Trojan Horses: Educational Re-mediations and Parental Responsibilities in the Age of Datification

Abstract

This work employs the figure of Laocoonte, whose warning against the Trojan gift becomes a powerful metaphor to caution against the hidden dangers of digital transformation. Today, as then, a “Trojan Horse” lurks behind an appealing façade: technology that transforms every aspect of life into data a process defined as “datification” and that, as it evolves, shapes new identities, such as that of the “screen-ager,” where the screen becomes both a companion in growth and a tool for socialization. This very mechanism has led to the proliferation of smart devices (from the IoT to smart toys), capable of collecting personal data and influencing, from the very earliest age, the ways in which learning and interaction with the world occur. Such dynamics expose minors to growing risks: from privacy breaches as evidenced by the phenomenon of “sharenting” to the danger of online grooming, from deep fakes to cyberbullying, and even to the harmful effects of excessive screen exposure that can compromise emotional and cognitive development. Considering these challenges, the text calls for an urgent new culture of parenting and digital education. Only an approach that combines guidance, an alternation between digital and real experiences, and self-regulation in the use of technological tools can transform the seemingly innocuous “horse” into a tool for growth, protecting new generations and preserving their capacity to be active protagonists in the onlife world.