A chara, – I strongly agree with Ronan Ó Fathaigh (Letters, September 5th) as to the importance of the voices of children and young people in debates around online safety and technology. He was responding to the launch of the report by CyberSafe Kids, an organisation that does a huge amount of work actively engaging with children on these questions.
During our detailed discussions on the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act and on other social media issues, the Oireachtas Media Committee held a number of very useful engagements with young people and their testimony about their hopes and concerns is worth reading. Their thoughts certainly influenced me and other committee members in our approach to the legislation.
We proposed that as part of the new Coimisiún na Meán that a new Youth Advisory Committee be established and that it be included in the legislation. Minister for Media Catherine Martin enthusiastically supported the idea and the Coimisiún set it up quickly and does take it seriously, including in the development of the online safety codes. The committee must have at least half of its members being under 25 and other members are those who work with young people.
In any discussions around technology use in schools, the Irish Second Level Students’ Union should be involved, and many youth organisations are actively deploying technology to ensure young people’s greater participation in society (the Digital Youth Work programme of Foróige is one excellent example). I am also often inspired by young people’s projects in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Competition and through Young Social Innovators that frequently involve technology and social media.
All of these initiatives and the opinions of children and young people do influence legislators and regulators and it is essential that the tech companies also hear those voices. There are some positive initiatives such as Google’s Growing Up in the Digital Age, but it is not unfair to argue that we must all do more. – Yours, etc,
Senator MALCOLM BYRNE,
Fianna Fáil,
Gorey,
Co Wexford.
Sir, – A new online taskforce to develop a public health response to harms caused to children and young people by certain types of online activity has been established by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
While this initiative to produce recommendations to mandate to protect children from harmful content online is overdue and very welcome, prioritisation of legislation to keep childhood free of online marketing of junk food must also be robustly addressed.
The 12 members of the taskforce include experts in public health, data analytics, digital media, mental health, human rights, education and behavioural science. The failure to include an expert in childhood obesity on the taskforce could result in this key issue being overlooked in a bid to protect children’s wellbeing in other areas.
That would be a real shame. Levels of childhood obesity remain alarmingly high.
Food marketing changes what children want and do. It changes their attitudes to food – what they want to eat and their preferences. It changes what they ask their parents to buy. It influences what they buy themselves when they get pocket money. And of course, it massively influences what they eat.
Advertising is not just about getting you to buy something – it’s also about the image. How “cool” you are or how you respond to emotion. Children are falling prey to endless marketing exposure to unhealthy foods, prompts and cues.
This online taskforce has a huge job of work and presents a massive opportunity to make robust recommendations to protect the online lives of children. Regulation of social media is a key priority, but the role of online marketing of junk food at a time of unprecedented levels of childhood obesity must not be forgotten. – Yours, etc,
Dr CATHERINE CONLON,
(Former director of human health and nutrition, Safefood),
Ballintemple,
Cork.