Headstart Online Resilience Podcast

In this episode, Andy and I discuss consent in the digital world. We start with a discussion about what consent means, including the importance of informed consent, and situation where consent is not possible.

We move on to thinking about consent to share images, and non-consensual image distribution and how messages at school can affect adult victims.

In this episode I talk to Ken Corish about the use of AI in education, we move the conversation on from whether young people will use AI to 'cheat' in school and consider some of the innovative ways educators can use AI.

In this episode Andy and I discuss the problems with surveys about young people and the digital world. We give some advice for navigating seemingly scary statistics, and consider how some people use numbers to support claims that don't necessarily reflect the findings.

In this episode, Andy and I discuss deepfake nudes, the term used for sexual images or videos that have made me using AI. We talk about the risks to young people and professionals from this technology. We also briefly discuss the (admittedly rare) phenomenon of people having romantic relationships with AI assistants.

In this episode Andy and I discuss some of the issues raised by the Netflix drama Adolescence.

In this episode Andy and I talk about age restrictions on social media and the current discussions about whether the minimum age should be increased to sixteen. We also talk about a range ways to support your child if you're concerned that they're having issues linked to social media, and consider how these might not be all that different to issues parents may have had when they were teenagers.

I also mention a previous podcast about how to start these conversations with young people, if you want to listen back, it was Episode 10.

There's lots more resources available to support parents on the Headstart website, so check it out if you want to know more:

In this episode we talk about parental controls and ask if they are effective. We discuss the various problems with using parental controls, especially with older children. We also chat about what the benefits of using various controls are.

In this parent's podcast we talk about whether parents need to worry about giving their child a smart phone, whether 'dumb phones' (like the old Nokia phones) are a good alternative and what parents can do to help their child learn to use a smart phone safely.

In the latest episode of the podcast we talk to Dr Laura Higson-Bliss, Lecturer at Law School at Keele University (and one of my PhD supervisors) about online self-harm content, whether it can be regulated, and if so, whether it should be.

In this episode Andy and I chat with Jen Persson from Defend Digital Me about all things Data Privacy. We cover everything from the data that schools collect about students, to the ways they do it and the mysterious process of developing the technology that is used in schools to scan children's finger prints, blood vessels and faces.

In this episode we interview another Street - this time a relation - my amazing sister Maddy Street, who works for Prevent and developed some educational resources about tackling misogyny. Maddy shares her experience of talking to young people about the subject, including the highs and lows, along with some great advice for anyone thinking of broaching the subject with groups of young people.

Maddy mentions a few places you can find great resources to discuss misogyny in the classroom, these are:

In this episode, Andy and I chat to Johnny Hunt - sex education specialist and senior lecturer in childhood and youth studies. We talk about a range of issues related to sex education and the digital world, including what young people want to know about, what parents and professionals need to know to have conversations about sex with young people and how to discuss the nuance around consent and related subjects.

In this episode Andy and I continue our series of chatting with people from across the Online Harms world. Today we talk to Georgia Street (no relation), from the Revenge Porn Helpline and the Professionals Online Safety Helpline, both run by South West Grid for Learning.

If you want to get in touch with either helplines, their details are below:

In this episode we talk about responding to online hate and conspiracy theories using the harm reduction approach.

In this episode we're giving practical advice on how to use a harm reduction approach when talking to young people about sexting. We discuss talking about sexting in the context of consent, rather than as a stand alone issue, and explain why that matters.

In this episode Andy and I talk about some interesting approaches to discussing porn with young people, including what is and isn't real about porn - whether it's acting, lighting or body types, and what our experience of talking to young people about porn has been. If you're a teacher, social worker, youth worker or anyone who works with young people, this podcast can help you tackle the subject of porn!

I mention a podcast called Hot Money which you can access at: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hot-money-who-rules-porn/id1621757273

I also mention a TikTok creator who talks about her experience of working in the porn industry - you can find her at: @alisonreyx

In this episode we discuss the Principles of Harm Reduction, which we've pinched from substance use and applied to digital behaviour. You can find the Principles at harmreduction.org.

Building on our previous episode which introduced the idea of Harm Reduction, we're getting into detail about what harm reduction from a digital resilience perspective looks like and how you can ensure you're using a harm reduction approach, rather than scare tactics  - if you're not sure about the difference, scare tactics tend to lean on ideas like 'it's illegal/it's dangerous and if you do it something awful will happen'.

This is the final re-record episode, this time looking at Not Harmful Behaviours. We discuss what to do if a young person is sent a nude that they didn't ask for, how to discuss the law around sexting, using filters and creating content. We've deliberately chosen some of the more complicated Not Harmful behaviours from version 2 of the Digital Resilience Tool as hopefully most of them are fairly self-explanatory. Don't forget, you can find the Digital Resilience Tool at https://www.headstartkernow.org.uk/digital-resilience/ and if you have any questions about any of the behaviours you can email us:

Louisa - louisa.street@packshare.org

Andy - aphippen1@bournemouth.ac.uk

We've re-recorded our episode on Potentially Harmful Behaviours, partly to replace the not-so-great sound quality of the original, and partly because we've got some new behaviours in version 2 of the Digital Resilience we wanted to explore. In this episode we talk about children knowing passwords to parental devices, or how to bypass parental controls, what the risks of accessing the deep web are and issues around digital consent.

We also mention the amazing Project Evolve, where you can see their brilliant lesson plans mapped onto the Digital Resilience Tool here: https://projectevolve.co.uk/about/partners/

If you're a long time listener, you'll know that the sound quality has got much better since we recorded the first batch of episodes back in the summer of 2020. Back then, I promised that we'd re-record the worst of them - well I'm pleased to say we've finally done it! Here is the first, and better than just a simple re-record, we've actually taken the opportunity to discuss some of the new behaviours in the new version of the Digital Resilience Tool, available on the Headstart website (headstartkernow.org.uk/digital-resilience/

We also remind everyone that if you're having a difficult time identifying a behaviour and want some advice about how best to respond to it, you can always contact us:

Louisa: louisa.street@packshare.org

Andy: aphippen1@bournemouth.ac.uk

In this episode Andy and I discuss how you can curate your social media feed, and how you can support young people to do theirs. Whether you're a teacher, youth worker or family support worker, this information can help you teach young people to manage what they see on social media. We don't focus on any specific platforms, but do give advice relevant to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, whilst also mentioning ways to help young people curate or manage their feed in any platform. We also talk about what algorithms can and can't do and why people think AI is more advanced than it is.

I mention that you can see what google has assumed about you by looking at your google ad settings, you can access yours here: https://adssettings.google.com/ 

In this episode Andy and I discuss teaching resources available to help you deliver lessons about risks and issues young people face online - in particular those made by Project Evolve (which can be accessed at projectevolve.co.uk). We look at common myths professionals might inadvertently be passing on, such as suggesting that gaming causes young people to be violent or that looking at a screen all day will damage your eyesight. We also discuss whether young people are really concerned about pornography. We talk about questions you should be prepared for, and how much you really need to know about this subject to deliver a really great lesson. It's not all about being in the classroom though, we talk about how this is relevant in informal settings (such as youth clubs) as well.

We mention a mapping document linked to the Headstart Online Resilience tool, if you would like to get a copy of this, please email me at louisa.street@packshare.org.

In this episode we talk about what the Metaverse is, and what the risks to young people who access it (or any form of virtual reality are). We discuss a recent BBC article which suggested the Metaverse is incredibly high risk for young people, and what professionals can do if they are concerned about those risks, for example what measures can be taken to supervise children and young people who are using VR headsets.

We also discuss the likelihood of VR technology becoming mainstream, considering recent examples of technology which didn't take off and whether VR is likely to go the same way as Google Glass, or 3D movies.

Andy wrote an article in The Conversation about this, which you can read in full here: https://theconversation.com/protecting-children-in-the-metaverse-its-easy-to-blame-big-tech-but-we-all-have-a-role-to-play-177789

In this episode we talk about how to take a harm reduction approach to young people's online behaviour, and why this is better than an 'online safety' message. When we talk about 'Online Safety' we often aim to prevent or prohibit young people from accessing certain parts of the online world, and whilst we may have the best possible reasons for wanting to do this, it means that if young people decide to engage in the behaviour anyway, they have no understanding of what the risks might be or how they could reduce them. We talk about how we can apply a harm reduction ethos to all interaction with young people in relation to online activities, and what harm reduction might look like in specific cases. 

A key element to remember with harm reduction is that it doesn't mean we can't say 'this is risky, and the best way to stay safe is not to do it' it just means the conversation doesn't end there.

In perfect time for Anti-Bullying week, Andy and I discuss what constitutes bullying in an online context and why we don't use the term Cyberbullying. We also talk about what professionals (youth workers, teachers, social workers and the like) can do if they are aware that a young person is being bullied through digital technology. We talk about the potential problems that professionals might face when issues arise in young people's digital worlds, such as parents becoming involved and how online and offline bullying should be dealt with in the same way.

In this episode we talk all things Youtube - we'll be considering the benefits of Youtube, considering how young people use Youtube and how that might be different from our experiences of media, but that doesn't necessarily mean harmful. We'll then go on to talk about using parental controls, how they work and what the potential pitfalls of relying too heavily on them can be. 

We also discuss how to manage suggested videos, and how if a young person is seeing a great deal of harmful or upsetting content this can be edited to show less of the stuff you don't want to see.

We specifically talk about Squid Game and how even young children have been able to watch some of this, very violent show, through Youtube when their parents would not allow them to watch on Netflix. Similar to Grand Theft Auto, if everyone is talking about a show (or game) children and young people will inevitably be curious and are therefore likely to seek out clips on Youtube. 

What will the Online Safety Bill mean for professionals? Should you do anything differently? In this episode we discuss what the Online Safety Bill actually means for teachers, youth workers, social workers or anyone else working with young people. We'll talk about the potential issues with the bill and what you should do in the meantime.

Have you heard politicians saying they're going to make the internet safe for our children and wondered what that means? In this episode Andy and I talk about the Online Safety Bill, what it aims to do, what it might actually do well, and what it definitely won't be able to do. This episode will give you a run down of everything you need to know about the Online Safety Bill if you work with or support young people. We also talk about some if the potential problems with the planned bill for the wider population, and why we should be concerned about them.

The next episode will look at how it specifically relates to young people and what you will need to know if you support young people.

Andy uses the acronym ISP in this  episode, which refers to Internet Service Providers.

What can you do if you see something racist or homophobic online? What if a young person says they've seen something offensive or upsetting online?  In this podcast we talk about the issues around hate speech online, whether reporting actually works and what follow up support you might need to offer.

Andy mentions 'Incels' this refers to people who consider themselves 'Involuntarily Celibate', it is typically men who are unable to engage in romantic or sexual activity with women, despite wanting to. It is an emerging form of extremism and often young men aregroomed into it online.

I also mention a podcast called Be AntiRacist, by Ibram X Kendi, which you should be able to find wherever you listen to podcasts.

Do you know what your digital footprint is? Or how you can manage it? Could your digital footprint affect your ability to get a job? Is everything you've ever put online still out there somewhere?

To help you navigate some of these questions, in this episode we discuss digital footprints, what problems it can cause and how you can manage those problems. 

This isn't just an issue for young people, anyone who uses the internet leaves some sort of record of what they've done. Some of that record might be harvested to target advertising at you, and some of it might be available for anyone out there to see. So if you want to know what you can do if you find something about yourself online that shouldn't be there, we'll tell you how to get it removed - and we'll also discuss how you can do the same for any young people you support.

Talking to young people is our bread and butter, right? In reality a lot of professionals have told us they struggle to start conversations with young people about their online lives, and that even if they do, the young people in question are often very cagey and unwilling to talk openly about what they enjoy doing online, let alone things they might be worried about. 

In this episode we discuss a variety of approaches to talking to young people about what they do online, whether that's gaming, messaging or creating content. We'll talk about how to keep the conversation open, how to encourage young people to come to you about issues they might face online and what you should avoid.

If you're worried that a young person you support may be facing bullying or harassment online, or just want to know more about what they're actually doing on Snapchat - this podcast will help you!

In this episode Andy and I discuss Only Fans, a porn site. As such there is a frank discussion of pornography.

What is encryption and why is everyone talking about it? In this episode we talk about why people are worried about end to end encryption. We consider the right to privacy versus the risk of privacy. We talk about the four horsemen of the infocalypse - aka the scare tactics governments use to get us to agree to hand over all our data. 

Why does it matter when it comes to young people? Well, the right to privacy is enshrined in the UN convention on the rights of the child. But how do we keep children and young people safe online if we can't see everything they do online? We talk about the reasons for this right and how we can manage the right to privacy alongside our safeguarding responsibilities.