Stephen Metcalfe has worked with Lisa Kenevan and Holly Dance to raise the issue of online safety in the halls of Parliament and now he is urging parents to watch the hard-hitting video which they have produced to ensure that parents can #BeChallengeAware.
Ms Kenevan, a Basildon resident, lost her son Isaac, 13 years old, after he was believed to have taken part in an online choking challenge.
Ms Dance, a Southend resident, lost her son Archie, 12 years old, after he was believed to have taken part in an online prank gone wrong.
In the time since, Ms Kenevan and Ms Dance have been campaigning to inform parents about the real dangers that exist for children on social media.
Mr Metcalfe met with the two mothers in Parliament to hear their stories and introduced them to Internet Matters, a not-for-profit organisation which offers internet safety advice.
The team at Internet Matters agreed to work with Ms Kenevan and Ms Dance to produce a hard-hitting video and launch a new campaign which urges parents to #BeChallengeAware.
Mr Metcalfe said: “I have enormous admiration for Lisa and Holly. It takes huge strength and a desire to see some real changes and I was determined to help out in any way I could.
I am so pleased that the team at Internet Matters were willing to work with them to produce such a powerful video. The reality is that parents do not realise what is out there – we do not know the tenth of it. We need to wake up.
Please do have a look at Internet Matters on YouTube and watch the video. It’s essential viewing for any parent.”
The new #BeChallengeAware campaign and #BeChallengeAware video are aimed at the parents of Year 6 students – a cohort of students who will be making the transition into Secondary School and encountering all the pressures which accompany it.
Looking into the future, Mr Metcalfe hopes to continue to work with Ms Kenevan and Ms Dance to highlight the dangers of online challenges and bring about some meaningful changes.
Mr Metcalfe added: “If I am lucky enough to be re-elected, I hope to continue to work with Lisa and Holly on this. I want to see the #BeChallengeAware campaign become a real aid to parents. There are resources on the #BeChallengeAware webpage and I want to see them be used!
I will also hold the Government to account on online safety laws. The Online Safety Act was passed in 2023 and I want to see it working to protect children from dangerous online content.”
The #BeChallengeAware campaign video can be found here: https://youtu.be/cLt9NKbBpOw?si=E0Cf4bGb_hvWT7yE
The #BeChallengeAware parental aids can be found here: https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/online-challenges-guide/
