In the digital era, juveniles are exposed to more dangers of accessing harmful online content such as adult material and violent media that may distort their psychological development and influence criminal behavior. To that effect, some digital literacy programs have been started to help them through the risks and encourage responsible online behavior among the young offenders. However, despite the wide application of these programs, their effectiveness remains underappreciated in light of juvenile offenders' specific needs, both psychological and behavioral, which have already been partly affected by explicit online content.

This paper discusses those points where the digital literacy programs meet juvenile criminal law and question the appropriateness of such programs to the complex needs of young offenders. Rehabilitation remains the centerpiece of juvenile criminal law, and a number of digital literacy programs have been promoted as one way to get there. Most such programs in digital literacy are directed to all youths in general rather than trying to fine-tune the training programs to meet deeper psychological consequences of harmful online exposure.