Since launching our Girls & STEM study last week and given our many initiatives at TWF to encourage more girls to pursue tech-related subjects and careers, one of the questions we're often asked is whether we're concerned about driving up screen time for girls and the number of hours girls spend on their devices.
This is absolutely a concern for TWF - especially since UK and US studies show that girls are twice as likely as boys to be both perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying and girls are more susceptible to be influenced by pro-anorexia and body-shaming sites that target girls over boys.
Obviously, all of this also needs to be seen in the wider context of online safety which is rapidly changing. Traditional issues like inappropriate content, cyberbullying and sexting continue to persist while emerging concerns around fake news, radicalisation and wiki/data leaks pose new challenges for all of us, not just families and kids.
In connection with our work to tackle the objectification of women in the media and its impact on women's body image and self-esteem, violence against women and the leadership ambition gap, TWF is humbled and delighted to have been invited to attend Facebook's Annual Global Safety Network Summit in Washington DC this Friday. Leaders from industry, government, educators, parent groups and NGOs will be sharing their expertise on connecting for good, the parent-child online relationship, addressing online safety at scale, online well-being and resilience, and building online critical thinking particularly among youth. We can't wait to learn from them and to infuse our own programmes and initiatives with the latest ideas on our return!
PS As the count-down begins to March 8, we're excited about the events and initiatives which many of you are planning to mark this year's International Women's Day.
