ASAP - A Systemic APproach to social media and pre-adolescents through thinking skills education

Fondazione Politecnico di Milano coordinates ASAP—A Systemic APproach to social media and pre-adolescents through thinking skills education—an Erasmus+ project that supports schools, educators, families, and educational communities in guiding pre-adolescents toward a more conscious, critical, and responsible use of digital media.

The project—carried out by partners through research, co-creation, and pilot activities across five European countries—aims to foster digital well-being, critical thinking, emotional awareness, and relational skills. It engages pre-adolescents, teachers, educators, families, and experts in developing educational tools and pathways designed to address the challenges of the contemporary digital ecosystem.

The project brings together eight organisations from Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic and is implemented through an integrated process of research, participatory design and piloting. Building on the collection and analysis of the needs of pre-adolescents, teachers and families, the partnership develops an Educational Model, a Educational Programme consisting of Learning Units addressing topics such as emotions, online relationships, digital communication, content authenticity and misinformation, as well as a Training Programme for teachers and educators to support its implementation.

The materials are piloted and validated in different European educational settings and are complemented by dissemination activities, a White Paper and a set of Key Recommendations addressed to schools, families, policy-makers and other stakeholders, aimed at promoting online wellbeing and supporting effective educational approaches to accompany pre-adolescents in their digital growth.

ASAP has produced an integrated set of open educational resources dedicated to digital media literacy and the online wellbeing of pre-adolescents.

Key project results include research reports produced in the partner countries, an Educational Model, an Educational Programme composed of six Learning Units, Emergency Practices, a Training Programme for educators, a White Paper and a set of Key Recommendations addressed to schools, families, policy-makers and other stakeholders.

All materials are freely available and can be used and adapted in a wide range of educational contexts.

Fondazione Politecnico di Milano; Pepita; Le Nius; COFAC - Universidade Lusófona do Porto; DOBA Business School, Maribor; ProEduca; DKMK; Istituto Comprensivo Statale via Bologna-Bresso

How can we help young people develop a more conscious, critical and responsible approach to social media and digital technologies? This is the question at the heart of ASAP – A Systemic Approach to Social Media and Pre-Adolescents through Thinking Skills Education, a project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme and coordinated by Fondazione Politecnico di Milano.

The project brings together eight organisations from Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic with the aim of developing an innovative approach to digital media education for pre-adolescents aged 11 to 13, as well as their families, teachers and educators.

In a context where smartphones, social media and digital platforms play an increasingly important role in the daily lives of young people, ASAP promotes a perspective that goes beyond the prevention of online risks alone. The project seeks to foster awareness, critical thinking, positive responsibility and lifelong learning competences, recognising the active role of pre-adolescents and educational communities in understanding and addressing the challenges of today’s digital ecosystem.

Over the course of its three-year duration, the partnership will carry out transnational research on the relationship between pre-adolescents and digital media, develop an educational programme and a training pathway for teachers and educators, and pilot the resources produced in a range of European school settings. The project also includes co-creation activities involving students, families, teachers and experts, aimed at developing educational tools based on the real needs of the school communities involved.

ASAP represents an opportunity to strengthen dialogue among schools, families, educators, researchers and policy-makers, contributing to the development of effective educational approaches that promote online wellbeing and support pre-adolescents in their digital development.

For more information about the project, please visit the official ASAP website: www.socialmediakids.eu

How do pre-adolescents experience social media? What opportunities and risks do they encounter online? And how can schools, families and educators support them in developing a more conscious relationship with digital technologies?

These were some of the key questions explored during the co-creation workshop organised in Milan from 10 to 12 February 2025 as part of the European project ASAP – A Systemic Approach to Social Media and Pre-Adolescents through Thinking Skills Education, coordinated by Fondazione Politecnico di Milano and co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme.

The event brought together project partners, teachers, educators and experts, providing an opportunity to discuss the findings emerging from the research activities and the development of the project’s educational resources.

During the workshop, participants presented and discussed some of the main findings of the research carried out in Italy, which involved pre-adolescents, parents, teachers, school leaders and digital education experts. The data collected confirm that smartphones, social media and digital platforms have become a central part of the everyday lives of young people aged between 11 and 13.

Among the key findings, almost nine out of ten pre-adolescents reported owning a personal smartphone, while a significant proportion use social media independently, often without direct support from adults when creating and managing their accounts. The research also highlighted that almost one in five young people experienced at least one negative online experience during the previous year, while only a minority turn to teachers when facing difficulties in digital environments.

The findings confirmed the importance of developing educational pathways that go beyond the prevention of online risks alone, instead promoting critical thinking, emotional awareness, communication skills and relational competences. The research also highlighted the need to strengthen the involvement of families and teachers, supporting them in better understanding the digital environments frequented by younger generations.

The contributions collected during the workshop will support the finalisation of the educational resources developed by the project and the formulation of recommendations addressed to schools, families and policy-makers, with the aim of promoting a more systemic and participatory approach to digital media education and the online wellbeing of pre-adolescents.

The final event of the European project ASAP – A Systemic Approach to Social Media and Pre-Adolescents through Thinking Skills Education, coordinated by Fondazione Politecnico di Milano and co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme, took place on 20 May 2025 at Aula Carpegna of the Italian Senate.

The event brought together representatives from public institutions, academia, and the project partner organisations. Institutional and scientific contributions were delivered by Senator Lavinia Mennuni, member of the Parliamentary Commission for Childhood and Adolescence, lawyer Guido Scorza, member of the Italian Data Protection Authority, and Professor Simone Digennaro from the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio. The discussion also involved representatives from the digital and social media sector, including Meta and TikTok, enriching the debate with complementary perspectives on the relationship between pre-adolescents, digital technologies and education.

During the event, the main results of the project were presented, showcasing three years of research, co-creation and pilot activities carried out across Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic. Key outputs include an educational model for digital media literacy, an educational programme for pre-adolescents, a training pathway for teachers and educators, a White Paper and a set of Key Recommendations addressed to schools, families, policy-makers and other stakeholders.

Particular attention was devoted to the results of the pilot phase implemented in the five partner countries, which involved more than 3,500 pre-adolescents, 2,100 parents and 680 teachers. The activities highlighted the importance of integrating social and emotional learning and critical thinking into educational pathways, fostering greater awareness in the use of digital technologies and social media.

Participants also explored the findings of the international research carried out by the partnership, which involved more than 2,800 participants, including pre-adolescents, teachers, parents and school leaders. The research contributed to a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges that characterise the relationship between younger generations and the digital environment.

The event also provided an opportunity to reflect on the role of schools, families and institutions in building a systemic and collaborative educational approach capable of supporting pre-adolescents in developing the digital, relational and emotional competences needed to navigate today’s digital world in a conscious and responsible way.

The project results and materials will be made freely available through the project website at www.socialmediakids.eu.

After three years of activities, ASAP – A Systemic Approach to Social Media and Pre-Adolescents through Thinking Skills Education, the European project coordinated by Fondazione Politecnico di Milano and co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme, has come to an end.

Created to better understand and address the challenges posed by social media and digital technologies in the lives of pre-adolescents, ASAP developed a systemic and participatory approach that involved schools, families, educators, researchers and policy-makers in the design of educational tools and learning pathways for young people aged 11 to 13.

Throughout the project, more than 2,800 participants were involved in research activities, while over 3,500 pre-adolescents, 2,100 parents and 680 teachers took part in piloting and validation activities carried out in Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic.

Building on the evidence collected, the partnership developed an integrated set of educational resources dedicated to digital media literacy and the online wellbeing of pre-adolescents. Key project results include the ASAP Educational Model, an Educational Programme composed of six Learning Units, a training pathway for teachers and educators, a White Paper and a set of Key Recommendations addressed to schools, families, policy-makers and other stakeholders.

Particular significance was also given to the Collaborative Editorial Board, an experimental initiative that directly involved students in exploring how information is produced and shared, fostering critical thinking, media literacy and digital citizenship skills.

The results and materials developed within the project are freely available and can be consulted, downloaded and reused by schools, families, educators, researchers and other stakeholders interested in promoting a more conscious, critical and responsible use of digital media and the online wellbeing of pre-adolescents.