Do you know that 60% of children around the world have experienced at least one cyber-risk including cyber-bullying, game addiction, online sexual behaviours, and others? We call this consistent and high exposure to cyber-risks among children a “cyber-risk pandemic”.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is reminiscent of the situation in Korea about 10 years ago. After the IMF economic crisis in Korea, the Korean government pushed digital transformation as a national agenda as a key economic growth driver. As much as it has brought innovation and technological advances, it has also brought various negative side effects including children’s exposure to cyber-risks. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the global society into rapid digitization. It is very likely that we will soon see the COVID-19 pandemic moving online and becoming a cyber-risk pandemic among children and vulnerable populations. 

This is the 11th year since Park started out her first social impact initiative to protect children from online dangers in Korea. During the last 10 years, she learned that the child online safety issue is not a mere child protection problem. But it is a sustainable development issue of digital technology and related industries. And the solution cannot come from the angle of “protection” alone, rather it needs to come from that of “empowerment” of all stakeholders: children, families, schools, industries, and nations. It must be brought about by good education, proactive social infra-structures, and ethical businesses. 

This book is written for the general public and written with the hope that it becomes a way to empower all stakeholders who are involved digital technology and education– basically everyone. As IQ directs the discussion on education and human capital development after the 2nd industrial revolution (IR), Park want to use DQ (Digital Intelligence) as a key thinking frame on how education/skilling in the digital age as the global society is fast moving into the 4th IR with rushed digitization. 

The key premise of this book is that “technology is only meaningful when it enhances humanness”. Moreover, DQ is all about the empowerment of individuals in the digital age to become “masters” of technology, rather than “slaves” to it.