Cllr Ollie Crowe is holding a meeting titled ‘Safe use of the internet for children and teenagers’. This will be an event where information will be distributed and given to parents and guardians on the significant challenges young people are faced with daily via their online activity.
The meeting will be held in the Clayton Hotel on Monday, December 2nd at 8pm and will hear from a number of experts in this area where they will outline their professional experiences and learnings. These are Elaine Byrnes, Doctoral Researcher in Psychology NUI Galway, Timmy Hammersley from Spunout and James Lawless T.D. and Fianna Fáil spokesperson on science and technology.
Cllr Crowe stated “There is a lot of talk and support among all ages about the future physical condition of our city and country. This talk and concern is primarily based around climate change, cycling improvements, emissions, etc. and that is right. But I have a deep concern about the present mental condition of our young people. As a father of two young children, I am acutely aware of the issues we parents face in trying to get a grasp of the constant goings-on in online activity. I strongly believe it is an issue that needs to be spoken openly about more. Educating ourselves will help our children and young people greatly. If we educate ourselves on this space it will have a significant positive impact on the mental health of young people. There is no point in us being worried about a hundred years’ time when we have a threat to many of our young people today. Safe internet use for children and teenagers needs to be prioritised and on Monday, we will be discussing all of the challenges posed by social media, the warning signs, and the negative behaviours to be on the lookout for.”
Cllr Ollie Crowe concluded “This is a key topic, the reality is the vast majority of kids and teenagers are online on a daily basis. As parents, we do everything we can to make sure they are safe in their physical surroundings and we need to try to ensure their digital surroundings are similarly just as safe. With the number of expert speakers, I believe this meeting will be a great information resource for all in what many consider to be a modern-day taboo subject.”
For more information on this please email Ollie directly at info@olliecrowe.ie
