#DQEveryChild

#DQEveryChild is an initiative by the DQ Institute in association with the World Economic Forum to assess, educate and protect children in the digital environment. The campaign stands for Digital Intelligence Quotient and it aims to maximize opportunities and minimize risks for 100 countries by 2020. The DQ Institute believes that every child deserves an equal opportunity to succeed in the digital world while being protected. It also believes that its digital intelligence quotient, referring to “the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are needed to thrive as responsible members of the digital era”, is going to be increasingly important. Digital Intelligence Quotient is encompassed by eight interconnected areas: Digital Identity, Digital Rights, Digital Literacy, Digital Communication, Digital Emotional Intelligence, Digital Security and Digital Safety.

The DQ Impact Report studied 38,000 children between 8-12 years from 29 countries. It highlights a cyber risk pandemic with 56 percent of children in the age bracket of 8-12 years old being exposed to cyber bullying, video game addiction, online grooming and online sexual behavior. It also emphasizes the risks of longer online surfing times on mobile phones, with more time being spent on social media platforms. The risks are exacerbated with rapid mobile broadband connectivity in fast developing economies. The report found that by 2020, 390 Million 8-12 year olds will be at increased risk due to lack of protection in an online environment. It also found that the youth from emerging countries were 1.3 times more exposed than their peers living in digitally advanced countries to digital misinformation.

The consequences of such risks can be: digital misinformation (or “fake news”) through sharing digital information on social media platforms, an increase in adolescent suicide rates due to social media use by unprepared individuals, online manipulation and reduced online privacy due to poor awareness about one’s personal data.

The DQ Institute believes that Digital Intelligence Quotient is a fundamental requirement to succeed in the 21st century. It is a skill development necessary for the future workforce and must be absorbed by the youth and young children.

Forget IQ. Digital intelligence will be what matters in the future
Link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/digital-intelligence-internet-safety-future

2018 DQ Impact Report: Outsmart the Cyber Pandemic
Link: https://www.dqinstitute.org/2018DQ_Impact_Report