A Parent’s Guide to Social Media from Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio

Last year, Ireland's Classic Hits Radio's Eoin Glackin worked with Trina Mara producing "A Parent's Guide to Social Media."Over 26 weeks they spoke to a range of experts from different fields about all things online safety, tech and social media, with the aim of informing us all about the pitfalls of cyberspace for our youngsters, but also the positives as well, so we're all as informed as we can be.Now, the annual Safer Internet Day has come around again and Eoin thought it was a great time to revisit the series. This time, he wanted to speak with young people themselves about the issues that affect them when it comes to the online world.Eoin has now produced three special episodes of the Parent's Guide to Social Media series.He speaks with members of the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel, who are all in secondary school themselves, and gets some really interesting insights and advice from the perspective of young people.The voices of youngsters are too often forgotten from the discussion when it comes to online safety and social media, and the conversations Eoin had with the youth panel are really valuable for anyone with an interest or concerns in this area. For more information on Safer Internet Day itself and the important work of Webwise, check out Webwise.ie

Last year, Ireland's Classic Hits Radio's Eoin Glackin worked with Trina Mara producing "A Parent's Guide to Social Media.Over 26 weeks they spoke to a range of experts from different fields about all things online safety, tech and social media, with the aim of informing us all about the pitfalls of cyberspace for our youngsters, but also the positives as well, so we're all as informed as we can be.Now, the annual Safer Internet Day has come around again and Eoin thought it was a great time to revisit the series. This time, he wanted to speak with young people themselves about the issues that affect them when it comes to the online world.Eoin has now produced three special episodes of the Parent's Guide to Social Media series.He speaks with members of the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel, who are all in secondary school themselves, and gets some really interesting insights and advice from the perspective of young people.The voices of youngsters are too often forgotten from the discussion when it comes to online safety and social media, and the conversations Eoin had with the youth panel are really valuable for anyone with an interest or concerns in this area. For more information on Safer Internet Day itself and the important work of Webwise, check out Webwise.ie

Last year, Ireland's Classic Hits Radio's Eoin Glackin worked with Trina Mara producing "A Parent's Guide to Social Media."Over 26 weeks they spoke to a range of experts from different fields about all things online safety, tech and social media, with the aim of informing us all about the pitfalls of cyberspace for our youngsters, but also the positives as well, so we're all as informed as we can be.Now, the annual Safer Internet Day has come around again and Eoin thought it was a great time to revisit the series. This time, he wanted to speak with young people themselves about the issues that affect them when it comes to the online world.Eoin has now produced three special episodes of the Parent's Guide to Social Media series.He speaks with members of the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel, who are all in secondary school themselves, and gets some really interesting insights and advice from the perspective of young people.The voices of youngsters are too often forgotten from the discussion when it comes to online safety and social media, and the conversations Eoin had with the youth panel are really valuable for anyone with an interest or concerns in this area. For more information on Safer Internet Day itself and the important work of Webwise, check out Webwise.ie

We take a listen to some of the topics covered in "A Parent's Guide to Social Media"

Kevin Rea is Director of Services at Inside Out Therapy, based in Croom, Co.Limerick.  Kevin chats to Trina about the challenges children are now facing in a world of social media  www.insideouttherapy.ie Call: 085 148 8468 Email: [email protected] Croom Community Enterprise Centre, Croom Enterprise Park, Hospital Road, Croom, Co.Limerick. V35 WF77

Science communicator Dr.Jamie Gallagher talks about the benefits of social media for young people 

Fiona Jennings from ISPCC chats to Trina Mara about the toxic content boys are being exposed to on social media. www.ispcc.ie

Fiona Jennings from the ISPCC talks to Trina Mara about how content targeted at boys affects girls

Fiona Jennings from the ISPCC speaks to Trina Mara about the "aggro-rithm", which refers to the toxic content that kids, in particular boys, have pushed on them via recommendation systems on social media platforms.  Research shows boys aged 11-14 are exposed to harmful content within 30 minutes of being online and 1-in-10 are seeing it in little as 60 seconds.   www.ispcc.ie

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee (Part 2) chats to Trina about Coco's Law and what to do if you feel you're being harassed or bullied online 

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee speaks to Trina Mara about Coco's Law and the consequences of bullying on social media, sharing intimate images or threatening to share images.  

Mark Kelly, Principal of St.Joseph's National School in Bree, Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford talks to Trina Mara about the school policy not to allow smartphones until the end of 6th class.    

Mark Kelly, Principal of St.Joseph's National School in Bree, Co.Wexford joins Trina Mara to speak about their policy whereby children will not be given smartphones until the end of 6th Class (Confirmation time).  The policy was agreed by parents, teachers and the board of management.      

Dr.Richard Hogan is a Family Psychotherapist and writes every Thursday for the Irish Examiner where he looks at mental health in teenagers and families.  He shared some shocking research on what images your children are viewing online

Dr.Richard Hogan, Family Psychotherapist joins Trina Mara to discuss the big question we're all wondering - at what age should children be getting their own smartphone    

Reporter Eoin Glackin chats to social media influencer Vinny McBrien about the ups and downs of the job and social media algorithms 

Vinny McBrien tells us about his experiences on social media as a young influencer.

Jane McGarrigle from www.webwise.ie chats to Trina Mara about the BeReal social media platform 

Jane McGarrigle from www.webwise.ie chats to Trina Mara about the features of Tik Tok

Jane McGarrigle from www.webwise.ie talks us through the social media platform Instagram 

Jane McGarrigle from www.webwise.ie chats to us about Snapchat and explains all the features parents should be aware of 

Anne O'Donavan, a student at Ballincollig's Coláiste Choilm was honoured with The Science Foundation of Ireland Special Award for her project ‘ChatGPT-Powered Child Grooming Detection App for Social Media.’ She explains the App to Trina Mara 

Sergeant Michael Quirke chats to Trina Mara about "Operation Mullet" in Kerry where Garda have been investigating young people suspected of being money mules.    

Cybersmarties is a locked-down social network training platform for children so adults are not allowed to use the platform.  Children are verified through their school.  It teaches children the right habits needed if they are online and has reduced bullying by 99% Diarmuid Hudner from Cybersmarties speaks to Trina Mara www.cybersmarties.ie

Diarmuid Hudner joins us from www.cybersmarties.com chats to Trina Mara about the pros and cons of social media and internet use by children

Jane McGarrigle from www.webwise.ie chats to Trina Mara about the tools to keep your kids safe online

We're aiming to create a comprehensive guide for parents and guardians of the positives and negatives of social media, and give them a better understanding of how the different platforms work and what to watch out for when your children are online.   Jane McGarrigle, Project Manager with www.webwise.ie chats to Trina Mara