This is the final re-record episode, this time looking at Not Harmful Behaviours. We discuss what to do if a young person is sent a nude that they didn't ask for, how to discuss the law around sexting, using filters and creating content. We've deliberately chosen some of the more complicated Not Harmful behaviours from version 2 of the Digital Resilience Tool as hopefully most of them are fairly self-explanatory. Don't forget, you can find the Digital Resilience Tool at https://www.headstartkernow.org.uk/digital-resilience/ and if you have any questions about any of the behaviours you can email us:

Louisa - [email protected]

Andy - [email protected]

For a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQg0uJF9eYuBuA3cW4bWAvATaY48fenX2JH4llQxm0KPcsX1OPkrUahJFjUnyIE_HKaSNoTVp6k3eiA/pub.

We've re-recorded our episode on Potentially Harmful Behaviours, partly to replace the not-so-great sound quality of the original, and partly because we've got some new behaviours in version 2 of the Digital Resilience we wanted to explore. In this episode we talk about children knowing passwords to parental devices, or how to bypass parental controls, what the risks of accessing the deep web are and issues around digital consent.

We also mention the amazing Project Evolve, where you can see their brilliant lesson plans mapped onto the Digital Resilience Tool here: https://projectevolve.co.uk/about/partners/

To see a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQf3cRd6hGuJX7FYYPfOEqUf3mlEvJsFL-m8EupKp6Fz_6ndsyBUb9ZadiH0sUexD7LPYD2c-kZl9AV/pub.

If you're a long time listener, you'll know that the sound quality has got much better since we recorded the first batch of episodes back in the summer of 2020. Back then, I promised that we'd re-record the worst of them - well I'm pleased to say we've finally done it! Here is the first, and better than just a simple re-record, we've actually taken the opportunity to discuss some of the new behaviours in the new version of the Digital Resilience Tool, available on the Headstart website (headstartkernow.org.uk/digital-resilience/

We also remind everyone that if you're having a difficult time identifying a behaviour and want some advice about how best to respond to it, you can always contact us:

Louisa: [email protected]

Andy: [email protected]

For a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTxQCV9zeeTT2hlTlesZ986LE1_NGf1ZUDhF7uehcgTO44_jQojivU0ZXQXCheEaf4sW_44ot_E_tNn/pub.

In this episode Andy and I discuss how you can curate your social media feed, and how you can support young people to do theirs. Whether you're a teacher, youth worker or family support worker, this information can help you teach young people to manage what they see on social media. We don't focus on any specific platforms, but do give advice relevant to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, whilst also mentioning ways to help young people curate or manage their feed in any platform. We also talk about what algorithms can and can't do and why people think AI is more advanced than it is.

I mention that you can see what google has assumed about you by looking at your google ad settings, you can access yours here: https://adssettings.google.com/ 

To see a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTyZqRNyVSNHLQ6EegOZAw2ggTmsaiORLBSElaS_fI-hiiqcgsdxRzo3FI7B82NKm8upAF_qmDqpzpZ/pub.

In this episode Andy and I discuss teaching resources available to help you deliver lessons about risks and issues young people face online - in particular those made by Project Evolve (which can be accessed at projectevolve.co.uk). We look at common myths professionals might inadvertently be passing on, such as suggesting that gaming causes young people to be violent or that looking at a screen all day will damage your eyesight. We also discuss whether young people are really concerned about pornography. We talk about questions you should be prepared for, and how much you really need to know about this subject to deliver a really great lesson. It's not all about being in the classroom though, we talk about how this is relevant in informal settings (such as youth clubs) as well.

We mention a mapping document linked to the Headstart Online Resilience tool, if you would like to get a copy of this, please email me at [email protected].

To see the transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTQe9BCO6ik19yDBuVv6zLWF5PtMuMh3kSZpZMTmZ8zrwOcUAHAXFb6s-GFZBze66h-L2eHTaLipyLR/pub. 

In this episode we talk about what the Metaverse is, and what the risks to young people who access it (or any form of virtual reality are). We discuss a recent BBC article which suggested the Metaverse is incredibly high risk for young people, and what professionals can do if they are concerned about those risks, for example what measures can be taken to supervise children and young people who are using VR headsets.

We also discuss the likelihood of VR technology becoming mainstream, considering recent examples of technology which didn't take off and whether VR is likely to go the same way as Google Glass, or 3D movies.

Andy wrote an article in The Conversation about this, which you can read in full here: https://theconversation.com/protecting-children-in-the-metaverse-its-easy-to-blame-big-tech-but-we-all-have-a-role-to-play-177789

To see a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSqbo5RzNJcBonibekQ-TTgGyuMFwgVdcJVmNV44MlTeL1tCOxLj9xcc-F1uVvgvFAi3NAHMI1MW2_O/pubhtml.

In this episode we talk about how to take a harm reduction approach to young people's online behaviour, and why this is better than an 'online safety' message. When we talk about 'Online Safety' we often aim to prevent or prohibit young people from accessing certain parts of the online world, and whilst we may have the best possible reasons for wanting to do this, it means that if young people decide to engage in the behaviour anyway, they have no understanding of what the risks might be or how they could reduce them. We talk about how we can apply a harm reduction ethos to all interaction with young people in relation to online activities, and what harm reduction might look like in specific cases. 

A key element to remember with harm reduction is that it doesn't mean we can't say 'this is risky, and the best way to stay safe is not to do it' it just means the conversation doesn't end there.

To see a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT0Sf8IQ7bnO1aU4jUyZZYtw7eOXtWrcmdrpUWe6rPlwBg3YfVQGRLJSQYhayjsK_i-3VqNurhj-SYx/pubhtml.

In perfect time for Anti-Bullying week, Andy and I discuss what constitutes bullying in an online context and why we don't use the term Cyberbullying. We also talk about what professionals (youth workers, teachers, social workers and the like) can do if they are aware that a young person is being bullied through digital technology. We talk about the potential problems that professionals might face when issues arise in young people's digital worlds, such as parents becoming involved and how online and offline bullying should be dealt with in the same way.

To see a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQgqSZuW98d58yJVp7h2fHBFtn18gUIqTA-h4pz7tzD0nE4tEuLfXYhVwtJRRsHQIOM5mUIyYCFPKtF/pubhtml.

In this episode we talk all things Youtube - we'll be considering the benefits of Youtube, considering how young people use Youtube and how that might be different from our experiences of media, but that doesn't necessarily mean harmful. We'll then go on to talk about using parental controls, how they work and what the potential pitfalls of relying too heavily on them can be. 

We also discuss how to manage suggested videos, and how if a young person is seeing a great deal of harmful or upsetting content this can be edited to show less of the stuff you don't want to see.

We specifically talk about Squid Game and how even young children have been able to watch some of this, very violent show, through Youtube when their parents would not allow them to watch on Netflix. Similar to Grand Theft Auto, if everyone is talking about a show (or game) children and young people will inevitably be curious and are therefore likely to seek out clips on Youtube. 

To view a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQeCTZaK8AlD_XQA4DI85JjBA4yZGoJ0ZRdRJ4AzFLIjEx1Mpb7bg8Psj1VZQvLMXMskjmGk9P0LQp5/pubhtml.

What will the Online Safety Bill mean for professionals? Should you do anything differently? In this episode we discuss what the Online Safety Bill actually means for teachers, youth workers, social workers or anyone else working with young people. We'll talk about the potential issues with the bill and what you should do in the meantime.

To see a transcript of this episode go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQv5OIB5E66bVgV4SS19d5-QAtwFryZtpJWDuNWbdIsT1psWcMDlZgBIHIQtxy-b6BjXJvl4j5L-HbM/pubhtml.