Advertising online is often disguised, making it tricky for young people to recognise when they are being sold to. Promotions often appear in the form of a game, quiz, competition, video, social media post or news story. Here are the tell-tale signs to help you and your kids detect adverts online. 1. Ad labels which [...]
Our children are “the most marketed to generation in history”, but they can develop a critical eye for commercial content. Here's how: Talk about the adverts they have spotted online. Find out which adverts your child has seen online. Which do they like? Which don’t they like, and why? Point out the various places that [...]
Democracy won’t save itself. A combination of drastic action from citizens, bold ideas and radical reform is necessary to reinvest democracy with moral authority and strength to survive digital age. Here are eleven ideas which can save it. Own your opinion While time and attention poverty in our ever-accelerating culture means we are always looking [...]
OK, I’ll come clean. I’m pretty obsessed with social media. The gram. The tweets. It’s great. It’s addictive. And, can you blame me? When I was little, iPhones weren’t even a thing. The arrival of the internet was like a time travelling expedition and me and my friends were the first out of the space [...]
“Everyone focusses on TV or phones when you are trying to speak with them.” “When we are asleep, people ring or text. There should be a time to stop calling and messaging.” “My sister is always on her iPad, so I can never play with her anymore.” “When I’m talking to my mum, I [...]
Raising a child is all about milestones: first tooth, first steps, first day at school and nowadays their first smartphone? While this may be a peculiar concept for some parents, we cannot deny that when it comes to mobile phones the question is no longer “will I buy one for my child?” but “when?”. On [...]
This Safer Internet Day, the best thing you can do it to get curious about your child's digital life. The single, most important thing you can do is to talk - and to listen - to them. As they go online, they may well be exposed to unkind behaviour, inappropriate content, or contact with people they [...]
One of the questions we hear most often from parents is "what is the right age for a child to get their first smartphone"? The truth is, there is no "right" age to give a child a smartphone. There is, however, plenty that can be done to help your child avoid the potential pitfalls when [...]
Your child asks you if they can get Whisper, Sarahah, Live.ly or *insert name of latest social media / game craze / app here*. Your child seems to know much more about it than you do and you're worried. What do you do? 1.Find out what your child knows Ask them what it is - is it a [...]
The number of schools clamping down on the use of smart phones during school hours is increasing as reports point to the harmful effects of social media on young people’s well-being. There is speculation that social media may be fueling a mental health crisis - and some research suggests that heavy use could linked to poor mental [...]