A copy of the slides presented at Girls Talk on 29 August 2016.

1. 29 August 2016

2. Kathryn White
Head of Educational Resources & Information Centre
(Head of Library)

3. Good news
Bad news

4. 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?

5. (Actual) Girls talk…
Real input from
current Year 9
and 10 students.

6. How are children using technology?

7. Children use technology to:
Socialise Communicate Create Play Learn

8. Top Online Activities (9-16 year olds)
Schoolwork/research Watching video clips Playing games
Emailing/Messaging Social networking
Source: AU Kids Online Project, 2013

9. Children’s Online Usage
Where?
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)

10. How much screen time is too much?

11. What is screen time?
Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

12. Not all screen time is bad

13. 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.

14. Problems associated with excessive
screen time:
Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

15. • 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

16. Strategies for regulating screen time
Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

17. ‘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 Third
Enhancing parents’ knowledge and practice of safety online
(2013)
How children perceive the online space

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

19. 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.

20. “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)

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

22. 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 &
Emotional
Development
• 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
Digital
Savviness
• 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

23. Social comparison
Early
Childhood
3-6 Years
Middle
Childhood
8-12 Years
Adolescence
12-18 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

24. 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?

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. Other apps/sites to keep on your radar…
Qooh.me
Ask.fm
Snapsave
Skype
Youtube (uploading)
Musically
omegle
Anonymously ask other users questions
Obvious issues!
Concern about over use and what is being
shared
Make your own music clips

29. 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?

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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 al
Intergenerational attitudes towards social networking and cybersafety
(2011)

33. How do I talk to my child about
technology?

34. Communication is key!
But can be difficult,
frustrating and even
embarrassing.
The older children get,
the harder it can become.
Source: Fowl Language

35. 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.

36. When are the best teachable moments?
First phone or
new mobile
device
Age 13 or
First social media
sign up
Post incident
(child may not
have been
involved)
Change of
routine –
technology use
changes (ie.
holidays)

37. Actions can speak louder than words!
The power of modelling responsible technology use.

38. 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)

39. 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.

40. Parental controls on devices
No 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

41. Knowledge
Knowledge 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!

42. Use social media to your advantage
Good pages to follow on Facebook:
Office of the Children’s eSafety
Commissioner
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.

43. School
Resources
myStCatherines
For Parents 
Student
Wellbeing 
Cyber Safety &
Digital
Citizenship

45. A final thought…

46. Cybersafety
Digital Citizenship

47. Sources
Feldman, 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