Tech Shock - from Parent Zone

Lockdown learning has deepened and sharpened inequality. Vicki and Geraldine talk to Rebecca Montacute of the Sutton Trust about whether we can fix that. Talking points: Why do so many children still not have devices? Why are they still not connected? Will there be more blended learning in future? Can the National Tutoring programme help students catch up? What can we do about 16-19-year-olds, who...

As the UNHCR announces that children’s rights apply online, Vicki and Geraldine talk to Tony Stower of 5Rights about what that means for for tech companies, policymakers and parents. Talking points: - How is it helpful to view online harms through the lens of children’s rights? - How do you manage competing rights using the blunt instruments of legislation? - Why has children’s data been overlooke...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Andy Robertson, author of Taming Gaming. Talking points: - Should parents stop worrying about the time children spend gaming? - Can parents learn to love video games? - Should games provide endless opportunities for spending? - Does publishing the odds of loot boxes in video games make them any less like gambling? Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zo...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Dave Coplin, self proclaimed pragmatic optimist, about why we shouldn’t be scared of tech. Talking points: What to do about big data? Can we solve algorithmic bias? Are old ways of thinking stopping us from making the most of the digital future? How can human beings get their act together to use tech for good? Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone o...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Chi Onwurah, Shadow Minister for Science, Research and Digital about digital poverty, the impact of social media on democracy, and whether we should feel positive about Britain’s tech future. Talking points: - Should we be treating laptops like textbooks and data as a utility? - What happened to targets for digital inclusion? - Who has the right to ban Donald Trump? - C...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Tom Rose of Oak National Academy about what we need to do next to ensure children get the best online learning. Talking points Should we have been doing blended learning sooner? What can we do about digital poverty and lack of devices? What is the latest news on giving children free access to educational sites, if they’re using phones to connect? Should Ofsted be inspec...

Vicki and Geraldine round up a digital year like no other and look at the government’s end-of-year proposals for regulating the internet. Talking points: What have been the big issues for families online in 2020? The government has announced its latest proposals for regulating tech companies - are they the right ones? What can we expect from 2021? Thanks ago so much for all your help this year. It...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Professor Helen Bedford of Great Ormond Street about online anti-vaccination campaigns and what they mean for the Covid vaccination rollout. Talking points: Has there always been resistance to vaccination? Why does social media make things so much worse? Has vaccination been co-opted into the culture wars? Is it enough to tell people the facts? Can scientists beat the a...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Joe Mulhall of 'Hope Not Hate' about the threat of the far-right online. Talking points: - are different types of platform are facilitating hate speech in different ways? - are there limits to free speech? - is it reasonable to expect platforms to design out hate, given the needs of the online attention economy? - how should the government regulate, and who el...

This week, Vicki and Geraldine talk to Professor Sonia Livingstone about her book, Parenting for a Digital Future. Talking points: Why do parents worry so much about screen time? Should children be learning to code? Parents are stuck in a giant digital parenting experiment - but is it the same experiment for everyone? Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for a...

This week, Vicki and Geraldine talk about screen time and other guilt-inducing aspects of family life online. Talking points: Why is play not seen as play when it’s online? Is it just that the technology’s new? Has parenting itself changed in ways that make parents feel more guilty? Why do parents feel they’re mainly - even solely - responsible for what their children get up to online? Is 'sa...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Casey Calista from Glitch, whose recent research found that online abuse of women and non-binary people increased during lockdown. Why is online abuse not seen as real abuse? Is the answer more women in STEM? What are the implications for democracy? And whose responsibility is it to put things right? Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social m...

Vicki and Geraldine talk to Will Perrin of Carnegie UK Trust about the upcoming (sometime soon!) Digital Harms Bill. What are the ideas behind the government’s proposals? Will they work?  Talking points: Where does the idea of a ‘duty of care’ on which the legislation will be based come from? What does it cover - and, perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t it cover? Are we agreed about what is har...

Vicki and Geraldine look at the links between loot boxes and gambling. Subscribe now, rate the podcast, and give it a 5-star review – and keep listening every Monday morning for a new episode of ‘Tech Shock – from Parent Zone’.   Talking points: - 93% of children in the UK play online games - Loot boxes are a feature of all sorts of games, both on mobile and AAA games (the big expensive ones). - H...

Legislation is coming in the UK and Europe that could change the internet. But is the public consulted? Not much.  Vicki Shotbolt and Geraldine Bedell talk to Ellen Judson of Demos, who has been researching public attitudes to online harms. Subscribe now, rate the podcast, and give it a 5-star review – and keep listening every Monday morning for a new episode of ‘Tech Shock – from Parent Zone’.  ...

Vicki and Geraldine are joined by their very first guest, John Carr, who is, among many other things, Secretary of the Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety, an advisor to the UN, to the EU and to the UK government. They'll be looking at focusing on the often vexed question of trying to protect children online through age verification tools. Subscribe now, rate the podcast, and g...

Welcome to ‘Tech Shock’ – the new podcast from Parent Zone!   Vicki Shotbolt and Geraldine Bedell are your hosts, looking at how digital technology is affecting family life.    They’ll help explain its mysteries to parents, teachers, professionals and policymakers.    In this first episodes, they're looking at a platform that’s been growing and growing (Only Fans) and asking ‘Are children cre...

Welcome to ‘Tech Shock’ – the new podcast from Parent Zone!   Vicki Shotbolt and Geraldine Bedell are your hosts, looking at how digital technology is affecting family life.    They’ll help explain its mysteries to parents, teachers, professionals and policymakers, starting off by looking at whether streaming platforms are encouraging young people to make porn, whether online lives are creating a...