Tooled Up Education

Snapchat: Your Questions Answered

Snapchat has become one of the most popular social media platforms among teens and young people use it to communicate with their friends every day. As a parent, it’s important to understand what Snapchat is, how it works, and how it can impact your child’s online experience. This article aims to address common questions and provide important information to help you navigate Snapchat in the context of your family.

Andrew Tate and Toxic Influencers: A Guide for Parents and Educators

Over the past few months it has been difficult to avoid social media influencer and misogynistic content creator, Andrew Tate. But, who is he? What should we know about him? He’s one of the most Googled men on earth, a champion kickboxer and an ‘entrepreneur’. He has a vast fan base among boys and men in countries all over the world and is a regular ‘talking point’ among young people. His views about women and girls have become notorious and he’s been banned from many mainstream social media platforms. Despite this, his appeal continues to flourish, with many users sharing his hateful content online.

In this webinar with expert, Dr Lisa Sugiura, we take a closer look at Andrew Tate, his methodologies, his appeal to some children and teens and what we can do to mitigate the risk that exposure to such material can bring.

Dr Weston Talks with Dr Danielle Paddock: ‘Feel Cute, Might Delete Later’ – Teens and Appearance-based Interactions on Social Media

In this interview, we talk to cyberpsychologist Dr Danielle Paddock about her fascinating examination of how teens converse with each other about appearance on social media. We know that appearance-related concerns are very high among teens in the UK. We also know that visual social media platform design encourages both image creation/sharing and interactions about these images. Dr Paddock chats about key themes that have emerged in her work, fruitful ways to talk to teens about this issue, and the positive impact of a brief school-based intervention about appearance-based interactions on young people’s body image.

Developing Algorithmic Literacy

Do you really understand how algorithms work? Do you feel equipped to help your children learn more about what has become an essential part of digital literacy? We’ve rounded up some of the best evidence-based resources designed to help young people navigate and understand online algorithms.

TikTok: Your Questions Answered

The short-form, video-sharing app TikTok is hugely popular among teens which leaves us, parents, with a fair amount of questions about the infamous platform. Is it safe? What are the age restrictions? Are there any settings that can help protect my child from harmful content? We’ve got you covered and created this resource to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

Taking a Closer Look at TikTok

In this webinar, Dr Weston and psychologist, Dr Elly Hanson, discuss some of the more worrying content shared on TikTok and outline what parents and carers can do to mitigate harm, reduce risk and keep their children and teens safe online. Please note that this webinar is recommended for adult viewing only as it may contain distressing and hard-hitting content and imagery.

TikTok Explained

Useful for any parent with children who use TikTok, this video provides a brief introduction and overview of the platform, explains how TikTok works, how the algorithm operates and what privacy settings there are.

Thinking about Who We Follow and Why

This activity is designed to surface discussion about who young people follow online and why. It is also designed to provoke conversations about the importance of remaining critical about the things that we see and read online and conscious of its impact on us as individuals in terms of our attitudes and actions.