropriate content such as pornographic material or gambling websites.

“I was very surprised — you might think this problem would come up later since these are teachers of elementary school kids,” Martin said.

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