Lorelei Mihala, a Romanian journalist, wrote an article on the complexity of teenagers' lives in the digital era by telling some stories about teenagers' relationships with their partners.

All that concerns this issue is dangerous for minors: physical risks and threats, the potential lack of denunciations because of the silence of the victims or inadequacy of laws or the stigma of abuse in several countries in the world.

There are also structural causes of the phenomenon: first of all, the cellphone has become an extension of a person and this can lead to digital abuse. Another problem is that teens don't feel comfortable with confiding in adults and, when abuse occurs, they prefer to call their friends and tell them about the experience.

At this point, it seems like teenagers live in a "glass cube": through technology they can do what is difficult to do in their face-to-face relations, for example, blocking or deleting people they don't want to have among their contacts. In the end, they get used to the virtual environment and being part of a reality that is not the real one.

Months after the Congress on Child Dignity in the Digital World, it is important to focus on the issues of safeguarding of minors using technology, and we can contribute to better education and formation of teenagers with respect to their dignity and the use of technology in a safer way with greater awareness.

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Photo: Pabak Sarkar