In the ‘Age of the Screen’, new Telstra research reveals less than one in five Australian adults feel that they can completely keep up with or understand the latest online and social media trends popular with teens. Not only are Aussies finding it hard to keep up, but 43% of parents of 8-15 year olds also don’t feel strongly confident having conversations with their children around setting boundaries for tech and social media use.
For many parent’s keeping up with teen tech is an important topic to stay connected to their teens and make sure they’re not exposed to anything dangerous.
To help parents who feel like they’re falling behind get up to speed with the latest social media and tech trends, Telstra is bringing together a panel of experts to share their knowledge in a free webinar, ‘Keeping Up With Teen Tech’. Hosted by Em Rusciano, the virtual event is for any parent that has ever wondered: Why is my 15-year-old drinking lettuce water?, What on earth is a FYP? Surely watching a gamer playing a game is not as enjoyable as playing the game, right?
Telstra invites parents from across Australia to join the conversation on June 22nd at 7pm (AEST) as Em Rusciano talks with Social Media Expert Grace Watkins, Aussie TikTok sensation Scott Boersen, Telstra cyber safety pro Darren Pauli and ReachOut Parent’s Digital Content Expert Annie Wylie as they discuss and explore the ever-changing world of social platforms and tech for teens.
Why is my 15 year old drinking lettuce water?
Because it’s the trendy thing to do! And it’s healthy, I think. The simple answer is that everyone has a voice on TikTok, so when a creator, small or large, posts something intriguing, a suggestion that lettuce water may help you fall asleep faster, people are going to watch the video and give it a try, and the video is going to spiral to success, with more and more people trying it, because others have also had similar results. Just keep an eye on the 15 year old though, because soon they’ll find the Caramilk x Air Fryer recipes, and every meal after, becomes dessert based.
Scott Boerson, Social Media Expert and Tik Tok content creator
What is a FYP?
Is a fantastic question, it’s seen just about everywhere, it’s an abbreviation for “For You Page”, without the periods between letters, because we don’t have time for those!! The For You Page is the primary source of content consumption when you’re scrolling on TikTok, a constant feed of everything you’ll want to see, before you realise you want to see it. I see videos of cute pets, people buying house plants, and recipes, usually involving potato gems, but you’ll see something entirely to your own liking. The best part about the FYP, is that the content it shows, is tailored specifically to your tastes, the more you watch, the deeper down the rabbit hole you’ll go, and just when you think you’ve seen enough ferns for one evening, you’ll already be half way into a series of people discussing astrology.
Scott Boerson, Social Media Expert and Tik Tok content creator
Surely watching a gamer playing a game is not as enjoyable as playing the game, right?
This is such a common question I hear, but I think its not all that different to why people want to watch any kind of sport! You could just play footy, but sometimes you want to watch the best of the best play, you want to see a different level of gameplay, you want to watch it with entertaining commentary, and you want to consume it to relax with friends. It’s exactly the same with gaming!
Grace Watkin, Gaming Expert and CEO of Click Management