As mental health week approaches (18-24 May), numerous concerns have been raised about the impact of the isolation caused by the lockdown on children’s mental health. The Children’s Commissioner and The Lancet have both aired concerns.
London, May 22, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - As mental health week approaches (18-24 May), numerous concerns have been raised about the impact of the isolation caused by the lockdown on children's mental health. The Children's Commissioner and The Lancet have both aired concerns and Childline has reported a surge in calls since schools closed their gates to most students.
But a number of primary schools across the UK have been using GoBubble, a safer social media platform designed specifically for children under 13, to allow classmates to stay in touch and prevent them from feeling isolated while not at school.
The platform, the brainchild of a former police sergeant and e-safety expert, Henry Platten, is similar in look to other social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook but is fully moderated in real-time. This means inappropriate videos, text, images and emojis are removed and flagged to a teacher before they have even had the chance to hit another pupil's feed. It is available for free for schools to use.
Catherine Collett, head of pastoral care at Holy Family School in Essex and user of GoBubble, said: "Without the access to online social networks which older children have, some primary school children have no means to easily contact their friends. A controlled space where they can communicate freely, away from the dangers of the internet, is essential to their mental health.
"On GoBubble, our pupils discuss schoolwork, share videos, participate in pop quizzes or family talent shows, recommend books, and simply stay in touch with friends and their teachers."
GoBubble founder and former police sergeant, Henry Platten, said: "With normal full-time schooling for every child unlikely to return for many weeks or even months, it's important we help children stay in touch. With the National Crime Agency (NCA) reporting that offenders are already discussing opportunities over chat forums to abuse children online during the crisis, we need to ensure children can stay in contact with their friends in a protected environment. GoBubble offers that safer space. It is social media with training wheels."
Using a combination of advanced security checks, real-time content moderation, and a system of biometric age verification GoBubble successfully creates a safer, healthier, and kinder digital community for children thus reducing the risk of exposure to cyberbullying, adult content and online predators.
"I wanted to create a way for children to keep in touch more safely. A place where children are rewarded for the likes they give and not the likes they receive," says Platten.
GoBubble already has more than 1,500 schools registered from 39 countries, creating a secure digital community where kids can communicate and collaborate with fellow classmates.
Access to GoBubble is free for schools. Find out more at www.gobubble.school
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