Netflix’s new show 'Adolescence' is taking over the world right now - and for good reason.
The ‘one-shot’ crime drama follows a young 13-year-old boy who has been accused of murdering a school friend.
It centers largely around the aftermath of his actions and the wider impacts on the family and community.
The Breeze’s Tauranga Breakfast show caught up with Rob Cope from Our Kids Online NZ to chat about keeping our young ones safe while using the World Wide Web.
Speaking to around 100 schools per year, Cope has great experience painting a picture to parents about what online usage looks like for their young ones.
Having seen the trailer for ‘Adolescence’, Cope told us he was amping up for the show’s release, but not from an entertainment perspective.
“I was hoping it was going to be as punchy as [the trailer] was so it would show parents a reality of what’s going on with their kids online,” he said.
“What this show really does well is, this is a good, hard-working family who just let their kid on the internet unfiltered in their bedroom.”
“Most parents will watch this and go, ‘Oh my kid wouldn’t stab anyone,’ and they’re right,” he explained.
But who is your kid talking to online? Are they being groomed by predators? Are they bullying themselves or being bullied themselves? Are they watching the most hardcore graphic violence or gore or torture, [sexual assault] and porn?
“I think that’s what I loved about the show,” he added. “These were good parents, and they just dropped the ball.”
Cope shared two key tips for keeping your child safe online.
No child should have unfiltered access to the internet
Cope has just written the New Zealand Child Internet Safety Act, proposing to parliament that no child under the age of 18 should have unfiltered access to the internet.
“30 years we’ve had the internet in our homes, and for 30 years, it’s been unfiltered,” he said.
As an example of why the act is needed, Cope explains: “We’re wondering why all our kids are getting sick, and we’re giving them dirty water to drink [...] You know what a really simple solution is? You put a filter in the water.”
No devices in bedrooms ever
Cope says there is no reason children should ever need privacy with their device.
“The majority of all harm that will happen to our children online will happen in privacy,” he said.
Cope believes passing the proposed act will empower parents to keep their children safe by legally enforcing restrictions on unfiltered internet access for minors.
Stephen Graham, who plays Eddie Miller, the father in the show, co-created and co-wrote ‘Adolescence’ with Jack Thorne.
Graham told Tudum he “hoped the show would be greeted with love, integrity and respect”.
The response so far has been overwhelming, and Graham said, “It’s been incredible to be greeted by people from all walks of life who have been moved by what they’ve seen.”
It’s all a great reminder for the role we play in protecting our kids from the unseen and unknown dangers our children can tap into online.
