Comparative analysis of digital safety training programs for minors

Abstract

Although the digital environment offers numerous opportunities for learning, communication, and leisure for minors, it also presents risks such as cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, privacy issues, or screen dependency. This situation poses a challenge for educational institutions and public policies, which must prevent these risks and promote safe and responsible use of technology. Digital literacy education must go beyond technical proficiency, also integrating critical understanding of digital environments and ethical participation within them. In this context, a comparative analysis of nine digital safety training programmes for minors, developed in various countries and promoted by public, academic, and third-sector entities, is presented. The aim is to identify common patterns, divergences, and gaps that will help guide future actions in critical digital literacy and online risk prevention. The content analysis has been based on predefined themes and categories, examining objectives, target population, content, methodology, implementation, evaluation, accessibility, inclusion, and sustainability. The programmes analysed include established initiatives such as KiVa, eSafety Commissioner, and IS4K, as well as newer proposals such as CODI, Demo Days, Cyberprogram 2.0, Safety.Net, ConRed, and Líderes Digitales. The results reveal a convergence in the preventive approach and focus on cyberbullying, privacy, and safe use of social networks, with teacher training as a key pillar. However, differences in territorial scope, the inclusion of vulnerable students, and the treatment of emerging risks are identified. The need to move towards more inclusive, evaluable, and participatory programmes is concluded, where students also play an active role in building safe, ethical, and inclusive digital environments.