HMC and DIGITAL AWARENESS UK launch TECH CONTROL PART 2 to help young people make good decisions about their use of technology

Following the success of Tech Control Part 1, HMC and Digital Awareness UK have today (Oct 3) launched a free video and school resources to promote safe and responsible use of technology and social media.

The Tech Control Part 2 campaign, combines fast-paced video aimed at teenagers, and free lesson plans for schools.

The five-minute video features the stories of three teenagers who have lived through over-use of technology to make it work for them in exciting and successful ways. It will be promoted on social media and through awareness raising campaigns in the media.

Mike Buchanan, Executive Director of HMC and former head of Ashford School, said:

“Social media is essentially a channel where teenagers act out their lives. Much teenage behaviour is positive, such as telling jokes, sharing fun images and making friends.

However, other behaviour is not, such as sharing offensive material. Teenagers are also wired to indulge in risky behaviour, and social media is addictive.

“So they need help from teachers and parents to help them navigate a safe and successful route, even though they are often far less knowledgeable about technology and social media. But life experience does give us the ability to have relevant and helpful conversations about good relationships, values and respect.

“These resources help us to do that and HMC is proud to have worked with Digital Awareness UK to offer them to all schools free of charge and promote them on social media.”

Emma Robertson, co-founder of Digital Awareness UK, said:

“We are delighted to be a part of this important project. It will help us listen and respond to the needs of young people, who will ultimately decide the direction in which the digital industry moves.”

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“Social media and online technology have many positive benefits, but when overused they are distracting and sometimes destructive. It is vital that young people are empowered to navigate these rapidly developing technologies safely, and we thoroughly endorse the resources developed by HMC. We will be disseminating these resources to our 19,000 members through our networks.”

Samantha Price, Chair of HMC’s Wellbeing Working Group and Head of Benenden School, said:

“We need to keep working with our teens to understand the risks of the online world. They need to know that whilst they can run rings round adults – parents and teachers – online, they do still make mistakes and might place themselves in vulnerable positions. Schools like ours are working hard to try to close the knowledge gap between adults and children when it comes to social media.

“At Benenden, we have a team of pupils called Digital Champions who are raising awareness among pupils of good online habits. They have received safeguarding training, communicate with groups of girls new to the school in how to stay safe online, and they brief the senior Management Team of new online trends. I’m certainly not claiming that we have all the answers but, like our peer schools, we are working hard to manage the challenges of new online behaviours such as those that this new poll has revealed.”

‘Tech Control Part 2’ Video

‘Tech Control Part 2’ Lesson Plan

‘Tech Control Part 2’ Appendix

Editor’s notes

The Tech Control campaign is run by HMC and DAUK, designed to help young people take control of their own use of technology. The Tech Control Part 1 video and lesson plans are available on the HMC website https://www.hmc.org.uk/hmc-at-work/tech-control-resources-hmc-and-digital-awareness-uk/ and https://www.digitalawarenessuk.com/