In episode 5, Vicki is joined by Dr Garth Graham, Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health at Google and YouTube. A clinician, researcher and parent of four, Dr Graham brings a rare combination of perspectives to the conversation.

This episode moves from policy to the practical and personal. How do platforms like Google and YouTube think about the concept of information as a social determinant of health and what that means for platforms reaching billions of people every day? And what does effective digital parenting look like when you've spent your career at the intersection of medicine, public health and technology?

Talking points:

• How does Google and YouTube think about health information at scale and what is the difference between rooting out misinformation and actively providing good information?
• What does the evidence tell us about how children develop digital resilience and how should parents think about graded autonomy as children grow?
• What practical steps can parents take — from co-viewing and family media plans to watching for replacement behaviours — and what does Dr Graham do in his own home?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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In the fourth episode of Tech Shock's 12th season, Vicki is joined by two guests: Jeffrey DeMarco, Senior Policy Advisor at Save the Children, and Lisa Felton, Managing Director, Vodafone Foundation. Their organisation’s partnership was born from a shared recognition that children were highly connected but not necessarily thriving and that the support available to them simply hadn't kept pace with the digital world they were growing up in.

This episode is grounded in research, practical programmes and a genuinely positive vision for children's digital lives. With the government consultation now closed, the conversation moves beyond the ban debate. Instead it asks what a whole-system approach to children's online safety and wellbeing actually looks like and what it will take to get there.

Talking points:

• What does the research from Save the Children and Vodafone Foundation reveal about the gap between children's digital skills and their digital wellbeing and what does it actually mean to thrive online?
• How does the SMILE framework and Skills Upload Junior programme build resilience and digital wellbeing in children across eight countries and what does rights-based design look like in practice?
• Beyond the ban debate, what does a whole-system approach to children's online safety look like and what role do parents, educators, platforms and policymakers each need to play?

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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In the third episode of Tech Shock's 12th season, Vicki is joined by Katie Searle, Director - Children's Strategy at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO is the UK's independent regulator for data protection and information rights and their new Switched On to Privacy campaign is designed to help parents start regular, practical conversations about online privacy.

Online privacy is one of the most important but least understood issues in children's digital lives. Children are building a detailed digital profile from as young as four, often sharing data they, and their parents, don't fully understand. This episode explores what that data trail looks like, where the risks lie, and what families can actually do about it.

Talking points:

• What is online privacy, why does it matter for children, and what kinds of data are children sharing that parents might not realise?
• What are the specific risks - from location tracking to in-game chats - and what should parents know about sharenting and edtech data?
• What is the ICO's Switched On to Privacy campaign, and what are the three practical steps that parents can take today?

https://ico.org.uk/switched-on-to-privacy/

Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.

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