Vodafone and famous mum, solo artist, radio presenter and Spice Girl Emma Bunton have joined forces to launch the Vodafone Digital Family Pledge – a fun online tool that helps families create tech ground rules together and then turns them into their very own family pledge.
The free, personalised and interactive activity helps families to set their digital ‘house rules’ together in an easy, fun way with the pledge covering everything from rules about devices at the dinner table to how they will use social media, with all family members agreeing to stick to it – parents included! The online tool encourages positive conversations about the role of technology in a family’s life.
New research, commissioned by Vodafone in partnership with YouGov, form the inaugural annual Digital Parenting study and looked at the digital wellbeing of families in the UK and the challenges parents face managing the ever-changing online world.
The research discovered that 54% of parents say they aren’t aware of what their children are doing online; yet they don’t feel prepared to have conversations as a family, with almost four in 10 parents stating that they’ve never been given advice on their children’s online behaviour.
There is a desire to start conversations, with 33% of parents stating that being armed with more knowledge would help facilitate this. However, a quarter of parents cite barriers such as a lack of time to sitting down with their children to discuss online use, despite fears over safety (22%), excessive screen time (8%) and exposure to inappropriate content (17%).
The study also showed that 75% of parents believe their peers may not be honest about their own children’s screen time due to a fear that it will reflect negatively on their parenting skills. In fact, almost half (48%) revealed that they believe other parents downplay the amount of time their children are online.
The Digital Family Pledge offers parents an easy way to get up to speed on four important topics: screen time, online bullying, social media, and gaming. Using a series of quiz like questions, it then prompts families to discuss what they’re doing online. Once all the sections of the pledge have been completed, each family member promises to make a positive change to their behaviour. The tool then generates a bespoke set of family guidelines that can be downloaded, shared or printed out and stuck on the fridge.
Vodafone has teamed up with the Bunton-Jones family to road test the pledge with Emma, partner Jade Jones, and two children Beau, 12 and Tate, eight.
Vodafone Digital Parenting ambassador Emma Bunton said: “Doing the Digital Family Pledge was a really simple way of getting up to speed on the latest facts, sparking a conversation and agreeing some boundaries together – Jade and I included! The kids are at that age where they want to play with new apps and games and are getting more interested in social media. At the end of the day, it’s about being open and finding the right balance and the Pledge is a great way to help families do this.”
In partnership with leading digital wellness experts, Digital Awareness UK, Vodafone will host a series of free talks for parents and carers across the UK throughout 2020. The events will take place in schools and community centres in London, Manchester, Eastbourne, Stoke-On-Trent, Sheffield, Brighton, Croydon and Birmingham.
Vodafone will also offer further support to families on their digital wellbeing journey through bespoke masterclasses in selected retail stores. The 30-minute sessions will be delivered by Vodafone’s expert advisors who already offer one-to-one advice on setting up new devices, software management, and tips and tutorials on how to get the most out of your phone.
