Celebrity Peter Andre and Derby charity teaming up on children's social media issues

Yahoo

7 days ago

Actor and singer Peter Andre has teamed up with a Derby social media expert to tackle the growing issue of children and social media. Mark Saxby, founder of social media consultancy Status Social, also leads Positive Social – a charity delivering school sessions to help children make better decisions about how they use social media.
Mr Saxby was invited to speak to MPs and members of the House of Lords at a special event in Parliament, focused on the impact of social media and smartphones on children's mental health and wellbeing.
It was there that he met Peter Andre, who starred in director and composer Fabio D'Andrea's anti-bullying short film Another Way, as they were both on the same panel. The film was screened at the event held in Portcullis House, and Mr Saxby is now hoping that it will soon be shown in school assemblies ahead of workshops by Positive Social.
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Lady Frederick Windsor - an actress and campaigner on social media issues - also took part in the panel discussion and the event was hosted by Lord Nash, who is campaigning to raise the UK's minimum social media age to 16.
Mr Saxby said: "It was wonderful to be in a room with so many people passionate about making a change. There were lots of different approaches to tackling the issue of social media and children, but we all agreed that through collaboration, we can make a real difference.
"Our sessions in schools, and with parents, open eyes to the negative impact of social media – and how we can live more fulfilling lives if we're not glued to our screens.
"Peter and his wife, Emily, love what we're doing. Like my wife Kerry and me, they have an 11-year-old – so they understand the challenges parents face."
Mr Saxby hopes that the event has opened the door to more opportunities in schools, and help attract further funding for Positive Social, which currently offers its sessions free of charge to Year 7 students in state schools. Through its network of presenters across England, Positive Social has already run interactive classroom sessions for more than 13,000 students.
He added: "Our vision is to work with every school in the UK to empower students to use social media positively and equip them to avoid the pitfalls. We were told by a deputy head teacher that 95% of issues in their school were caused by social media – so we decided to act.
"We ran our first session for students in a Derby secondary school in 2014. We soon realised there was also a need for teachers and parents to be equipped to support young people in their use of social media."
Peter Andre said at the London event: "In teenage years, it can feel difficult to talk and I know that as I've experienced it myself, but there are now the extra pressures of smartphones and social media. As a dad, this is something I am really aware of, and want to let teenagers know they are not alone."