What are we exposing our children to?

Self-consciously smart commentators can sometimes sneer at moral panics, and some people are truly prone to over catastrophising, but I fear that in relation to children’s access to all sorts of depravity online, the worriers may be justified.

The issue was raised on Mornings with Wendy (Spirit Radio, Friday) when Wendy Grace spoke to Alex Cooney, CEO of CyberSafeKids. The host suggested the creation of a new Government offered an opportunity for a new impetus on the matter and Ms Cooney was glad that there were relevant commitments in the programme for government. However, she was right to suggest that the Government would have to be held to account on this – a report-card style approach was suggested. She was also positive about the supportive nature of parents’ WhatsApp groups on the issue of children having smartphones – with the aim of having smartphone free childhoods. She found this ‘grassroots movement’ gathering momentum quickly. She also favoured digital literacy education, and practical steps like keeping internet use public in the home and keeping smartphones out of bedrooms at night.

Some of the more severe consequences of unfettered smartphone use and hard-core porn in the hands and minds of children was also discussed on The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk, Friday) when Peadar Tóibín of Aontú spoke of his concerns and what could be done. Unsurprisingly he was critical of Government inaction. The item was in the context of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris saying that online pornography is driving violence against women, normalising it in fact. Peadar Tóibín suggested that all this exposure was “rewiring” children’s brains and creating unreal expectations. His party had introduced a bill in the last Dáil to try and make Internet Service Providers more responsible for the content they hosted. He said children were now accessing material that was illegal for adults not too many years ago. Pat Kenny put to him the libertarian argument that adults should be allowed to   view what they liked, but also said the evidence was there that hard core porn leads to aberrant behaviour. He also suggested that “there’s got to be some limits to what people can actually put online even for the availability to adults.”

The precious innocence of children was central in First Communion (BBC Two NI, Thursday). This was a marvellous, moving and thought-provoking documentary that followed the First Communion preparations of four engaging children – one boy and three girls, two from Northern Ireland and two from England. I felt what it presented was true to life, and had a respectful approach, an unobtrusive camera, with subtle and minimal narration from Hannah McLean.

The children were endearing, serious and thoughtful, running the gamut of emotions from excitement to nervousness. We have a lot to learn from Tia, Niall, Seren and Magdalena. Their teachers and priests were presented in a very positive light, all doing their best for the children in their care, helping them to concentrate on the spiritual aspects of the big occasion. The parents varied from those not still practicing at all, to those who valued the tradition in their Catholic families, to those who took their faith and practice seriously. Like the priests and teachers, they had the best interests of the children at heart and had their own struggles to deal with. Niall’s Granny, who had a somewhat jaundiced attitude to the Church, received a cancer diagnosis, which moved her tentatively towards prayer. Niall said he prayed and cried at the same time after hearing the news. Magdalena’s younger sister had a serious illness, and she reflected honestly on the why of it.

In some cases, there was dubious understanding of the sacrament (I dislike the phrase ‘holy bread’!), though Church teaching on Eucharist was accurately presented overall. There was an acknowledgement that many of the children would not be returning to church very regularly, which was a pity. Inevitably there were cases of material excess and unnecessary expense – there was a princess carriage with two white ponies, elaborate hairdos, large sums of money in white envelopes. Interestingly there was no mention of children getting smartphones.

This is life as it is lived now – a mix of commitment, tradition, faith, spirituality, distraction and materialism, well captured in this special programme, produced, directed and filmed by Laura Martin Robinson. It will be broadcast again late on Thursday night, February 13, on BBC Two NI at 1:35am.  Stay up or record!

PICK OF THE WEEK

Songs of Praise
BBC One Sunday February 9, 1pm
Claire McCollum is in Belfast, discovering some of the hidden religious gems in the churches of her home city.

First Communion
BBC Two NI Thursday (night) February 13, 1:35am
Four Catholic families prepare to celebrate their children’s First Holy Communion, one of the biggest days of their lives so far. It’s a sacred ceremony but also a time to celebrate. See review over.

Our Divine Sparks
RTE Radio 1 Friday February 14, 10:05pm
Topical religious affairs with Dearbhail McDonald.