Claiming rights and righting wrongs: children's rights in the digital environment

The essay begins with the idea that while the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in 1989, before the digital age took hold for most people, it remains an inspirational and important document in defining children’s rights today. The essay identifies specific challenges related to legal interpretation; policy implementation; and effective enforcement. Key issues and essential questions for claiming and protecting the rights of the child, and righting real and potential wrongs as young children navigate the digital age are addressed. These include: Why is the idea of rights helpful? What does it add in general and in relation to children in particular? Why is the idea of rights resisted? Why is it encountering problems in relation to the digital environment? What are the prospects for children’s rights in the digital environment? The essay ends with two questions that drive the research and scholarship on children’s rights in the digital age. How can children’s voices be better heard? How can children’s rights in the digital environment be better addressed?.