Last updated September 10, 2024 – 2:36 p.m.
The new limited series podcast, Parents vs The Internet, hosted by Esther Gay and Liz Hull, explores ways to keep kids safer.
Esther's daughter, Brianna Gay, was killed at age 16 in an ambush by classmates at school that was planned via text messages by a 15-year-old classmate inspired by content they had seen on the dark web.
Brianna herself was struggling with mental health issues and had secretly accessed sites on her smartphone that promoted anorexia and self-harm.
Throughout the 10-part series, Esther and Liz will speak with experts and advocates to help listeners understand how to better protect their children.
Together they are campaigning to restrict internet use for all under-16s and for teachers across the UK to receive mindfulness training so they can pass on the skills to the children in their care.
Each episode is a 25-minute conversation with guests including transgender activist Jackson Feeley, Director of Child Safety Policy at the UK Communications Authority, the headteacher at Brianna's school who is pioneering innovative measures for students, therapists, authors, charity CEOs and survivors of mental illness.
In this podcast we look at how mobile phone companies can meet their responsibility to keep children safe, how to configure mobile phones in an age-appropriate way, and stricter controls on access to social media apps and unsupervised internet use by children under 16.
Each episode will also discuss ways teachers and parents can incorporate mindfulness training into learning, which has been proven to reduce anxiety, boost self-esteem, and increase calm, self-awareness and empathy.
The series is Esther's legacy to Brianna and part of her campaign to create real impact and change.
Esther says, “Parents vs. The Internet is a podcast we created to support parents, guardians, teachers, and policymakers in their shared mission to keep kids safe.”
“We trust schools to have the best interests of children at heart, but unfortunately, inside their phones exists a world where they are not protected from harm.
“This podcast aims to explore how young people can use technology for good and protect themselves from the bad.”
Parents vs The Internet will be available from Monday 30th September from DMG Media.
