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A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN calling on the Government to protect children online has been launched.
‘Gen Free: Free to be Kids’ wants to see legislation introduced which would force social media companies and digital service providers to guarantee that children are not viewing harmful content online.
The campaign is a joint collaboration between several organisations seeking to ensure a safer online experience for children and young people.
The launch event, which was held at Temple Carrig Secondary School in Greystones last night, was attended by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and HSE Senior Medical Officer Dr Catherine Conlon.
The campaign has outlined three priorities which it wants to see implemented in the lifetime of the next Dáil.
As well as regulatory legislation, it also wants to see primary and secondary schools be smartphone-free and for digital literacy to become a fourth pillar of the education system. This would include the resourcing of online safety educational programs for parents.
Gen Free is also calling for a public awareness campaign aimed at parents, which would educate them on what children are exposed to online and the impact of excessive screen time on them. Schools would also receive wellbeing training and other support services.
Last month, the Irish Medical Organisation called for smartphone and social media usage to be treated as a “public health emergency”.
According to the CyberSafeKids ‘Left To Their Own Devices‘ report, 82% of 8-12 year olds already have their own social media or instant messaging account, regardless of a minimum age restriction of 13 on most popular platforms.
The report also found that a quarter of children aged between 8 and 12 have been upset by harmful content online.
The chair of the IMO Consultants Committee Professor Matthew Sadlier, who chaired the campaign launch event, said:
The radical changes in behaviour of children that we have seen since the introduction of immersive digital technology is having an overwhelming harmful effect.
“It is long past the time for a change in how society in general views these technologies and how governments regulate them to ensure that the only childhood each person gets is free from unnecessary harms,” he said.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, who took part in a panel discussion at the event, said the Government is aware that just asking online companies to remove harmful content “isn’t enough”.
The Minister launched the Online Health Taskforce, which has been allocated €1 million in funding for public awareness campaigns, last week.
“This is a public health crisis and I know as a government we have already responded with legislation, and I am determined that if further legislation is needed it will be forthcoming,” Donnelly said.
Alex Cooney, CEO of CyberSafeKids and member of the Online Health Taskforce, said the internet “was not designed with children in mind”.
“It was designed by adults for adult use and we know that globally, children make-up a third of online users,” she said.
“Reports suggest that children are extremely lucrative users of online platforms. The companies financially benefiting from children using their services must be the bodies tasked with financing and resourcing our proposals.”
Eoghan Cleary, teacher and assistant principal at Temple Carrig Secondary School in Greystones, said: “In the last three years there has been a growing realisation that our kids are being harmed online.
“I have been giving talks to primary and secondary school parents since 2017 on the potential harmful effects of the online world and it is great to see a critical mass of academics, NGOs and parents becoming active in this space,” he said.
Cleary, who is also a member of the Online Health Taskforce, said it’s now time for parents, guardians and educators to mandate the government to act.
“They need our backing if they are to stand up to the overwhelming power these tech giants wield.”
Education Minister Norma Foley is currently working to introduce a ban on mobile phones in secondary schools.
“I’m very clear that I think we need to establish in our schools a culture of non-acceptance of the mobile phone,” she said last month.
In November, she introduced a new Government policy to encourage parents to avoid buying smartphones for primary school-aged children.
When asked earlier this month about the prospect of introducing age limits for social media use for children, something Australia is planning to do, Foley said: “All those issues around age verification are very high on my own agenda.
“I think a body of work should be done there. I think age verification is hugely, hugely important,” she said.
“For our part in education, we are going to work where we are at present in terms of the cooperation we’re receiving from schools and from parents.
“We’re also going a step further in that we will continue to provide the education that’s necessary to teach young people as to how they should be safe online.”
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Censoring comments on most articles is why the country is in the shape its in. Article below saying 50k houses need to be built per year until 2050 (upgraded from 35k py) and nobody allowed to comment. The government are sleepwalking into disaster and unless we are allowed to publicly speak about it, it will not change. Not just the journal, this is happening on all social media outlets. The public should always be allowed discuss issues that affect the public
@Seadna O’Grady: no don’t let normal people be part of a discussion in case we hurt someone’s feelings by saying something that is not pc or woke
@Seadna O’Grady: I remember when The journal first started. It was breath of fresh air been able to comment on the articles and from memory almost all discussions were civil. These days for the most part if someone has a different view they’re the enemy and the comments section has been shite for many many years now.
The journal needs to grow some balls and either allow discussions or admit they’ve failed and turn off comments everywhere. They’ve more moderators hired by TheJournal now than “Journalist” that copy paste stories..
@Seadna O’Grady: Before the Internet, do you think that print newspapers had a duty to publish every single letter that was sent to them? Was it ‘censorship’ if they didn’t?
@Seadna O’Grady: Some people now seem to think that they have a ‘right’ for their opinions to be seen all the time, everywhere, by everyone. Of course no such right exists.
@Mary Kelly: What is ‘woke’?
Isn’t it really just a trigger word for those that want to be able to put others downand keep them there?
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: The irony is that the people who criticise ‘woke’ are the very ones who place their feelings above facts. They’re scared of everyone who isn’t just like them.
@Brendan O’Brien: Oh, I think it’s more that that.
They seem to be those who want to be able, or think they have the right, to force others to live as they want them to.
They have an authoritarian – a right wing – mindset.
While simultaneously seeming to think they believe in freedom.
But it is really only freedom is for themselves; other only have the ‘freedom’ to do as instructed.
@Brendan O’Brien: No, of course they didn’t, because the media was controlled by a small number of individuals in each country, that had an allegiance to a particular ideology and or religious hierarchy that held power, and any media outlet, print, radio or television that spoke out was shutdown through whatever means were available.
Either by using the law to shut them down as unlicensed, in breach of planning, engaging in the corruption of the youth by their content, i.e., types of music that would allegedly corrupt them or alternative lifestyle/political discussions that might make them consider that perhaps things could be different in their countries.
The Internet was a new frontier in which none of that censorship existed, free and frank discussion and expression of alternative views meant people could really talk, and find out how others think and often find that despite their differences, they had many things in common that united them.
While this open internet and free instantaneous communications served the interests of the powerful, i.e. destabilising regimes they had an issue with such as during the arab spring, it was heralded as wonderful and that any negatives, such as illegal content or extremists spreading hatred, were outweighed by the many positives, such as subjugated groups and individuals being able to speak out against tyranny and regimes which were themselves using censorship to control and silence all dissent.
The issues of illegal content and extremists online were targeted directly through their servers and hosting rather than shutting down or censoring the Internet entirely, which would have also silence the free discussions and dissent.
Over the last few years that the free Internet has become at odds with the interests of the powerful, holding them to account, questioning their authority and organising dissent against them, there a coordinated attempt to apply online, the very same version global and state censorship in the hands of a minority that existed pre Internet, on the false premise that it is now required to tackle illegal content and extremists online…
Parents need to be monitored! Buying a child under the age of 12 a phone is madness. I have a neighbor who bought her child a mobile for her communion and than complains the child is always on it. If a child has a phone a parent is the one who needs to control the usage. Imagine a parent actually parenting their child rather than being their “friend”
I would not say it’s a public health emergency as it says in the article, I would say the HSE is a public health emergency.
so let me get this straight:
in the 80s it was the metal music and satanism that is harming our kids
in the 90s it was the TV and violent video games (lol) that is harming everyone
the 00s were suprisingly silent, no one wanted to hurt the kids. weird period.
it all changes in the 10s and 20s – now the internet is the new boogey man.
Did anyone noticed how heavy metal and TV are no longer harming the kids? Is satanism suddenly not a threat? Why is that? ;)
I am genuinely curious what other BS tale the “save the children” brigade will come up next time and who will get blamed next :))))))
prove me wrong ;)
@Termaz FX: Heavy metal did not bring kids into contact or put them at risk from pedophiles. That was the Church’s job.
But the Internet, and specifically social media, does.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: but heavy metal turned them into satanists who then sacrificed people! what can be worst than that??? Didnt you read the news?? the experts have said that a million times! just like the experts are saying now that social media will kill your kids!
The experts who protect your kids from heavy metal, MTV, beavis and butthead and now the internet always know best :D
@Termaz FX: I get what you’re saying but as you know the Internet is a very adult world,a place where kids should not be hanging out in. A lot different from listening to Slayer in your mates bedroom.
@Termaz FX: Which experts were “discussing” Satanism?
Church “Authorities”?
Which does not change the simple truth that there *is* pedophiles and other abusers who currently use Social Media to put kids into harm’s way.
The former was simple nonsense.
The latter is very real.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: By your own admission, children were put at risk and brought into contact with pedophiles long before the internet existed, and by individuals and organisations that were purported to care for them, church, sports organisations and youth organisations.
Social media isn’t an alternative virtual reality, despite the claims and perception that it is, it’s part of the real world populated by the same people as the rest of the world and unfortunately some of those people are pedophiles, rap*sts and murders.
We educate our children to navigate the real world and most parents take an active interest in what their children do, where they go and whom they associate with on a daily basis, the internet is no different, this doesn’t mean you have to look over their shoulder constantly, but it does mean that you need to talk to them about the potential dangers, what is acceptable and your expectations of them, their behaviour online and most important of all, that they can talk to you about anything that is bothering them and that you will be there for them no matter what.
Great to see this campaign/initiative. It is surely well within the remit of social media companies to accurately establish the age of the user. However they choose not to do so knowing that they are going to get ever increasing numbers of people/children to market to year on year. It’s very cynical and use of social media needs regulation from the top. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is a very insightful, thought provoking read on this topic which I would highly recommend.
It’s too easy for young children to go on line defo need legislation to control this harmful content that’s out there.
@Phillip Smyth: it could be worse, they could listen to heavy metal music and become satanists! dont forget the satanic panic!
@Phillip Smyth: eh no parental responsibility to monitor what their child sees not the job of the government
@Mary Kelly: It absolutely is the job of the government to correctly regulate what social media companies are allowed to do.
Very easy blame parents and yes that it’s the first line of defence but proper rules and regulations are required.
@Mary Kelly: Unfortunately lots of bad parents out there.
@Mary Kelly: parents have subcontracted their responsibilities to the state and are happy to do so.
When will these thick u know whats realise, you cannot control the internet. Yes social media companies need to be held accountable, but lets be clear, kids are only stuck with their heads in devices cos they think its great cos all their heroes are on social media and oh ya the so called grown ups around them are probably worse and are even more dangerously led by what they see and read. Heres an idea, how about making sure kids can be outside playing in parks and the rest is safe and viable so they will put down their phones and not use social media, maybe also tell parents, teachers etc to get their heads out of the social media game and show kids you dont need to be on it and theres life outside of it.
@Tom Newell: Did you type that on a Nokia 3210?
using pagers is a genius and evil idea.
imagine what they can do with phones
@Dominic Leleu: They have been terrorizing the region for generation, since the very beginning. This is but another instance.
@Dominic Leleu: It’s a callous and cowardly way to act. You have no idea who you are killing at a distance, whose life you are completely ruining. Yes, it’s evil.
@Brendan O’Brien: Good morning factor 50
You can’t without restricting everyone. How can ISP’s regulate what users access when you can use VPN’s to bypass blocked or restricted content ?
@Paul1st: Make infraction punishable by serious fines. The Social Media corporations wouldn’t be long about coming up with solutions.
Ps
VPNs only control the channel to the end site; that end site still controls who has access.
Delighted there taking action, when can we expect them to expel the organised P@£DO Ring that is the Catholic church?
It’s not just kids covid done harm to everyone, but as humans we don’t want to talk about , some of us lost loved ones, and those that didn’t ridiculous us , if joe musk and all the people that have billions tell you to vote for a magrat ,trust me vote the other way
Strange how comments are open on this but not on Human trafficking up, 20 percent in Ireland
?!
@Mary Kelly: Agree 100%.
Dumb phones suffice to stay in touch with home and any online activity up to an agreeable age should be under supervision only, i.e. family computer, not the cyber-nanny in a kid’s bedroom.
Parents are responsible for their child’s consumption, food, alcohol, medication, reading materials etc, so why should it be different with modern technology?
The sooner people learn that a tool should not be treated as a toy, the better. But I suppose that is not in the interest of the infantilization which makes it easier to control the great masses.
The worst thing to happen society was the invention of the www domain followed by the evil Zuckerbergs of the world.
have your say