Finding "Doraemon" for Vietnamese children in the digital environment

DNVN - The fact that Vietnamese children use the internet an average of 5-7 hours per day poses an urgent challenge: how to protect future generations from risks and turn the digital space into a healthy development environment, in a context where quality content is both lacking and weak.

The digital space is full of dangers

A 2022 UNICEF survey found that 82% of Vietnamese children aged 12-13 use the internet daily, and this figure skyrockets to 93% for those aged 14-15. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (now merged into the Ministry of Home Affairs ) recorded that children can spend up to 5-7 hours a day on social media.

At the seminar “Content Creation and Responsibility for Child Protection in Digital Space” held on the afternoon of August 4 in Hanoi , experts dissected this difficult problem and proposed practical solutions.

Mr. Nguyen Lam Thanh - Vice President of Vietnam Digital Communications Association, General Director of TikTok Vietnam said that large platforms such as YouTube, Facebook or TikTok all have users in Vietnam reaching 100 million hours of use per day. This huge influence has a strong impact on people's awareness, especially children.

"With limited 'resistance' and ability to distinguish right from wrong, children are easily caught up in negative trends and become victims of online dangers," Mr. Thanh emphasized.

Experts discuss at the seminar "Content Creation and Responsibility to Protect Children in Digital Space".

The paradox is that, despite the huge demand, digital content specifically for children in Vietnam is still lacking, scattered and not rich. Many products are not age-appropriate, lack educational orientation, while content creators lack an environment to collaborate and receive professional support.

Responsibility of the creator

Faced with this reality, the responsibility of those who directly create content plays an important role. Meritorious Artist Trinh Lam Tung, who is passionate about animation, believes that the line between attractive content and educational content is very fragile, requiring caution and dedication from the professional.

Taking the classic Japanese animated film "Doraemon" as an example, Mr. Tung analyzed: "Nobita is a character with many weaknesses but we still sympathize with him, and Doraemon becomes the friend that every child wishes for. The work is not sensational but contains cultural values and lifestyle of Japan and is welcomed by the whole world. That is the power of a successful IP (intellectual property product)".

According to Mr. Tung, each work needs to answer the question: after watching, what will children remember? It must be a beautiful image, a humane lesson.

"We are lacking characters who accompany children to solve problems like bullying. I always wish Vietnam had such IPs, and to do that, it needs the cooperation of an entire network," Mr. Tung pondered.

Besides creating quality content, another breakthrough solution is to change the mindset from passive protection to active empowerment for children.

Ms. Phan Thi Kim Lien - Child Protection Technical Manager from World Vision International in Vietnam, believes that digital skills education is needed to help children reach "digital maturity".

"This mindset goes beyond just protecting children from risks, but proactively empowering them to become confident and responsible digital citizens. It is no longer a matter of banning time spent online, but of guiding them to utilize technology effectively and creatively. We need to see children not only as users but also as content creators, as true partners in this journey," Ms. Lien recommended.

To realize these efforts, Mr. Nguyen Lam Thanh affirmed that the cooperation of the whole society is needed, from widely disseminating available safety tools on the platform to building useful content lines about culture, ethics, and lifestyle.

Turning the Internet into a tool for children’s advancement rather than a danger is a long journey. But with the cooperation of caring creators, experts, and support from platforms, a safe and educational digital future for Vietnamese children is entirely possible.

The initiative to establish and launch the "Digital Content Creation Network for Children" on August 4 will contribute to creating positive 'trends' in cyberspace with a positive, safe and humane creative ecosystem for children.

Thu An

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/chuyen-doi-so/xa-hoi-so/di-tim-doraemon-cho-tre-em-viet-tren-moi-truong-so/20250804061830266