The use of the Internet and new technologies has become ever earlier, more frequent and intense for new generations, who are therefore faced with specific dynamics of new online environments, linked to identity, relationships, privacy, reputation, production, distribution and use of content. The relationship between young people and new technologies must be conceptualized in terms of risks and opportunities as faces of the same coin.
Recent research (EU kids online) have shown that as opportunities increase, risks also increase, suggesting to work on mediation and prevention strategies for conscious and creative use.
We must first of all clarify what we mean by responsible use: using a tool in a safe and conscious way means first of all knowing it technically, i. e. being familiar with all its potential and "implications".
But this element alone is not enough: if the Internet and mobile phones can be considered something more than mere tools, because they are able to place us within a system of relationships, of a "square", their responsible use implies the ability to manage with a certain degree of lucidity the relationships that develop in this environment, arriving to recognize and manage their emotions. To be aware, for example, of the fascination of a meeting on the net, or of feeling offended by the online behavior of a friend, or of the disturbance produced by the vision of certain images, or of the type of influence that can produce certain information.