Malta marked International Children’s Day with a national conference focused on one of the most pressing and unsettling challenges facing young people today: the growing number of children who are communicating with, and even meeting, unknown adults they encounter online.

Opening the conference, Commissioner for Children Antoinette Vassallo and Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon emphasised that safeguarding children in an increasingly digital world requires urgent action, informed policy and genuine engagement with young people themselves.

Their remarks set the stage for a detailed presentation by Roberta Attard, Deputy Dean for Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta, who revealed statistics that underscored the gravity of the situation.

Data collection was carried out between January and Easter this year.

According to the findings Attard presented, 15.5 per cent of children reported communicating with unknown adults online, while 72.3 per cent said they did not, and 12.1 per cent were unsure about the identity of those they were interacting with.

Even more concerning was the fact that 118 children — 8.6 per cent of those surveyed — had at some point arranged face-to-face meetings with adults they had first encountered online, with 80.5 per cent not doing so, and 10.8 per cent unsure if they had.

Attard highlighted that children aged seven to ten were more likely to have met an unknown adult in person than older participants, a finding that raised particular alarm given their vulnerability and limited ability to assess risk. The study further showed that boys were significantly more likely than girls to have met an adult they first encountered online, with over one in ten boys reporting such an experience.

In her opening remarks, Antoinette Vassallo tied these findings to this year’s International Children’s Day theme, “My Day, My Rights,” explaining that children cannot be separated from discussions about their rights, especially when those rights are increasingly shaped and threatened by technological change. She said the conference was not only about examining the impact of technology, but also about understanding how it is genuinely affecting children’s lives and ensuring it benefits them rather than harms them.

Vassallo reflected on her early years working in child protection, noting that online risks such as grooming and cyberbullying already existed, yet technological advances have now made them both more frequent and more dangerous, with deepfakes being a prime example.

She warned that children are also beginning to form emotional attachments to AI companions — systems that can absorb behavioural patterns and personal details — creating new vulnerabilities that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

Vassallo said Malta cannot afford to wait for these problems to resolve themselves. Instead, the country must intervene with sound judgement, strong protections and a clear focus on the wellbeing of its youngest citizens. She added that children must be recognised as essential participants in conversations shaping their lives, not bystanders. Including them meaningfully, she argued, is the only way policymakers can gain a full and accurate understanding of their reality.

Minister Michael Falzon, who also addressed the conference at its opening, said the findings should compel the country to invest in future generations just as previous generations invested in today’s adults. He noted that technology brings benefits and risks in equal measure.

While it has made communication easier, it has also fuelled increased isolation, and it exposes children to dangers that cannot be ignored. Falzon stressed that cyberstalking and cyberbullying are criminal offences and that penalties have been made intentionally stringent to protect children and ensure their safety online.

Reflecting on Attard’s figures showing that even very young children have arranged meetings with unknown adults, Falzon said the situation demands a stronger national response.

He pointed out that even adults struggle to distinguish truth from manipulation online, raising the question of how children — especially those as young as seven — can be expected to navigate such complex environments. Participation, he argued, is crucial: children must be involved in shaping both policy and practice because they experience the digital world differently from adults.

Following the opening speeches, Attard presented her extensive study, which examined the ubiquity of technology in children’s daily lives, their patterns of engagement and the physical, emotional and cognitive impacts of increased screen time.

While she noted the educational value that technology can bring, including improved problem-solving skills and digital literacy, she also warned of its risks. These include reduced physical activity, disrupted parent–child interactions, addictive behaviours, heightened exposure to cyberbullying and growing difficulties among children in interpreting social cues — issues that could have long-term consequences for emotional regulation and social development.

Throughout the conference, the statistics surrounding children’s interactions with unknown adults remained a central concern. With nearly one in every twelve children having met a stranger in person and significant numbers unsure about who they are communicating with online, speakers emphasised that Malta must strengthen digital literacy, safety measures and parental engagement. They called for tighter protections, ongoing education and broader cooperation between parents, schools, government bodies and technology platforms.