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New guidelines for positive online content for children
Published on: 08.11.13
Source: POSCON
Challenging developments for children on the Internet
The Internet is being used more and more by kindergarten and primary school children, at an increasingly younger age. The amount of Internet material appropriate for children - e.g. apps in the App and Google Play Store - has risen significantly. This development has been leading to both new challenges, and new markets and new target audiences for positive content providers. Yet, what is to be understood under positive online content? What are the benefits, requirements, and guidelines for positive online content?
New publication
The document "Checklist & Concrete Criteria for Positive Content", provided by the EC-funded Thematic Network POSCON (Positive Online Content and Services for Children in Europe), offers answers to these questions. It is mainly directed towards designers, developers, and distributors of online material and services for children aged four to twelve:
- producers or providers of online content/services that target children and/or young people
- also producers or providers of online content/services that are not necessarily targeted to children yet are popular amongst them
- online content includes text, image, audio and/or video material
- online content is accessible through various online services such as websites, games, web radios and TV, media (video/image) sharing platforms, blogs, social networks, browsers, search engines and apps
Guidelines also regarding apps
The guidelines, being POSCON's first extensive publication, presents essential aspects to be kept in mind in the production or providing of content or services for children. Such aspects are, among others, age-appropriateness, usability, privacy concerns, and, if present, aspects concerning social media communication. The final chapter is directed specifically at apps.
On POSCON
POSCON is an inter-European interdisciplinary network of experts. It strives to promote and advance the issue of positive content in Europe. It is funded by the EC within the Safer Internet Programme.
The guidelines are available as a download on: www.positivecontent.eu. The checklist can be found under: www.positivecontent.eu/checklist.
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