31 May 2019, Digital News South Africa, Jessica Tennant
There has been a rise of social media related ills such as cyberbullying, sexting, etc. that affect school learners, and as a result, there is a need to equip schools and parents to address with these issues if and when they arise. Keynote speaker William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa, was of the opinion that this is the responsibility of all stakeholders and that it’s a matter of drawing on each of their strengths and being guided by our constitution.
“It’s only if we deliberately choose a path that works with multiple stakeholders that we’ll all be able to build our democracy and the best our digital world has to offer combined with the unrivalled potential of our young people.”
Bird shared some, what he called, ‘old fart’ comparisons about the world now and what it was like when he grew up, to provide context to how things have changed and why our approach to protecting our children needs to change.