MySociaLife

Insights

Screen Time, Obsession & Focus
Dean McCoubrey

How to limit kids’ screen time during lockdown

With lockdown potentially being extended beyond 21 days, parents are faced with a longer period of time indoors. Some have loved their time together, and others desperate for their old routine. Devices, social media, apps and games provide escape for both parents and kids, a much-needed “breather” in a long day of incarceration. And connecting

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Critical Thinking
Dean McCoubrey

How do SA kids see #Coronavirus in a TikTok and Instagram-based world?

And how can parents guide and support them? SA’s Digital Life Skills experts offer 7 key tips for parents. As Covid-19 has exploded from a distant reality in South Africa to a global pandemic, with increasing local cases of the virus, we can count ourselves lucky to have almost instant access to information, education and updates

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Education
Dean McCoubrey

How DSG, Grahamstown, Gained Valuable Digital Life Skills

Do you have a problem with social media and smart devices in your school (e.g. bullying or sexting, or shaming, or privacy violation)? It seems that, these days, schools can’t ignore the hard truth that learners are overwhelmed with smart devices, social media and apps. Parents and educators have a responsibility to keep informed about

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Online Safety
Dean McCoubrey

The TikTok #skullbreaker challenge is dangerous.

In an era of fake news and Momo Hoaxes it can be hard to work out what to be worried about, or where the real danger lies. The #TikTok #SkullBreaker Challenge is dangerous for sure. While many concerns or fears online may sometimes amount to very little – pranksters at play – no child can

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Online Safety
Dean McCoubrey

Safer Internet Day empowers youth to make smarter online decisions

Celebrated annually, Safer Internet Day takes place on Tuesday, 11 February 2020 and South Africa’s leading online safety Program in schools, MySociaLife, has partnered with the world’s global Safer Internet Day organisation to highlight bullying, harmful conduct, illegal online activity, and help give young people the tools they need to empower themselves online in South

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Mental Health
Dean McCoubrey

Children’s Mental Health Week 2020

Many parents and teachers, even doctors and psychologists are feeling lost at sea by the technological divide. Dean McCoubrey, founder of MySociaLife, a South African in-school Digital Life Skills Program teaching digital life skills program for schools, says that young South Africans are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues caused by the country’s complex socio-economic

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Cyberbullying
Dean McCoubrey

Anti-Bullying Week – South Africa ranks high in global survey on cyberbullying

South Africa showed the highest prevalence of cyberbullying in a recent report by Ipsos Global, based on research in 28 countries. The report showed that more than 80% of South Africans said they were aware of cyberbullying and almost three-quarters of South Africans believe that the anti-bullying measures that are in place are insufficient. A Vodafone survey

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Critical Thinking
Dean McCoubrey

The smartphone agreement. One-size-does-not-fit-all.

Download our smartphone agreement and tips here. There’s something we so often miss when we decide to tackle the online issue with our kids. We listen to the media or industry specialists, and we apply their broad brush stroke rules to our own child. And yet every child is so phenomenally different. And so are every

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Mental Health
Dean McCoubrey

Schools, parents “Need to take it seriously”: World Mental Health Day

On World Mental Health Day (10 October), supported by the World Health Organisation, The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) notes that nine percent of all teenage deaths in the country are by suicide, adding that suicide is the second leading and fastest growing cause of death among young South Africans in the 15-25 age group. Cassey

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