Shocking Truth: What Parents Don’t Know About Digital Literacy

As digital technologies continue to reshape education, work, and daily life, parents across the world are grappling with how to best prepare their children for a digital future. At Logiscool, we believe that understanding parental attitudes is key to designing impactful digital education programs. That’s why we conducted a cross-border survey in Hungary and Romania to explore how parents view digital literacy, online safety, and artificial intelligence (AI).

The results offer fascinating cultural insights and highlight shared values and divergent priorities between two neighboring countries. In this piece, we take a closer look at digital literacy and reveal what our survey uncovered.

Across both Hungary and Romania, parents overwhelmingly agree: digital literacy is essential for their children’s development. In Hungary, it was rated as the most important educational area (M=3.5/4), and in Romania, it followed closely behind physical activity and language learning (M=3.8/4) with a 3.7 avarage. Interestingly, creativity development and cognitive skills development — which we also listed — were among the least important areas according to parents.

Yet despite this shared belief in its importance, parents’ understanding of digital literacy varies greatly. While 91.6% of Romanian parents say they are familiar with the term, only 53.3% of Hungarian parents report the same. When asked to assess their own digital proficiency, Hungarian parents gave themselves a modest average of 2.7 out of 4, compared to 3.0 in Romania.

This disconnect—between how much digital literacy is valued and how confident parents feel in navigating it—raises serious concerns.

Although most parents recognize that digital skills are key to their child’s future, many lack the vocabulary, experience, or tools to support that journey. In practice, this may mean that important conversations never happen, critical learning opportunities are missed, or support is offered inconsistently at home. While educational institutions play a vital role in equipping children with these skills, without active parental involvement, it’s not enough — meaningful discussions and ongoing education at home are equally essential.

Even more troubling is the risk that parents may unintentionally pass on outdated or incomplete digital habits, simply because they were never taught the concepts themselves. This is especially relevant in CEE, where digital literacy is seen as a top priority but parental knowledge and confidence lag significantly behind (Comparative data for Western Europe is not included in this report).

Why does this matter? Because digital literacy today goes far beyond turning on a computer or using an app. It involves critical thinking, data protection, understanding AI, ethical tech use and recognizing misinformation, etc. If children are to navigate the digital world safely and effectively, they need guidance, not only from schools and private institutions like Logiscool, but from informed, confident adults at home.

Our survey shows a clear paradox: parents in CEE deeply value digital literacy but often feel unprepared to guide their children through it. This gap between recognition and confidence highlights an urgent need for better resources, awareness, and collaboration. At Logiscool, we believe empowering parents is just as important as teaching children — because digital skills thrive when they are reinforced both in the classroom and at home. By building bridges between schools, families, and communities, we can ensure that the next generation doesn’t just use technology, but understands it, questions it, and shapes it responsibly.

Want to dive deeper? Check out our blogs on Internet safety and AI.