29 August 2016

Kathryn WhiteHead of Educational Resources & Information Centre

(Head of Library)

Good newsBad news

The big topics:

How much screen time is too much?

How do children use technology?

Is my child ready for social media?How much control do I have as a parent?

How do I start the conversation?

(Actual) Girls talk…

Real input from current Year 9 and 10 students.

How are children using technology?

Children use technology to:

Socialise Communicate Create Play Learn

Top Online Activities (9-16 year olds)

Schoolwork/research Watching video clips Playing games

Emailing/Messaging Social networking

Source: AU Kids Online Project, 2013

Children’s Online UsageWhere?

Predominantly school/home

When out and about

46% of Australian children go online in a bedroom or private room, 70% at a friend’s house

Australian children are, on average, a little under 8 years old when they first use the internet – some of the youngest children in the world to do so.

Source: AU Kids Online project - Children comment on bullies, porn and violence (2013)

How much screen time is too much?

What is screen time?

Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

Not all screen time is bad

Screen Time Guidelines

Your child’s age Recommended screen time

Under 2 years Zero.Babies and toddlers should not watch any television or other

electronic media (DVDs, computers and electronic games).

2 to 5 years Less than one hour per day.Limit their time sitting and watching TV or using other electronic

media to less than one hour per day.

5 to 17 years Less than two hours per day.Limit their use of electronic media for entertainment (i.e. TV,

computers and seated electronic games) to no more than two hours per day.

Australia’s National Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines*

*These guidelines are for entertainment purposes only and do not include screen time for educational purposes.

Problems associated with excessive screen time:

Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

• online activities interfering with general health and wellbeing• obsession with particular websites or games• anger when being asked to take a break from online activity• appearing anxious or irritable when away from the computer• spending increasing amounts of time online• a declined interest in social activities like meeting friends or playing sport• excessive tiredness• decline in academic performance and failing to complete schoolwork• seemingly isolated or withdrawn• reduced personal hygiene• negative changes in their behaviour• ongoing headaches, eye strain and sleep disturbance

The effects of too much screen time:

Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

Strategies for regulating screen time

Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

‘For young people, communicating online is just another setting for their everyday interactions. They apply the same moral frameworks to their online engagements as they do in their face-to-face interactions…’

Dr Amanda ThirdEnhancing parents’ knowledge and practice of safety online

(2013)

How children perceive the online space

How do I know if my child is ready to use social media?

Why 13?There is no correlation between the age limit determined by the social media platform and its appropriateness.

By accepting the Terms and Conditions of these social media platforms, you are declaring that you are 13 years old or above.

13 is also the beginning of high school and, for most children, when adolescence really starts kicking in. The lure of social media is at its strongest.

“The technical age limit is arbitrary and it is a parent's responsibility to assess when their child has the social skills for social media, such as judging what to share

and with whom.”Alastair MacGibbon, Australia’s First Children’s eSafety Comissioner (2015)

Is my child ready for social media?A middle childhood development context

What’s going on…At age 8 At age 10 At age 13

Cognitive Development

• ‘Age of reason’ – can solve problems on their own

• Ability and desire to do things themselves

• Beginning to think more abstractly

• Can understand and interpret intention

• Thinking begins to include perception and insight

• Can grasp abstract concepts and think hypothetically

Social & EmotionalDevelopment

• Understand emotions enough to mask them

• Peer relationships start to have new significance

• Can be ‘tribal’ in their friendships

• Importance of popularity and heirachy

• Acceptance of peers is of utmost importance

• Capable of making ethical decisions

Physical Development

• Mastery of physical activities learnt in previous years

• Girls – growth spurt• Beginnings of puberty for some• Increased body consciousness

• Puberty – growth spurts, strong emotions

• Increased body consciousness

DigitalSavviness

• Don’t always understand cause and effect in the digital world

• Issues with copying and information literacy

• Social pressure to be online• Strong digital skills• Privacy issues

• Technically savvy, yet emotionally immature

• Skills can outpace judgement

Source: https://www.commonsensemedia.org

Social comparison

Early Childhood3-6 Years

Middle Childhood8-12 Years

Adolescence12-18 Years

• Evaluate ability in terms of hypothetical standard

• Deal in absolutes –they are either good or bad at something

• Begin to use a social comparison process –looking to others to make a judgement the level of their accomplishment

• Trend of social comparison continues – the relationship with peers is vitally important to their sense of belonging.

• Parents/adults are shut out as they are unable to provide social comparison

Sign up age

Source: Feldman, R. (2014) Development Across the Life Span

Social media tends to be introduced at a stage when:

• Sense of self and self worth is determined by comparison with peers

• Popularity is very important

• The concept of privacy and the understanding of digital consequences is still in development

• Emotions are strong and varied

Possible result?

Current issues associated with these platforms at primary school level

Privacy

• What is safe public information?

• Privacy settings

• Location services

• Sign ups/passwords

• Accessing other platforms (Kik, Tinder) through FB, Instagram etc.

• Stranger danger

Digital Footprint

• Once posted, always available!

• Control of one’s own online reputation

Image posting

• Provocative images

• Narcissism

• Posting without the consent of others

• Divulging personal information through images

Current issues associated with these platforms at primary school level

Consequences

• Discovery of anonymity

• Frequent lack of tangible consequences and subsequent feelings of social power

Content

• Dealing with confronting imagery or content

• Incidental exposure to sexual or violent content

Exclusion

• Messenger chat groups

• Online invitations to parties

• Posting photos from events

The (current) Big 3

Facebook (13+) Instagram (13+) Snapchat (13+)• Photo/video sharing app• Apply text/filters/annotations

to your ‘snap’ or ‘story’• Decide how long the snap will

last (5 sec, 10 sec, etc)• Image/video disappears after it

has been consumed by receiver

• Photo sharing platform• Users create a profile and share

photos with captions/hashtags• Users can ‘follow’ other users• Direct messaging functionality• Users can ‘favourite’ other

user’s photos

• Users create a profile where they can post status updates, photos, share links, tag other users, etc.

• Direct messaging functionality (separate app)

• Option to create groups and pages

• Used as a springboard platform to log into many other applications

Other apps/sites to keep on your radar…

Qooh.meAsk.fm

Snapsave

SkypeYoutube (uploading)

Musicallyomegle

Anonymously ask other users questions

Obvious issues!

Concern about over use and what is being shared

Make your own music clips

Questions for parents to ask themselves:As suggested by the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner

• Is my child able to withstand taunts from others?

• Does my child understand what’s safe to put online?

• Does my child understand the importance of protecting their personal information?

• Am I worried that my child will feel left out if they aren’t on social media?

• Does my child know how to report abuse or offensive content?

• How do I plan to supervise my child on social media sites?

Tips from the office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner

Get in the know

Research ‘terms of use’ and age

requirements on social media services and

explain them to your child.

Play nice

Encourage your child to respect others

online and to always think before posting.

Report

Show your child how to report inappropriate content, especially

cyberbullying

Learn more

Keep up to date with popular social media

sites

Join in

Create an account yourself and find out

what your child is likely to encounter.*

Talk

Maintain open communication with

your child so that they feel safe talking to you

about any concerns

Keep it private

Show your child how to use privacy

settings to control what others can see.

Beware of bad eggs

Teach your child that not everyone they meet online can be trusted, even if they

seem nice or friendly.

Children’s top concerns

Concerns about unwanted sharing of personal information,

images or photos increase with age,

becoming most common among the

oldest group.

The youngest

groups are more

concerned

about content

and other risks.

Concerns

about bullying

increases with

age and peaks

at 13-14 years.

Concerns about

inappropriate

behaviour is

most common

among the 9-10

year olds.

The importance of family values

‘Rather than sliding into a moral vacuum when they go online, young people draw upon the same moral framework that shapes their offline engagements.’

Third et alIntergenerational attitudes towards social networking and cybersafety

(2011)

How do I talk to my child about technology?

Communication is key!

But can be difficult, frustrating and even embarrassing.

The older children get, the harder it can become.

Source: Fowl Language

If it’s overwhelming for us, it’s overwhelming for them

In the same way that ‘how was school?’ can be too big a question for a child to answer, we need to approach conversations about digital life by focusing on real and relevant scenarios.

When are the best teachable moments?

First phone or new mobile

device

Age 13 orFirst social media

sign up

Post incident (child may not

have been involved)

Change of routine –

technology use changes (ie.

holidays)

Actions can speak louder than words!

The power of modelling responsible technology use.

What control do parents have when it comes to their children participating in

the online world?

Sometimes we feel like this(The horse has bolted)

Issue: Older Siblings

Setting ‘fair’ rules can be challenging when children are at different stages.

There should be no issue with having staged levels of expectation for technology use.

Teaming up with older children, asking for their ‘advice’ in understanding apps and monitoring younger siblings can be an effective strategy.

Parental controls on devicesNo tool is ever going to be 100% effective at blocking access to inappropriate content.

Parental controls, or ‘restrictions’ can be set on:

• Computers, tables and smartphones

• Gaming consoles

• Internet service providers

• Streaming services

• Web browsers

https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/online-safeguards/parental-controls

KnowledgeKnowledge is power when it comes to the digital world.

Between the ages of 5 and 10, children are more likely to think that their parents know more about the internet that they do.

Actively seeking information about cybersafety is valuable, but not always practical!

Use social media to your advantage

Good pages to follow on Facebook:

Office of the Children’s eSafetyCommissioner

The Cyber Safety Lady

Common Sense Education

#cybersafety

#digitalcitizenship

Connecting on social media brings the information to you and allows you to reach out to experts.

SchoolResourcesmyStCatherines

For Parents

Student Wellbeing

Cyber Safety & Digital Citizenship

A final thought…

Cybersafety

Digital Citizenship

SourcesFeldman, R. (2014). Development Across the Life Span (7th Ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

AU Kids Online Project, 2013

Enhancing parents’ knowledge and practice of safety online, 2013

https://www.esafety.gov.au

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/what-age-is-appropriate-to-join-social-media-20151015-gk9nat.html