The shelf at the Worst Children's Library Photo: Supplied/Mango NZ
A new event in Auckland on Saturday is aiming to get parents to see the breadth of distressing content available on the internet now.
The Worst Children's Library will show 1000 books catalogued in the custom 'Dewey Decimal System of Harm', covering topics like toxic masculinity and hate speech, to self-harm and animal cruelty.
Auckland Normal Intermediate School deputy principal Kieran Gleeson said society needed to protect children from harmful online content, and he hoped his school could help with that. Over the weekend the school's library will be stripped bare and the books replaced with new titles, all linked back to harmful content children can see on the internet.
Adults will be able to view so they can get an understanding of the range of content easily accessible on the internet.
Gleeson said the content could be a tough read.
"It's not just one thing, there's such a broad spectrum of these incredibly hard topics together. That did take me a bit by surprise."
Our Kids Online founder Rob Cope will speak at the event, and said children were finding harmful content online.
"There's beheadings, disembowelment, there's rapes, torture. Your worst nightmare is sitting there on every single device, just waiting for our kids to find and that is what a lot of our kids are actually finding."
The Worst Children's Library event is being run by Samsung and internet filter provider Safe Surfer. Gleeson hoped parents would come away aware there are ways to control internet access.
Our Kids Online founder Rob Cope. Photo: Amy Cope Photography
"We're hoping that we have some parents come through who actually leave not just feeling like they've been shocked, but leave with a sense of, 'OK, there's a growing awareness for this, there's companies including big tech, having a look at this and maybe I feel like I have an avenue I could research now to equip me to have the right sort of conversations that I need to with my young people or put in place the right sort of parental tools.'"
The Parenting Place educator Sheridan Eketone often heard from parents worried about their children's screentime. She said in early life parents were in control of children's access to screens, but as they grew that moved to a more advisory role.
"When we are connected, there is more chance for us to have a bigger influence on our teenagers than these outside threats. Really good conversations with them, walking alongside them, just so that we are still guiding them in the teen years anticipating that one day they will leave home. "
Eketone suggested talking to teens about what they would do if confronted with something harmful online. She also said filters on devices were a good first line of defence.
Kids might not be happy about their internet being filtered, but Eketone said parents needed to hold firm.
"Most teenagers will feel pretty threatened if you want to put in some boundaries and some guidelines. I'm always encouraging parents, don't be undone by the teenager's protest or the child's dismay that you actually want to have some boundaries. "
Due to the nature of the content, Worst Children's Library will be strictly R18 and ID will be checked at the door. Bookings are essential.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
