Bridging digital divides: Building dialogue between young people and parents about online safety

Our digital lives theme

What’s on offer?

In a world where alarmist headlines dominate the conversation about young people's digital lives, this workshop will offer a refreshing and constructive approach to exploring the evidence on the risks and challenges of being online and how best to stay safe and develop ‘digital citizenship’.

We are looking for young people (aged 13-15) and their parents who want to step away from the noise and instead feel empowered to navigate the online world in a curious and safe way.

Join expert researchers from the University of Surrey, in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire, for an event designed to create an open dialogue between young people and parents, where experiences can be shared and discussed, and evidence-based insights on navigating online safety and digital citizenship can be explored together.

We aim to challenge dominant narratives by presenting research-driven insights on topics connected to identity, relationships, health and wellbeing, and the complexities of parenting and young people’s rights in a digital era. We’ll also explore the implications of policies like increased age limits for social media and mobile phone contracts, and proposals to ban mobile phones in schools.

What’s it about?

Myth Busting: Discover what the evidence really says about young people's digital lives and the challenges of online safety, parenting and digital citizenship.

Problem-Solving: Engage in facilitated dialogues on key questions: What does it mean to be ‘safe’ online? What can young people and adults teach each other about online safety?

Developing Solutions: Collaboratively identify strategies to support digital citizenship for both young people and parents.