Every week e-safety adviser Alan Mackenzie sends me weekly updates. They are useful teaching resources but also parent guides to keep you up to date with current trends.
Here are a few tips from this week’s updates:
Screentime – Brain Rot?
I have never been a fan of the word ‘screentime’. It tells us nothing, there’s no context, yet is used by the media to instil and exacerbate fears upon parents leading to other concerns such as addiction. Screen ‘time’ can be a factor, but screen ‘use’ is much more important, this gives us context – what are they doing and why?
I came across an article in The Guardian which I thought was so well written and thought provoking, written by real experts, not self-proclaimed or media-hyped experts, which gives a much more balanced view of screentime and what the science does and does not tell us. It’s definitely worth a read and you can find the article HERE.
What is Kick Streaming?
Many parents will be aware of Twitch, especially if their children are gamers. Owned by Amazon it has become incredibly popular over the years for children to either watch live streams or to live stream themselves. But in the past there’s been plenty of controversy about the platform, particularly in relation to restrictions that imposed upon streamers. So it’s no surprise to see other platforms becoming more popular and one of those platforms is Kick (not to be confused with Kik Messenger).
It was launched in 2022, users should be 13+ and it follows the same process as Twitch where live streamers can make money. However, much of the content on Kick is adult in nature.
Internet Matters has a good article about Kick and it may be useful to share this with your parents. You can find the article HERE.
