Headstart Online Resilience Podcast

In this episode, Andy and I discuss deepfake nudes, the term used for sexual images or videos that have made me using AI. We talk about the risks to young people and professionals from this technology. We also briefly discuss the (admittedly rare) phenomenon of people having romantic relationships with AI assistants.

We mention a few resources - the first one is the Revenge Porn Helpline, available for any adults who have had intimate images of them non-consensually shared (even if they are AI).

The same support is available for young people, through the Take It Down service.

I also mention Fearless.org, where young people can anonymously report crime.

Andy mentioned an article in the Financial Times, it's available here but you need a subscription to read it.

In this episode Andy and I discuss the concerns that adults and professionals may have around Artifical Intelligence (AI) and social media, especially as it relates to young people.

We think about how some of the problems of AI are actually not all that different to problems we've seen on and offline over the years, and the solution is one which we're very fond of talking about at Headstart: Critical Thinking!

Have a listen and share with anyone who you think might be worried about young people, AI and social media.

In this episode Andy and I talk about issues specific to young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and the digital world.

We mention the SEND guidance, which we created to help all the adults around a child or young person with SEND - you can access it here: https://www.headstartkernow.org.uk/send-digital-resilience-guidance/

We're back for a new series! Today Andy and I talk about how to be tech positive. We reflect about why it's so hard to focus on the good things about the digital world when we talk to young people, and then explore what some of those positives might be, both for young people and ourselves. We finish up with a chat about putting a tech positive approach into action.

In this episode Andy and I discuss some of the issues raised by the Netflix drama Adolescence.

Andy mentions that he was on national radio recently, if you want to hear him, you can find it here - Andy's section starts about an hour in.

I reference a number of previous episodes of the podcast - these are:

Ep 35 - Interview with Maddy Street about Online Misogyny

In this episode Andy and I talk about age restrictions on social media and the current discussions about whether the minimum age should be increased to sixteen. We also talk about a range ways to support your child if you're concerned that they're having issues linked to social media, and consider how these might not be all that different to issues parents may have had when they were teenagers.

I also mention a previous podcast about how to start these conversations with young people, if you want to listen back, it was Episode 10.

There's lots more resources available to support parents on the Headstart website, so check it out if you want to know more:

https://www.headstartkernow.org.uk/parent-digital-offer/

In this episode we talk about recent media stories about Roblox and what parents really need to consider if their children are Roblox fans. We have a chat about age ratings, and how to respond to 'pester power.' We finish up with a chat about whether gaming is addictive, and what to do if you're worried your child is spending too long playing games.

In this episode Andy and I talk about the Dark Web. We explain the difference between the dark web and the deep web, and how they are different to privacy tools you may use at work, such as VPNs. We then go on to talk about the importance of privacy, and why keeping too close a watch on your child's digital world might push them to use the deep/dark web.

In this episode we talk about parental controls and ask if they are effective. We discuss the various problems with using parental controls, especially with older children. We also chat about what the benefits of using various controls are.

I mention a survey which talks about young people's online experience, if you want to know more about it, you can find out here.

In this parent's podcast we talk about whether parents need to worry about giving their child a smart phone, whether 'dumb phones' (like the old Nokia phones) are a good alternative and what parents can do to help their child learn to use a smart phone safely.

Andy mentions a piece he wrote for the Conversation recently, which you can read here.