2022 | Issue 12 | SJC Newsletter

What are our young people up to online? When we hover behind them working on a laptop, multiple screens are open; when we travel in the car or visit family members, they are on their phones; at night, we argue about screen time; if we say anything, they tell us that ‘everyone else is allowed’ to freely partake in online activities…

This. Is. Tough.

Navigating a safe place for young people to engage with online content, and also allowing them to exercise their growing independence, has become perhaps the toughest struggle for parents of young teenagers today.

We need to guide them – and for good reason.

Trending at present, young people are primarily engaging with TikTok and Snapchat.

Data will tell you that they are engaging with people they only know online, and being impacted by cyber bullying, inappropriate pornographic images, and influencers who spread totally unacceptable misogynistic views or share violent practices.

At St Joseph’s, we take the Respectful Relationships into our classrooms. As a lead school in the Victorian Government initiative from 2018 – 2020, we have harnessed many of the practices, and cover the lesson content in our Wellbeing lessons. In the digital space in particular, during 2022 we have also engaged Wellio, an external company that guides young people through safe online behaviours and responses for our year 8 students, and our year 7 students have completed Digital License units with the Alannah and Madeline foundation.

Westcourt engage in a Jesuit Social Services program, ‘Men’s Project,’ that questions the stereotypes of men from past eras, and teaches views that equally value the opinions and rights of men and women, as well as open and honest dialogue between males and mates.

For our Year 10-12 students, we brought Richie Hardcore over from New Zealand, to speak to the St Joseph's community about his work in ‘Masculinity, Mental Health and Gendered Violence.’

All messaging advocates powerfully to respect for all people, total intolerance for behaviours that belittle and bully others, and gender equality. And in all year levels, we balance programs around the essential belief that we can grow our positive and strongest self, with earnest respect for those around us.

Online activity is challenging. It is faceless, and given free reign for the wrong purposes, terribly damaging. We can assist you in providing advice and guidance to your son, and we will always continue to work and improve in that space. We also ask that, in the home, you are vigilant in your awareness of what your young people are up to, who they are communicating with, and never be afraid to set boundaries around screen time.

I will close by offering some links for advice shared with us by the eSafety Commissioner’s website. I hope you find then helpful –

What does the data say about our young people’s online activity?

https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/research/youth-digital-dangers/connecting-online

https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/research/youth-digital-dangers/negative-online-experiences

Taming the technology

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/skills-advice/taming-technology

Advice for the ‘hard to have’ conversations

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/skills-advice/hard-to-have-conversations