As we continue our special series of Tech Shock exploring arguments for and against the social media ban and the government consultation, this week we are joined by Andy Burrows, CEO of the Molly Rose Foundation.

The Foundation works at the intersection of online safety, mental health and suicide prevention, and holds a firm belief that technology can be a positive force for children. However, how can a safer online world be achieved? Are we learning from our mistakes with social media when it comes to AI regulation? Should we be optimistic about the future?

Previously head of Child Safety Online Policy at the NSPCC, Andy brings years of experience engaging in child safety and online safety debates to the discussion.

Talking points:

• What are the problems of a social media ban for under-16s, its unintended consequences and would it provide a false sense of safety for parents?
• Why has the OSA disappointed, what role did Ofcom play and what should be done about small platforms?
• What impact will AI have on our world and the ability to keep children safe online?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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The beginning of March saw the government launch its consultation on whether to ban social media for under-16s, as well as calling on the public to share opinions and concerns on more nuanced interventions.

But how did we get here? With the Online Safety Act (OSA) being in force for two and a half years, why do parents and policymakers call for a blanket ban that risks being yet another false promise that could make young people less safe? Has the OSA failed or can it be part of the UK’s progress to a safer online world?

In the first of a special group of Tech Shock episodes surrounding the Ban and Consultation, Vicki is joined by Maeve Walsh - Director of the OSA Network.

Talking points:

• Can we see that progress has been made through the OSA and what wins should we be shouting about?
• What are the big gaps in the Act and what other areas could and should it concern?
• Are we able to strengthen the OSA promptly and appropriately? What is the OSA Network's 10-point plan for strengthening the Act immediately?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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December saw the launch of an international coalition to end violence against women and girls with additional support to tackle online harms. At the same time, debates around the banning of ‘nudification’ apps continue within the UK.

Developments like these represent a shared desire to affect change – and for the online world to be a safer place. But amid the Australian ban on social media for under-16s (now in effect) and Scottish Labour pushing for a complete phone ban in schools, we may need to pause and ask: are we going about reducing harm in the right way?

In the final episode of season 11, Vicki is joined by UCL professor of Sociology of Gender and Education, Jessica Ringrose to explore young people’s lived experiences and some possibly better ways to bring about change.

Talking points:

• From ‘sex subscriptions’ and ‘AI girlfriends’ to cyberflashing, how does harmful sexual content impact different groups of young people?
• Why are policies around restricting (or outright banning) tech not properly “thought through”?
• Two years on since the Online Safety Act passed, are platforms still operating without a genuine duty of care – and what can we do in the meantime?
  
  

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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Amidst a paradigm shift in technology, it looks to be the case that a failure to understand (and use) AI is a failure to prepare for a rapidly approaching future.

But plenty of questions remain. How best to support literacies related to AI? Where exactly should AI sit within a revised curriculum? And might the provision of AI tools to children (without appropriate support) simply foster a ‘copy and paste’ mindset – one which is antagonistic to learning?

In this episode, Vicki is joined by Irene Picton – senior project and research manager at the National Literacy Trust to explore recent research into children’s literacy and the debate around AI.

Talking points:

• What does literacy look like – and require – in the age of AI?
• How might children’s use of AI entrench existing inequity, and what more could schools do to support literate use of these tools?
• Are we guilty of a ‘screens = bad’ binary, or are concerns like the role of AI in EdTech warranted?
  
  

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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AI technologies are becoming more and more embedded in daily life – in ways that go well beyond smart speakers or nifty thermometers.

But this embedding raises lots of questions. Some people have little faith in Big Tech (or the countries trying to regulate it) to get it right. Providing it really isn’t just a matter of the optics, the now safety-less renaming of the US ‘AI Safety Institute’ to the ‘Centre for AI Standards and Innovation’ is a case in point. The planned EU legislative rollback points to a contentious roadmap.

So amid deepfakes, relationship chatbots and a reality we might describe as ‘synthetic’, what remains for trust and authenticity? How can we start thinking about harms – and mitigating them – as well as harnessing the potential of AI? In this episode, globally recognised AI expert Henry Ajder joins Vicki to explore these topics further.

Talking points:

• Just how worried should we be about AI when it comes to the ballot box?
• What does a ‘digital nutrition label’ look like, and how might this be one way to help identify what’s genuine?
• When it comes to recognising AI generated content, can increased levels of media literacy actually result in harmful overconfidence?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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Understanding AI has never been more critical. It’s part of most conversations around emerging tech. It raises endless questions around safety, creativity, copyright and intellectual property. The UK government, too, now has a national focus on upskilling young people for the “AI-powered jobs of the future”.

‘Experience AI’ is a programme developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind and delivered across the UK and internationally. It helps to improve the skills and confidence of both educators and students on how AI tech works – and fosters important surrounding literacies.

In this episode, Vicki is joined by the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Ben Garside and Parent Zone’s chief of staff Megan Rose to look at the impact that Experience AI is having currently, and where the programme may be going next.

Talking points:

• Beyond understanding prompts and functionalities, how can educational resources tackle topics like the wider societal impact of AI?
• Is Experience AI meeting educator’s current needs – and are learnings (around, for example, the importance of not ‘anthropomorphising’ chatbots) landing well?
• As children around the globe gain access to AI, how do their experiences of it – and attitudes towards it – change depending on where they live?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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The subject ‘RSE’ (Relationships and Sex Education) was introduced to educate pupils about sexual health as well as their relationships and intimacies with others. Is it meeting the challenge or is there a nervousness in delivery, and are we finding ways to create safe spaces that allow for open discussions?

In an era not just of smartphones and social media, but easily-accessible nudification apps, rampant online misogyny, and AI bots designed to operate as romantic partners, is RSE in its current form really up to the job of informing and supporting young people, or is it in need of re-imagining?

In this episode, Vicki is joined by the team behind the ‘Reimagining RSE’ project – The University of Surrey’s Dr Emily Setty and The University of Bedfordshire’s Jonny Hunt – to explore RSE, as well as where it might go (or may need to go) next.

Talking points:

• What makes ‘safe uncertainty’ preferable to ‘safe certainty’, and why is the former a challenging idea for parents and professionals to grapple with?
• Has the current RSE approach to sexuality prioritised discussions of risk and harm over those around empowerment?
• With the Curriculum and Assessment Review (and the Government’s response) recently released, might we get the re-imagining research tells us we need?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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Contrary to what many of us would like to believe, gambling is not an exclusively over 18 activity – in fact it’s far from it. Popular sports and surrounding media burst at the seams with gambling ads, online gaming draws many monetisation techniques from the gambling industry, and enormously popular influencers often ‘win big’ on when livestreaming crypto casinos.

But awareness of underage gambling – and child financial harms more generally – is at least increasing. And with a recent statutory levy on gambling operators set to generate £100m+ a year in the UK, there may finally be a budget to research, understand and tackle gambling-related harms.

In this episode, Vicki is joined by director of the Coalition to End Gambling Ads, Will Prochaska to explore the gambling in 2025 – and to discuss a roadmap to combating the darker, dodgier side of the industry.

Talking points:

• From the National Lottery to scratch cards and The Grand National, gambling doesn’t always seem to be necessarily problematic. So are those of us who are against newer, online forms of gambling simply killjoys – or is there more at play?
• With gambling ads constantly shifting to less regulated or spotlighted spaces, is a total ban the only way to avoid an unending game of whack-a-mole?
• As gambling companies are now required to pay towards the new levy, how likely is it that they’ll also work on proactively minimising harm?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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