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How we鈥檙e helping kids navigate online life

Claire Stocks

Head of Interactive, 主播大秀 Children's

Children face disturbing comments online every day:

  • “Why are you still trying? Nobody enjoys your videos. You should just die, nobody will miss you.”
  • “Go away you bisexual freak”
  • “You’re very ugly. Everyone hates you.”
  • “Kill yourself gay-boy”

These first-hand examples come from a group of young teens we worked with to create a film highlighting their experiences as part of a  - which aims to help kids aged 9-12 navigate their digital lives with confidence and resilience.

The best and worst of life online

When we revealed Own It and this film at December’s Children’s Global Media Summit, following  it made a powerful emotional impact on all 800 guests.

What struck us most was not just the strength of the comments, but how common-place they are.

Not all kids would say they’ve been cyberbullied - but many kids experience this kind of ‘casual hate’, regularly.

And if they’re not on the receiving end, they’re exposed to it nonetheless, as you can see in the film when one of the girls tearfully describes how upset she feels seeing comments like that aimed at her friends.

"As a parent - I believe we have grounds for concern.We’ve all let technology slowly creep into our lives and are now waking up to the enormity of the challenge."

Prince William, speaking in December

But the film also shows the affirming side of the internet too:

  • “You are really a great friend. Thanks for being there for me”
  • “Your videos make me laugh every day! Thank you!”
  • “I’ll be there, don’t worry.”
  • “Are you alright? Do you need any help?”

These are just some of the comments the pupils told us they’d read that had made their or their friends’ day.

When we asked nine, 10 and 11 year olds, how they would rebuild the internet if they were in charge - we were fascinated by their replies.

Yes, there were fun suggestions but most of the responses were thoughtful, and underlined poignantly that, though under 18s represent a third of all users, .

  • "I’d always know people were who they said they were"
  • "I’d be able to keep all my friends safe"
  • "...fake profiles would be taken down"
  • "...there would be no swearing and if someone did it would block those words"
  • "...it would automatically star out your home address"
  • "...people who try to fake their date of birth would have to verify it with their birth certificate"
  • "...younger people wouldn’t see inappropriate pictures or videos/you’d have to be 18 to see them"

This is a picture that will be all too familiar to the many other people working in agencies and organisations focused on improving online experiences for kids and families.

When we spoke specifically about the subject of internet safety with these children, we expected eyes to roll and sighs of boredom, but more prevalent were furrowed brows, pauses and gently-troubled looks.

We took this as a challenge - from society’s youngest citizens, whose voices have not been represented in way the internet is built and run.

Of course the internet is also a glorious place if you are a child - an amazing, liberating, fun place to be, and an integral part growing up, finding one’s identity, mastering skills and making friends.

So, like life, Own It can’t just be about the bad stuff.

We’ll be giving kids all sorts of fun, funny, entertaining, useful tips and insights into making the most of time online. For instance - rather than a finger-wagging ‘put down your phone’ piece - we’ve made a fun film which shows how dirty our phones are, which, if nothing else, we hope will encourage kids to keep their phone clean!

How manky is your mobile?

The Own It website will provide a home, and an expanding reference library of content from us , but its impact will go far beyond the site.

You’ll see Own It-related themes woven into comedy, factual and drama brands across C主播大秀.

Take screen time - we’ll tackle this in many ways - from a fun but gently-questioning quiz on the Own It site, to a report on Newsround, to a C主播大秀 documentary about a family addicted to their devices being treated at a new clinic, to a spooky episode of Creeped Out where a phone turns into an actual troll.

In terms of the internet’s darker side - in the last year there have been changes in the way the industry approaches this subject.

It is quite clear the status quo is not working; change is coming - not soon enough - but it will take time. And in the meantime - that’s where Own It comes in, alongside other existing partner initiatives.

It’s aimed at 9-12 year olds because we want to help equip kids before they are fully in the deep end of these issues; as they make the transformative leap to high school, and while they still look to trusted sources like parents, teachers and the 主播大秀 for help.

We’re rolling out Own It across the 主播大秀 this week - to coincide with .

We picked the words for our trail from comments highlighted by kids in our film - ‘ugly’, ‘freak’, ‘loser’, ‘stupid’.

"Smash it, Own It"

Seeing our young actors smash up those words - piñata-style - felt a really empowering way of bringing the voices of children into this growing debate.

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