Just two weeks ago a report from The Education Select Committee recommended that, post-election, the new government consider additional measures around screen time – and smartphone use – for children.

Having previously heard from both parents and young people on the topic of a smartphone ban for under-16s, this Tech Shock special now turns its focus onto some expert viewpoints.

In this episode, Vicki is joined by a member of the Parent Zone Studio, Riley Mackrory to explore contributions from both education and mobile industry professionals.

Talking points:

• Who could be held accountable – or even criminalised – for not adhering to a smartphone ban?
• Is there really such a thing as a ‘dumb’ phone?
• What impact could bans have on households where smartphones are the only route online?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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Part two of this Tech Shock special discusses the possibility – and possible impact – of a smartphone ban for under-16s.

Having previously heard from parents, this week Vicki is joined by Anna Lindsay from youth-content platform VoiceBox to get a measure of what young people themselves think about the issue.

Talking points:

• Can you build resilience in an ecosystem of bans and prohibitions?
• Are we consulting young people enough on legislation that impacts them? Could – or should – this process be more collaborative?
• What do young people feel they would lose if using smartphones were no longer an option?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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A minimal digital living standard is a benchmark. It refers to both a level of digital skills and access to tech that can appropriately meet an individual’s basic needs – not just ‘nice-to-haves’. It involves things like communication and connection with others, and the ability to engage with opportunities and digital services adequately and safely.

This week, Vicki is joined by Dr Emma Stone, director of evidence and engagement at the Good Things Foundation; professor of Digital Culture at the University of Liverpool, Simeon Yates; and Dr Chloe Blackwell from the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University to look at what a minimal digital living standard might look like in practice.

Talking points:

• What goes into constructing a metric like the ‘minimal digital living standard’?
• Is grasping relative differences between groups the key to understanding digital inclusion and exclusion?
• How can – or how should – policymakers and organisations begin to use this benchmark in their work?

https://mdls.org.uk/publications/

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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Just months after the DfE announced guidance on mobile phone use in schools, the possibility of a smartphone ban for under-16s is being actively discussed.

Support for bans like these can, at least initially, be very strong – but also nuanced.

In a slight change of format for Tech Shock, Vicki is joined by a member of the Parent Zone Studio, Riley Mackrory to share and discuss the parent perspective; based on contributions we’ve had directly from parents themselves.

Talking points:

• is support for smartphone bans more ‘knee-jerk’ than much needed?
• are smartphones detrimental to socialising or do they facilitate another form of it?
• how might such a ban impact user safety, education and the practicality of everyday life?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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Natalie Foos, director of the youth content platform VoiceBox joins Vicki to provide some young people’s perspectives on the hot (or tricky) topics from Tech Shock's season 8.

Talking points:

• In a year where half the world could be at the polls, how equipped are young people to avoid disinformation?
• As social platforms and online games are increasingly built to engage and retain, how autonomous can young users feel online?
• With tech developments moving so fast, do young people feel like regulation is an impossibility?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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This week Vicki talks to Emma Higham, product management lead on Google's Search Child's Safety Portfolio about some of the exciting new tools they've been working on.

Talking points

• Every family is different so how do tech companies create safety tools that work for everyone?
• What is LEO and why is it important?
• How does search think about people looking for information at vulnerable moments?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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From incels to Andrew Tate, young people are increasingly exposed to debates around gender when online.

This week, Vicki is joined by Rosie Campbell, professor of politics and director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London to discuss the topic of gender in the digital age.

Talking points:

• What do we really mean when we talk of the ‘gender divide’?
• How is social media making the topic of gender more polarised, and more profitable (for some)?
• What’s the relationship between views on gender and who we vote for at the polls?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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This week Vicki is joined by Pete Etchells, professor of Psychology and Science Communication at Bath Spa University to discuss the topic of screen time and some of the debate that surrounds it.

Talking points:

• What is ‘screen time’, and how hard is it to accurately measure?
• Why do we tend to look at tech through a harmful lens, and does this stand in the way of digitally flourishing?
• Do some policies just help us avoid thinking about children’s tech use?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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