Organised by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) and hosted by New York University Abu Dhabi (NYU Abu Dhabi), leading experts from the technology sector, including representatives from the organisations that are members of the UAE Children’s Digital Wellbeing Pact, gathered in Abu Dhabi to highlight the importance of responsible technology use in early childhood – as part of the Digital Wellbeing Symposium. The Symposium took place as a satellite event of the Abu Dhabi Global Health Week, organised by the Department of Health.
The Digital Wellbeing Symposium highlighted the needs and experiences of young children from ages zero to eight in conversations around how digital technologies affect the health, development, and everyday life of young children. Experts discussed key issues around young children’s digital wellbeing and provided insights for the development of guidelines and frameworks around digital media, AI and technology, and the creation of high-quality digital content that prioritises young children’s learning and development.
The Symposium featured sessions from prominent voices in digital wellbeing, including His Excellency Dr Yousef Al Hammadi, Executive Director of Knowledge and Impact at the ECA, Jawaher Abdelhamid, Head of Public Policy, MEA at SNAP, leading member of the UAE Children’s Digital Wellbeing Pact; Professor Susan Danby, Distinguished Professor at Queensland University of Technology; Dr Michael Preston, Senior Vice President at the Sesame Workshop and Professor Jan Plass, Paulette Goddard Chair in Digital Media and Learning Sciences at New York University.
The UAE Children’s Digital Wellbeing Pact was signed earlier this year at the World Government Summit. It is the first-of-its-kind in the region and brings together different governmental and private sector entities, including the ECA, in support of protecting children online by promoting a safe and appropriate online environment, minimising exposure of children to harmful content and protecting children from cyberbullying.
Speaking on the importance of responsible use of technology in early childhood, His Excellency Dr Yousef Al Hammadi said: "At the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, we want to help parents feel more comfortable with their children engaging with digital media. We know that technology plays a big role in young children’s lives and in their development. As such, we are proud to see parents in Abu Dhabi embracing technology as a valuable tool to support their child’s growth and their efforts to creating healthy boundaries around technology use in the home. As technology keeps evolving, we hope to keep working with parents to put children’s digital wellbeing first, ensuring their everyday life continues to have a well-balanced approach between digital activities and traditional ones."
Jawaher Abdelhamid, Head of Public Policy, MEA at SNAP, leading member of the Children’s Digital Wellbeing Pact, said: "Our goal is to ensure that digital media serves as a positive force in children's lives, supporting their learning and development while safeguarding their wellbeing."
The Symposium unveiled the findings of the Digital Use Survey, a first-of-its-kind survey of 10,000 parents in Abu Dhabi emirate, conducted by NYU Abu Dhabi and funded by the ECA, exploring digital media use among Emirati and Expat children up to eight years old, with key findings including; parents are intentional about digital content choices, and that parents generally see digital media as a positive part of modern childhood, with 70 per cent satisfied with the amount of time their young child spends on digital media, parents were found to spend twice as much time engaging with their child in traditional (non-digital) activities as they did in digital ones, parents emphasised the role of digital media in supporting their child’s learning, social development, and exploration, with half of the parents (55 per cent) viewing digital media as a valuable tool for supporting their child’s learning, and early learning activities and Arabic language videos ranking the highest by parents in their digital content choices.
The survey represents the first comprehensive analysis of digital media use among children aged 0 to 8. It focuses specifically on the often-overlooked needs of children aged 0 to 8 in digital wellbeing discussions, ensuring their experiences help shape research and policy.
Commenting on the survey, Antje von Suchodeltz, Associate Professor of Psychology and Global Network Associate Professor of Psychology at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, NYU Abu Dhabi said: "This survey provides valuable insights into how parents are navigating their young children’s digital media experiences. Research shows that when parents actively co-engage with their children during digital media use, through co-watching, co-playing, or other interactive experiences, these shared moments strengthen the parent-child relationship and contribute to the child's development across multiple domains. These findings provide a strong foundation for evidence-based policies that promote digital wellbeing in early childhood.”
The Digital Wellbeing Symposium further enhances the work done by the ECA and its partners, which led to the signing of the recent Children’s Digital Wellbeing Pact. Additionally, the Symposium also highlights the importance of investing in research ecosystems to improve children's well-being.
The Digital Wellbeing Symposium is also part of the ECA’s World Early Childhood Development (WED) Movement, an initiative which brings together global experts, partners, and disruptors for innovation to advance Early Childhood Development in Abu Dhabi and beyond.
