Left to Their Own Devices? - Edinburgh

Our kids are facing a whole new level of complexity as they grow up in a turbulent digital world.

Bullying, screen time, porn, deep fakes, disinformation, lessening attention span, the rise of AI and VR … these are just some of the issues our children are facing online. The enormity of these parenting challenges can be overwhelming; but we can’t afford to ignore them and they are issues we have the power to tackle.

We need to remember, if we’re not talking to our children about the world, then someone else is.

The last thing we want to do is scare parents about the impact technology is having on their children or pile on any guilt. There’s plenty of that out there already.

But we don’t want to shy away from the problems either.

It’s never too late to establish healthy digital boundaries with your children – whatever their age.

We’ll explore ...

• What our children might be exposed to online, who they might be speaking to and how they behave

• How the digital world impacts brain development

• Practical ways to keep your family safe online

• Ways to keep up with a fast-changing industry

• The impact social media is having on mental health

• How we as parents can be role models