Net GuardiaN, the first App that prevents cyberbullying

An application to allow teachers to understand “where the students’ chat is going”, thus being able to anticipate any exposure to the risk of cyberbullying: the App is called Net Guardianor Guardian of the Internet, and is the result of the partnership between the University of Padua and the Carolina Foundation, created thanks to the contribution of the TIM Foundation. «The topic of cyberbullying is delicate and rapidly expanding, the purpose of the App is to reach the hidden part of the phenomenonwhich cannot even be sized” he explained Gian Piero Turchiscientific director of the project, at the presentation of Net Guardian. «After years of research we have produced a periodic table with sentinel repertoires that signal when one is exposed to cyberbullying. Thanks to artificial intelligence we start from how texts are used, not from the content: in practice the algorithm is capable of detecting the degree of exposure to risk in digital conversations within the class group».

The artificial intelligence model developed by the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Pedagogy, Applied Psychology (FISPPA) of the University of Padua combines the experience, listening and support of the school world from the experts of the Carolina Foundation. The innovation is important and also involves some paradigm changes, starting from the awareness that only technology can allow us to map the underground: biologically we would not be able to do it. “It is no longer a question of preventing access to technology, given that we are immersed in it, but rather of controlling it and anticipating dangerous situations,” he added Ivano Zoppigeneral secretary of the Carolina Foundation. «When it comes to digital security and well-being, one-off tools are no longer enough, today it is more necessary than ever to act in the logic of everyday life, because cyberbullying is the result of conduct and indifference which, if ignored, can lead to serious consequences».

97 students from the Zaccaria Higher Education Institute in Milan participated in the research conducted during the development of the App. «It emerged that, 70% of young people are not entirely aware of their exposure to risk and how much they themselves can generate in chats. We conducted some experiments: 36% of students who are in a chat with maximum exposure to risk attributed the same value as minimum riskdescribing what happened in the chat as “a joke”, not to be taken seriously”, he said Teresa Camellinihead of the Netguardian Project.
The App will be completed by next June. In practice, students and teachers will therefore be able to register their own profile on the application and then start a class chat. Teachers will not be able to access messaging while they will be able to monitor the cyberbullying risk level of the chat, contacting the rescue team of the Carolina Foundation. «The distinctive value of the project is to analyze chats in real time and evaluate the degree of exposure to risk” says Camellini “by intercepting cases before they lead to situations with consequences that can also lead to serious episodes of violence both towards oneself and third parties, without waiting for the student to expose himself and report the crime. ‘happened’.
The hope is that the App will be known and applied in as many schools as possible.