02/07/2026
Kia ora koutou,
As a community, we are facing a rapidly growing challenge. Despite our best efforts as parents and educators, our young people are navigating an online world with extensive access to social media, unrestricted internet, and smart devices. Even the most tech-savvy parents are often stunned to discover how easily children can work around household filters and safeguards.
The reality is that many parents feel the pressure of "but everyone else has it." Combined with a lack of awareness about what children are actually seeing and doing online, we are facing a community-wide issue that requires a community-wide response.
We see the real-world impact of this every day in schools:
Desensitisation: An increase in verbal cruelty, threats, and exposure to adult content at a very young age.
Mental Health & Anxiety: A toxic cycle where social media actively fuels anxiety and depression, yet students feel deeply isolated without it, leading parents "giving in' and/or to distress in our young people when they are forced to separate from their devices.
Bullying: Continuous 24/7 group chats that serve little positive function, but are significant vehicles for bullying.
Disruption to Learning: Children struggling to focus, engage, or socialise in real life because their developing brains are overwhelmed by screen time and lack of sleep.
We are really keen to try and support our community to protect our young people. The Board Trustees of Dunedin North Intermediate is hosting renowned filmmaker, author, and speaker Rob Cope for an eye-opening presentation that we hope will be the first step in empowering adults to really put in place some safety rails for our young people. This is not a "one-hit wonder," but we have to start somewhere, and we want to begin to shift the culture in our community so that parents feel empowered to say no before the damage is done.
Date: 24 August 2026
Time: 6-8pm
Location: Dunedin North Intermediate
Cost: $10 (all schools have access to complimentary tickets for whanau who cannot manage the cost, please discuss this with your office manager)
https://www.theatretickets.co.nz/shows/dni
Restrictions: Strictly R18 (Adults only due to the mature themes discussed).
What the Talk Covers
Rob will provide an honest, unfiltered look at the digital landscape, followed by practical, real-world solutions:
The Risks: Cyberbullying, the impact of social media on mental health, gaming and dopamine addiction, the pressure around naked selfies, online predators, the reality of online po*******hy, and emerging threats like AI deepfakes and companion bots.
The Solutions: Which filters actually work and how to install them, how to lock down a smartphone, setting healthy boundaries, and the 3 Golden Rules to keep your kids safe.
The Family: How to have these difficult conversations and how to challenge our own device habits to reconnect as a family.
Please save the date and book a ticket. We strongly encourage at least one caregiver from every current and future DNI whānau to be there. This event is also open to our contributing schools and the wider public. To solve this, we need a joined-up approach as adults. We look forward to seeing you there as we tackle this together.
https://www.theatretickets.co.nz/shows/dni
Ka mihi
Heidi Hayward
