Schools are increasingly enlisting parents in a battle to minimise children’s exposure to social media
Carmel Hume, principal of Presentation Primary School, Terenure, Dublin, says negative commentary online has become normalised and the nuances of face-to-face communication and engagements are being lost. Photograph: Alan BetsonThe online world can be a dangerous place for children. But it’s not realistic to expect them to stay offline until they’re 18. Nor does it help prepare them to live in a technology-driven world.
“Digital literacy skills are beneficial, and important. And if only one or two children don’t have a phone, they may feel – and be – left out, which causes its own problems.” “Our data shows children are extremely active on social media, often unsupervised, leaving them highly vulnerable to bullying, grooming, and exposure to violent or sexual content,” she says.
“We try to be a bully-free school; there will always be parents who don’t acknowledge a problem, or there will be personality clashes, but for the most part – around 80 per cent – we are successful in that,” Hume says. Problems arise in schools when children find out they have been excluded from an event, or they are targeted with abuse online, Hume says.
“When it comes to children online, it’s not that parents don’t care about their children or their wellbeing, it’s that they are on the back-foot. These apps are tremendously engaging and designed to hold our attention, and there are so many of them, too. Children need to be equipped, guided and supported, and parents need help to do this.”
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