Headstart Online Resilience Podcast

The government announced that young people will be banned from social media from Spring 2027, so in this episode Andy and I talk about what these means for anyone supporting young people. We discuss the realities of the ban, as well as offering our advice on how to have conversations with young people about social media going forwards. I mention the Sexting Safeguarding Training, which you can boo...

In this episode Andy and I discuss the issues with having long term and / or romantic relationships with AI. We talk about why people might be tempted to have a relationship with AI, and why these long term interactions can cause AI safeguards to fail. We finish with a brief discussion of AI hallucinations, and as always, offer a bit of advice to anyone supporting young people in having conversati...

In this episode Andy and I discuss the update on bans relating to young people and the digital world. Initially we discuss the issue with saying that it will be 'illegal' for young people to have phones in schools. We then move on to discuss the developments of the under 16s social media bans. We take our usual approach, thinking critically about bans and aiming to give some general advice...

In this episode, Andy and I discuss the issue of screen times for under 5s - should they be using screens at all? What would you do if you saw a parent giving a device to a one year old? We talk about it all and give advice for anyone supporting families with young children

In this episode we discuss a recent case in the US where a young woman was awarded several million dollars in damages from Google and Meta due the harms those platforms caused to her mental health. Her case argued the platforms used addictive design features. We discuss whether this has created legal precedent - meaning others could sue the companies for the same. We also talk about addiction, and...

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. We also briefly mention the Fraser guidelines...

In this episode Andy and I discuss the recent policy in Australia to ban under sixteens from accessing social media, and the subsequent discussions about having a similar policy in the UK. We talk about why this is being suggested now, and what the potential positives are. We then discuss the fact that this is unlikely to have the intended effect, instead pushing young people's social media un...

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. Ken mentions South West Grid for Learning's AI policy for schools. You can access it here.

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. We discuss a couple of surveys you may be interested in. The Children's Commissioners Office report can be found here. The EU Kids...

In this episode Andy and I discuss the pitfalls of age verification technology. We look at why age verification is flawed, consider whether it will effectively prevent young people accessing pornography and reflect on how relying on prohibitive approaches have failed in the past.

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. We mention a few resources - the first one is the Revenge Porn Helpline , availab...

In this episode Andy and I discuss the concerns that adults and professionals may have around Artifical Intelligence (AI) and social media, especially as it relates to young people. We think about how some of the problems of AI are actually not all that different to problems we've seen on and offline over the years, and the solution is one which we're very fond of talking about at Headstar...

In this episode Andy and I talk about issues specific to young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and the digital world. We mention the SEND guidance, which we created to help all the adults around a child or young person with SEND - you can access it here: https://www.headstartkernow.org.uk/send-digital-resilience-guidance/

We're back for a new series! Today Andy and I talk about how to be tech positive. We reflect about why it's so hard to focus on the good things about the digital world when we talk to young people, and then explore what some of those positives might be, both for young people and ourselves. We finish up with a chat about putting a tech positive approach into action.

In this episode Andy and I discuss some of the issues raised by the Netflix drama Adolescence. Andy mentions that he was on national radio recently, if you want to hear him, you can find it here - Andy's section starts about an hour in. I reference a number of previous episodes of the podcast - these are: Ep 35 - Interview with Maddy Street about Online Misogyny Ep 29 - Online Hate Harm Reduct...

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...

In this episode we talk about recent media stories about Roblox and what parents really need to consider if their children are Roblox fans. We have a chat about age ratings, and how to respond to 'pester power.' We finish up with a chat about whether gaming is addictive, and what to do if you're worried your child is spending too long playing games.

In this episode Andy and I talk about the Dark Web. We explain the difference between the dark web and the deep web, and how they are different to privacy tools you may use at work, such as VPNs. We then go on to talk about the importance of privacy, and why keeping too close a watch on your child's digital world might push them to use the deep/dark web.

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. I mention a survey which talks about young people's online experience, if you want to know more about it, you can find out here.

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. Andy mentions a piece he wrote for the Conversation recently, which you can read here.

Welcome to the first episode of our new mini-series for parents! Today, we’re diving into a topic that might seem tricky: sexting. We talk about the law affecting under 18s and share some friendly tips on how to discuss this with your teenagers. We’ll also go over common pitfalls and how to steer clear of them. If you’re a parent of a teen—or if you know someone who is—give this episode a listen,...

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. As always, we include some practical advice for anyone supporting young people. Laura also mentions some training she did with Mind, you can find details of the...

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. Andy and Jen mention the case of Robbins v Lower Merrion Sch...

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. Madd...

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 re...