The SoReDi Chair (Socially Responsible Digital Innovation), an initiative promoted by Esade and Exea Impact, held the event “Growing Up Digital: Rights, Purpose and Shared Responsibility” on 17 February. The event brought together experts from academia, public institutions and the technology sector to discuss an increasingly pressing challenge: how to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of children and adolescents in a digital environment that has become a central part of their daily lives, yet is often not designed with their development, safety or rights in mind.

Against this backdrop, the discussion focused on the design decisions that shape these environments — from the early exposure to mobile devices to the mechanisms that encourage constant attention and continuous content consumption.

The event opened with the session “Screens & Rights: Why Children’s Digital Rights Matter Today”, featuring Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director of the international organisation 5Rights Foundation. She began with a presentation grounded in compelling data, followed by a conversation moderated by Esade professor Rita Mota. The discussion highlighted that protecting children and adolescents online requires embedding children’s rights into the very design of technology, moving towards digital environments that are safe by design and by default.

The programme also included the roundtable “Building Purpose-Driven Digital Experiences”, moderated by Esade professor David Murillo. Participants included Albert Beltrán (Balance Phone), Josep Matalí (Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), Marisol López (Generalitat de Catalunya) and Clàudia Larumbe, a member of the SoReDI community. The discussion addressed the need to make progress both in regulation and in the design of digital devices and platforms, in order to avoid addictive dynamics and promote technologies conceived as useful tools rather than endless sources of distraction.

The event concluded with the keynote “From Digital Wellbeing to Socially Responsible Innovation”, delivered by Liliana Arroyo, Director of the SoReDi Chair. Her talk underscored the need to move towards a new paradigm in technological innovation. Beyond mitigating risks and protecting children and adolescents, it is essential to integrate a rights-based perspective into the development of technology itself, recognising that certain functionalities require clear limits and responsible decisions from the outset.

For Exea Impact, the SoReDi Chair forms part of the initiative “Loneliness in Childhood and Adolescence in Times of Hyperconnectivity”, an evidence-based framework supported by an expert committee that aims to understand and address the effects of the digital environment on the wellbeing of children and adolescents. The initiative is developed through collaborations with strategic partners, including Esade, and includes additional projects aimed at promoting safer and healthier digital environments that support children’s development and the creation of meaningful human connections.