Cyber Safety
It is with excitement that we welcome back our students to face-to-face learning in what we sincerely hope will be for the remainder of the year. This week we welcomed back the last of our students with Year 3 and 4 excitedly attending on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With the return of course, brings a renewal of friendships and with that both positive and challenging social situations that can potentially arise especially after significant time apart.
With our extended lockdowns, many of our student’s wide range of experiences that make up social discussions and play have been limited and unsurprisingly much of the return discussions and play we are seeing have focused around social media or screen experiences. We know that as we return to our new normal and with better weather on the horizon this will of course once again broaden out, however, as a wellbeing team we ask that you consider some of the media your child is being exposed to.
Tiktok is still one of the favourites for students and while it can promote a sense of connectedness it also has potential dangers and with even innocent mistakes can lead to significant negative consequences. Another item which appears to be becoming popular is a new Netflix Series ‘Squid Games’. While clearly marked MA, advertisers and directors have been clever in the way in which it is marketed so that its appeal extends to a much younger audience than who the content is appropriate for. Bright appealing colours in the setting, and games based on common school yard games draw the younger audience in, however this is where the appropriate nature of the content ends for Primary aged children.
The Cyber Safety Project, with who our students have been working with as part of their Wellbeing and Health lessons throughout the year, suggests the following for how parents can support their children with ‘Squid Game’ conversations that may be brought up.
- PLAN a conversation with your children to find out what they already know about the series, ask if they have seen any of the content and provide time and space to unpack how it has made them feel.
- PREVENT access through using parental controls in Netflix to ensure Squid Game series does not appear on your profile. Use the primary account to ensure additional profiles cannot be created without the parental code.
You may also want to consider placing content restrictions for searches on their devices using Apple Screen Time – Family Sharing tools or Google Family Link.
- PROTECT them by providing strategies for how they can respond to a friend who may try to expose them to the content or concepts. Keep an eye on the trend, monitor the situation, and discuss the topic with other parents in your child’s friendship circle(s).
The advice they provide, is of course easily transferrable to any conversation and can be used to support our children through some of the more inappropriate components of both the internet, social media and TV. Please don’t hesitate to contact the Wellbeing Team for further information if you have any queries.