At secondary school, children often use social media and messaging apps to chat with friends.
So, with new apps, new interests and new friends, you might also come across tougher online safety issues. See what you can do to help with this guide.
The other thing of course is getting them to understand how their usage of tech is affecting things like learning. If you're trying to read something and it's constantly coming up with you know little pings telling you someone's trying to contact you or sending you information, that memory cycle is constantly being disrupted. The other thing that's really important for this age group is getting them to self-regulate when it comes to the online world. The metric for success of any platform is how long someone spends on it and as a consequence they're set up to be enticing. Starting to speak to them in a way that you completely understand that text is an important part of their life but letting them control the tech rather than having the tech control them and empowering them to do so is key.
The other thing that's going on during the teen years is the idea that kids form their identity. We know that it's very validating that when they post something online they get likes. Getting to think about why those likes are so important. The more they're able to challenge these sort of overriding themes that they're they're faced with at this age, the better chance they have of developing that resilience. It'll kind of help them deal with it more effectively. So I think the first point for this group is get them to think critically and regulate their own usage online. Speak to them about making sure that what comes into their consciousness comes from a correct source and very critically that they're able to challenge it.
Secondly, you need to ensure that they're aware of the impact of their usage of phones and tech in general and how that affects them not just in terms of their mental health but their cognitive and physical health as well. And sure you talk about how it can disrupt sleep if they're on their tech late at night. Likewise with learning and memory, speak to them about it how it can disrupt memory even if it feels that you're saying this stuff over and over again. Don't worry about it, the broken record technique is actually really useful in getting young people to kind of embed what you're trying to say.
Third point here is speaking about balance. Balance in how much they're working and how much they're relaxing. Balance in how much time they're spending online and offline. Encourage those face-to-face interactions. Encourage them to move and to get out so that they have more balance in their lives overall.
At secondary school, teens put communication and sharing over other online activities. They also more regularly use devices for school work and learning.
Explore the guide below to learn how you can support your secondary school-aged child.
The following apps and platforms are most widely used among teens at secondary school. Expand the boxes to learn more about setting them up for safety.
YouTube is one of the most popular platforms among children of all ages. At secondary school, they are likely to watch their favourite streamers or influencers across different categories.
To use the platform independently, YouTube requires users to be 13 or older. So, while your teen might meet the minimum age requirement, they might still come across content they’re not ready for. Or, they might become a victim of echo chambers spreading harmful or hateful content.
However, there are still things you can do as a parent to keep your teen safe on YouTube.
This works best if you have a Google Family Link account, which can work across apps. See how to set Family Link up here.
See the full instructions for a Supervised Account here.
This will help filter out mature content and can support other safety features. See the full instructions here.
Remember to discuss this setting with your teen to help them understand its importance. This feature is not PIN controlled, so they will need to take ownership of their safety.
You can also turn off notifications to limit distractions. Set up Google Family Link for more control over app use and screen time.
Many teens prefer WhatsApp for keeping in contact with friends. But beyond chatting with friends, there are opportunities to participate in group chats and communities. This means they can keep in contact with a wide range of people.
While WhatsApp doesn’t have any parental controls, it does have a range of privacy and security settings. Discuss these with your secondary school-aged child to help them stay safe.
WhatsApp lets users decide who can see their profile photo, status, read receipts and more. You can also manage Group settings and turn off Live Location here. To do this:
You can choose between everyone, contacts only or nobody. You can also add exceptions if there is a specific person or people your teen does not want to share information with.
See more about setting up privacy here.
Empower your teen to block and report users who seek to cause harm. They should also report numbers from anyone they don’t know to stay safe.
To block or report someone:
If you need to keep messages for police evidence, make sure to untick ‘Block and delete chat’ when reporting someone.
When it comes to social media, TikTok tends to top the list for teens. The short-form content, trends and new music means there is a range of content to watch or create themselves.
Unfortunately, your teen might see or interact with users who make them uncomfortable. Or, they might find it difficult to stop scrolling through the endless stream of content.
So, there are things you can do to help your teen stay safe and manage their wellbeing.
For users under the age of 18, parents have the option to set up Family Pairing. This gives you the ability to manage screen time, restrict content and more. You must have your own account to do this.
You can then select their account to manage on your device.
One of the biggest issue teens say they experience is spending too much time on devices. You can help them manage their screen time with TikTok using the built-in settings.
Teens have this set to 1 hour by default.
Create your family's digital toolkit to get guidance and advice based on your teen's favourite platforms, the challenges they face online, the devices they use and more.
My Family’s Digital ToolkitLearn from others and their experience of digital at primary school.
At secondary school, teens start using tech to socialise, connect and engage with the wider world. They benefit from many things online, but there are some key risks to know about.
Choose one of the key issues below to explore so you can keep your teen safe online.
With many teens exploring romantic relationships or communicating with strangers online, they might feel pressure to share sexual images of themselves. Learn how this issue might take shape and what you can do to support them.
LEARN ABOUT SEXTINGAt this age, cyberbullying can come from many places that often impact offline spaces as much as online. From bullying in social games to hurtful group chats, learn how to have effective conversations with your teen to keep them safe.
TALK ABOUT CYBERBULLYINGBetween persuasive design, FOMO and worries around their digital image, some teens might struggle to step away from their device. Get advice to help teens balance their screen time.
LEARN ABOUT SCREEN TIMESome teens might feel the need to present themselves in a certain way online or engage with potentially harmful content. You can help your child recognise these risks and develop a positive online identity.
MANAGE ONLINE PRESSURESupport your secondary school child as they head back to school with more helpful online safety resources and guides below.
If you have children at other stages of their digital life, learn about their needs with the guides below.
