New advice for parents about 'toxic' social media

Parents are to be offered advice and support on how to talk to their children about harmful online content as part of a new government initiative.

Yorkshire and the Midlands have been chosen to pilot the "You Won't Know until You Ask" campaign to raise awareness about the difficulties.

Run by The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, the scheme will give parents guidance on how to discuss topics such as body-shaming, rage bait and misogyny on social media.

It comes as new government research says half of parents admit they do not speak to their children about harmful online content.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: "I know many parents are worried about what their children see and do online - often out of sight, and at times beyond their control.

"We are determined to give children the childhood they deserve and prepare them for the future. That is why we are supporting parents with this campaign and launching a consultation on how young people can live and thrive in the age of social media."

The new guidance, developed with expert organisations including NSPCC, Parent Zone and Internet Matters, will encourage parents to use safety settings for social media and give tips on starting difficult conversations.

The campaign is in response to parents calling for support on how to navigate their children's use of social media and comes at a time when calls for a ban on social media for under-16s are gathering pace.

The head teacher of a secondary school in Doncaster, which went smartphone-free in December, said he often hears from worried parents.

Astrea Academy principal David Scales said: "Parents are quite worried about the length of time that their children are spending on their smartphones and the damage that is doing to families, because it's reducing family time and the ability to talk to each other properly.

"As well as that, there's worries about what's going on in different social media apps, like Snapchat, and the types of content that they might be viewing or seeing.

"In the worst cases these are quite horrific examples of grooming and seeing explicit content, which obviously once seen is very hard to undo."

He said he welcomed the new support, but thinks the government could go further.

"We need to think children should not be having smartphones at the age that they're getting them. There needs to be a social media ban for the under-16s and there should be a full ban for phones in schools," he said.

"I think by taking those steps, that is a really strong marker in society that whilst all technology has its benefits, there are drawbacks and there do need to be limitations."

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