Professor and researcher at FGV Comunicação Renata Tomaz participated in a discussion panel on the publication "Crianças, Adolescentes e Telas:  Guia sobre Uso de Dispositivos Digitais” (Children, Adolescents, and Screens: A Guide to the Use of Digital Devices) a document organized by SECOM, the Secretariat for Social Communication of the Brazilian Federal Government. The launch event took place on March 11 at the Ana Paula Crosara Auditorium at the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship in Brasília with the participation of the general public, experts on the topic, and institutions that contributed to the development of the guide, such as the non-profit organization Instituto Alana. 

The goal of the guide is to create a safer, more balanced, and healthier digital environment for children and adolescents, offering recommendations on how to use digital devices in a healthy manner and avoid excessive screen time. The event also featured a discussion panel on the topic.

Professor Tomaz, who studies the relationship between children and social media, highlighted the responsibility of parents and caregivers and the importance of sharing the guide with civil society in settings like schools, residential communities, and even on social media platforms. Additionally, Renata reflected on the importance of listening to children in their daily lives to avoid developing harmful social media habits. According to her, being able to listen to children is essential and everyone’s responsibility:

"Often, these children are in these spaces and wanting to be heard, and we, as a society, need to learn to listen to them. If we don’t, someone else will, and it may not be a productive listening experience. These platforms are like windows where children can see many things, but they’re also very exposed," she said at the event. 

The full panel is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twq_uSxebJY