Principal's Reflection - 4 September

A Challenge for Children and Parents

There is no doubt that rapid advances in information technology have improved many aspects of our modern life, including entertainment, communication, connectedness, navigation, travel, health and education. However, students, parents and carers are also well aware of the negative and harmful side of information and communication technologies. During my years as an educator, but particularly in the last 10 years or so, I have formed the view that balancing the pros and cons of technology, embracing the good while staying vigilant about and not falling victim to the bad, is one of the greatest challenges our children face as they develop, and is perhaps the biggest challenge we as parents and carers will be confronted with as we try to raise responsible young people. The statistics are staggering. A small sample of these, reported by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, include:

• A 2020 study found that over a 6 month period, nearly half of all teenagers had experienced at least one negative online interaction
• In the same study, 30% of teenagers reported being contacted by a stranger online
• The average age of exposure to online pornography is now 13 years of age, with 86% of children encountering it before the age of 16

I have no doubt that the statistics have climbed even higher since 2020. Social media presents all types of challenges, and the looming ban for children under the age of 16 is not a silver bullet. Under 16s will still have access to platforms that can be harmful, and harm can happen so fast. Before children had access to devices capable of near instant communication, interactions would take time, usually in a space that parents and teachers could monitor. In our modern world, a poor decision can spiral into literally thousands of interactions overnight, before the School or a parent can be in a position to assist. 

Last week, ySafe presented at St Luke’s, to students, staff, parents and carers on various topics related to online wellbeing. As usual, the presentations were excellent. Due to my background and the fact that I work in this space quite a bit, I don’t normally learn much from the parent and carer session, and am typically in attendance simply to ‘fly the flag’ for St Luke’s. However, even I was surprised at just how much new information there was compared to this time last year, and listened avidly as the ySafe presenter, Abby, provided advice and practical steps that parents and carers could take with their children. I am mindful that many parents and carers were unable to attend the session. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that St Luke’s subscribes to the ySafe Online Safety Hub so that parents and carers can access the very latest information on protecting their children online. It can be accessed through the School website, or by visiting stlukes.onlinesafetyhub.com.au.