- Virgin Media O2 and Internet Matters launch new multi-channel online safety campaign, Find the Right Words to help parents and guardians talk to kids about staying safe online.
- The campaign is being shared across Virgin TV and via customer marketing to millions of Virgin Media and O2 customers.
- New film highlights the difficulties adults face in explaining online harms to children.
- Campaign backed by leading charities Action for Children and Good Things Foundation, with brand new guides to help families have more confident conversations about using the internet safely.
Virgin Media O2 and Internet Matters are launching a ground-breaking campaign to help parents and guardians talk to kids about online safety.
The Find the Right Words campaign coincides with the start of the summer holidays when children and young people are more likely to be online, to help parents and carers navigate difficult conversations about staying safe on the internet, and to educate themselves about online threats.
At the heart of the multi-channel campaign is a powerful film highlighting the difficulties adults face in explaining online harms to children. Virgin Media O2 and Internet Matters’ research found that only 4 in 10 (42%) of parents speak to their children about how to stay safe online.
The Find the Right Words film, created by Film Punks and directed by the Nott Brothers (Nathan Miller and Mark Danciger), follows the lives of Anika, who appears to be 17-year-old and her mum, Shanti. Their relationship becomes strained as Anika become distracted and then disturbed by the content she is viewing online. The film’s message is that it’s never too early to talk to children about online safety.
The film is being made available as on-demand content on Virgin TV and will be shown on Channel 100 across the summer. It will also be shared with millions of Virgin Media and O2 customers via social media, customer newsletters and online, and via paid social media from Virgin Media O2’s social media accounts.
Reaching parents and guardians across the UK
Virgin Media O2 and Internet Matters have also partnered with leading charities, Action for Children, and Good Things Foundation, to ensure the Find the Right Words campaign is authentic and resonates with parents and carers of children across the UK.
Together, they have created new, free guides to help families stay safe online. The guides provide advice for adults on how to have conversations with children and young people about staying safe online, and information about online safety tools and controls. The resources are available via a new dedicated internet safety page on the Virgin Media O2 website and will also be shared with Virgin Media and O2 customers.
Furthermore, Action for Children will share the content through its award-winning Parent Talk platform, and their team of parenting coaches will be available to provide one-to-one support for parents and carers of children if they need more advice on how to talk to their kids about online harms.
Good Things Foundation will also share the resources via their National Digital Inclusion Network – which is made up of thousands of community organisations across the UK – to reach parents and guardians nationwide.
The campaign forms part of Virgin Media O2’s sustainability strategy, the Better Connections Plan, and the company’s aim to improve the digital skills of six million people by the end of 2025.
Nicola Green, Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer at Virgin Media O2, said:
“As we head into the summer holidays – a period when we know children and young people are more likely to be online – we want to support parents and carers to have conversations about online safety.
“With Virgin Media O2’s multi-channel, Find the Right Words campaign, we’re providing parents and guardians with the guidance, resources and support they need to take positive actions, like having open discussions about online safety with their children, and how to implement online safety controls.
“Our powerful campaign film brings to life the issues children and teens can experience online, and that it’s never too early to talk to kids about how to stay safe online.
“We’re proudly partnering with online safety experts, Internet Matters, and leading charities, Action for Children, and Good Things Foundation, to create a campaign that resonates with and reaches parents and carers across the UK.”
Mark and Nathan (Nott Brothers) said: “Bringing this story to life has been an emotional journey, and we’re very grateful to all the team who have helped to create it. We hope it will kickstart vital conversations between parents and children about online safety.”
Ed Balcombe, Head of Production at Film Punks, added: “We were delighted to deliver this project for Virgin Media O2 and Internet Matters, bringing awareness to a topic that affects children and young people everywhere. When we were approached for the project, we knew instantly that we wanted to bring Mark and Nathan (Nott Brothers) on board to help us bring this sensitive topic to life, with both the creativity and care that it needed.
“We are so proud of what we have achieved as a team, from concept to production, and are hopeful that this campaign will encourage parents to start the conversation about online safety with their children and teenagers.”
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