Parents urged to talk with their children about online content

A government campaign, launched today, encourages parents to talk with their children about difficult and harmful content online. This follows new research that shows 90% of 11-year-olds have smartphones yet half of British parents have never spoken to their children about harmful online content.

The initiative, called ‘You Won’t Know Until You Ask’ provides parents with practical support to build confidence in speaking with children about online content. The material provided covers safety settings and conversation prompts, intended to combat misinformation and misogynistic content.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “I know many parents are worried about what their children see and do online - often out of sight, and at times beyond their control… We are determined to give children the childhood they deserve and prepare them for the future. That is why we are supporting parents with this campaign and launching a consultation on how young people can live and thrive in the age of social media.”

The new campaign will also be followed by a three month consultation on children’s digital wellbeing, with input from parents and children across the country.

Research published alongside the new campaign shows that most parents feel confident about which platforms their children use, but a quarter felt unsure about what their children were seeing.

Conversations about online content are one-off and rare, with fewer than half of parents having had a conversation about online experiences at all.

Parents are advised to school through social media with their children once a week, according to the new advice. ‘Weekly check-ins’, looking through favourite apps together, and asking probing questions are all suggested, keeping the “chat friendly and curious, not judgmental”.

The new campaign has been developed alongside organisations such as the NSPCC and Internet Matters. However, some campaigners have criticised the government’s initiative. Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood, said: “This campaign repeats the familiar message that it is up to families to fix harms created by a multi-billion-pound industry designed to capture children’s attention… Talking to children once they are online is important — but conversation alone cannot compensate for platforms that are fundamentally unsafe by design. Finding time for a weekly chat will not fix algorithmic misogyny, rage bait, or body-shaming content.”