‘What, take my phone away? But I’m 12!’

Family Kids & Youth were delighted to present our annual ‘Wellbeing and the Internet’ research at the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield 2024. The brilliant annual conference attracted 950 delegates this year, and FK&Y’s Barbie and Nyasha presented at Cinema 1 under the ‘Understanding Kids’ stream. Comparing back to pre-covid, 2019, we looked at our findings then with results from this year’s research, and the way 7-16 year olds across the UK incorporate the internet, social media, and gaming into their lives, and how this fits into the wider scope of children’s wellbeing. Importantly, we looked at the current debate about whether smartphones should be banned for under 11s, 13s, or 16s; we were able to illustrate children’s response to this with film from our focus groups. Our research shows clearly that while most children do not want an outright ban on smartphones, they do want more information on how to keep safe online. Also presenting was Laura Jolly Yan from TrendBible who talked about the growing emergence of ‘kidults’, parents embracing children’s media. An interesting and lively debate with the audience followed, with an exciting opportunity highlighted for creative content providers to produce information on how to keep safe online for both children and adults, including teachers, delivered in an entertaining way. For more information on our Wellbeing and the Internet Study, please contact george@kidsandyouth.com.

Vickie O’Malley, Executive Producer, CMC, Meg Rhind, Producer, CMC, Laura Jolly Yan, TrendBible, Barbie Clarke, Family Kids & Youth, Nyasha Nyamhondoro, Family Kids & Youth