Inspiring teens and parents everywhere to understand each other better and to be the change they want to see in society.
We hosted the lovely folk from BBC South East today for an interview. Given a fair wind it should be on TV tonight (Tuesday) at 6.30pm, so look out for us!
The focus was on device addiction and our teens spoke eloquently about the impact their phones have on their lives and how Brighton5 is working to make a positive change – helping teens to understand the positives and negatives of their devices.
We’re on the telly! Yesterday morning we were interviewed by Malcolm Shaw from ITV Meridian News for a piece about Brighton5. Our teens, Lola and Chloe joined us and we were super impressed with how they performed in front of the camera. And thanks to Biba for stepping in last minute as our camera person!
Tell us what you think in the comments below and, more importantly, please share the link with your friends and on social media – let’s spread the word and get more people involved in Brighton5!
We’re making a concerted effort over the next few weeks and months to raise our profile and drum up interest in Brighton5. Read all about it!
We’re getting ready for our first project, to create and produce video content for local schools and colleges. Our teens will learn skills in production, animation and music. They will work in teams, building relationships, and with expert mentors to gain a positive understanding of issues that affect their mental health, such as device addiction and negative body image.
We want to help teens to help themselves. With the help of local teens, parents and schools, colleges, Sussex Police as well as Brighton businesses, we hope to create positive and long term change.
Want to get involved? Subscribe to our blog, follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), or contact us and tell us your story.
Everyday I find stories that involve teenagers, device addiction and mental health. They are all over the press, as rates of depression and self-harm soar in youngsters.
One article that caught my eye, by Tech journalist Moya Sarner was about Belinda Parmar – who “was a passionate advocate of the digital revolution – but has started keeping her family’s smartphones and laptops locked away to protect her loved ones”
I then had a very interesting discussion with my 17 year old daughter about confiscating devices. She said “if the kid is trusted with the device it shouldn’t be confiscated.” And there lies the problem. It is not necessarily our kids we don’t trust but the social media giants who have deliberately created addictive platforms and the unregulated content that is published on them. Try explaining that to my 13 year old. Do I trust her to discern which content is suitable for her? I am afraid not.
To quote the article – “These experts agree that abstinence is not the way forward: instead, we need to build what they call digital resilience, and learn to use technology in a measured, controlled way.”
One of the five core pillars of Brighton5 is to teach our kids fearless enquiry. To teach them how to discern, to question, and to ultimately understand the ramifications of their digital activities. This should be done in ways they can relate to – younger teens are heavily influenced by older teens, so Brighton5 aims to empower teens to change their behavior for the better, by helping them help themselves.