Bereaved mums highlight dangers of online challenge videos
Hollie Dance and Lisa Keneven are working with internet matters to teach children and parents about unseen dangers on social media
A new video campaign is being launched in partnership with the organization Internet Matters to address the dangers of online challenges after two Essex mothers, Lisa Keneven and Hollie Dance, lost their sons in incidents they believe were linked to such challenges.
It will be distributed to schools across the UK.
The initiative seeks to raise awareness about the often deceptive nature of online challenges and to encourage open conversations between children and adults about the potential dangers of internet content.
Lisa Keneven emphasizes the importance of parental vigilance and dialogue: "The campaign is primarily to make parents and guardians aware that online challenges aren't as easy to detect because they come across a lot of them to be quite childlike and behind them they are quite sinister. So it's if a child sees something that's not quite right - have that conversation, not conflict, and don't make that child feel that they have done something wrong. It's about having that bond and that close relationship about the Internet."
Lisa also highlights the critical transition period when children first receive smartphones: "Getting this put out to the children that are gonna be moving from junior schools into secondary schools is so important. The transition period is the most crucial point because that is invariably where they will have their first mobile smartphone."
Both mothers stress the dual nature of the internet. While acknowledging its benefits, they also warn of its darker side.
Hollie Dance underscores this dichotomy: "Unfortunately, although the Internet can be an amazing fun place, there's also a very sinister dark side to the Internet, and that's what we're hoping to raise the awareness to."
The campaign aims to facilitate better communication between parents, teachers, and children. Hollie elaborates: "The main aim is to target the parents and the teachers in hope that it opens the conversation between parents, teachers, and children... so they feel ready to approach the parents and teachers if they do see harmful content online."
Both Hollie and Lisa stress the role of adults in guiding children through the digital landscape. With Lisa calling for a proactive approach: "It's good to talk and good to hear. And if you see your child's behaviour changing, seeing that they're being a bit more insular, it's a good call to actually sit down and talk to them, be open. And make sure they're comfortable talking to you."
Hollie also highlights the dangers posed by online influencers and the often misleading nature of challenges they promote: "Very often, these challenges come across from these online influencers and the wider picture obviously isn't painted, thet's where there is danger."
The mothers advocate for a combined effort among parents, educators, and the tech industry to protect children online. With Lisa concluding: "Sadly, tech companies do not seem to be playing a part to safeguard our children. So anything that we're doing with Internet Matters is priceless. It's too late for our children, sadly. But whatever we can do to help parents for their children, we're in this 100% and we'll do everything we can to help guidance for these parents."
The video campaign will soon be available in schools nationwide, aiming to provide valuable resources for parents and educators to better understand and mitigate the risks of online challenges.
The video can be seen here