Technology
Top hardest parenting decisions – including when to give child their first mobile phone
Choosing when to give children their first mobile phone is one of the hardest decisions a parent or carer will make in their child’s life, according to research. A poll of 1,000 parents, with children aged between eight and 17, revealed they find it equally as hard as choosing which school their children should go to (36 percent), and more difficult than deciding who they should be playing with (29 percent).
But the decision that mums and dads struggle the most with is when their children should be allowed to go to the park or shops by themselves (56 percent).
The research, conducted by Vodafone UK to launch its new partnership with the NSPCC, and offer a new platform of resources to support parents with buying a first phone, revealed 74 percent of parents and carers feel it is important for a child to have a phone when they start secondary school.
But over half (56 percent) worry about them having one, while 28 percent of parents find buying children their first phone difficult, because they state they don’t feel equipped to keep their children safe online.
Meanwhile, 53 percent say it is because they are worried about them seeing inappropriate content, or being bullied online.
The NSPCC reports that in 2022/23, 10 percent of calls to its Helpline that focused on mobile phones or online platforms took place in August – highlighting a spike in online safety concerns ahead of the new school term.
Of those parents who have given their children a phone, 42 percent did so to keep them safe when travelling to and from school.
And 35 percent felt it was important for their child to keep in touch with friends outside of school.
But while parents are worried about a first phone, children are excited – asking for a phone multiple times a week from the age of nine, on average.
When the time arrived, parents said children were more excited about getting their first phone than their first pet or first bicycle.
However, 21 percent parents find it hard to know which mobile phone to pick for their children.
And nearly one in 10 (nine percent) spend five months or more discussing when to buy their child their first phone, according to the OnePoll.com data.
Interestingly, 48 percent said they would consider the sustainable option and choose a refurbished phone to give to their child.
As part of its partnership with the NSPCC, Vodafone is launching a growing to help keep children safe online, and provide top tips for buying a child their first phone.
Nicki Lyons, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer at the telecommunications company, said: “We know a child’s first phone is a big moment for families – exciting for children, but bringing with it new concerns for parents and carers.
“Our research highlights that many mums, dads, and carers don’t feel confident they know all they need to keep their children safe online, or where to start with choosing their first phone.
“That’s why, for well over a decade, we’ve been committed to helping them navigate being online with their children.
“And now, working with the NSPCC, we’re supporting parents with more practical resources and tips, to give them the tools and confidence they need when their children step into the online world with their first phone.”
The survey also revealed most parents don’t feel confident setting up safety features on key applications that children use – such as BeReal (93 percent), Snapchat (85 percent), and TikTok (81 percent).
Kate Edwards, associate head for child safety online, said: “At the NSPCC, we are doing everything within our power to ensure that children are safe when they enter the online world, including campaigning for a more robust online safety bill.
“We know a child’s first steps, first words, and first day at school are all exciting moments for families – but getting a first phone is one which can be tempered by fear.
“This is why our partnership with Vodafone is so important. Together, we can support parents to understand how to keep children safe.”
There’s a new alert from security experts and anyone with a PayPal account would be wise to take note. The popular payment system appears to be back in the spotlight with cyber crooks trying to use the platform to scam people. In fact, the team at McAfee Labs say they have found a whopping 600 percent increase in PayPal attacks since the start of the year.
Most of the scams arrive in the form of worrying emails that suggest accounts have been suspended with users urged to update their details to get things reinstated.
Other attacks include fake PayPal gift card offers, fraudulent invoices and customer support scams about billing issues.
“While PayPal works diligently to protect its users, scammers are constantly evolving their tactics and often capitalise on well-known companies, especially if they’ve been in the news recently,” McAfee explained.
“The recent surge has been traced to a single, highly effective campaign where attackers send official-looking emails with “Action Required” warnings, demanding users update their account details within 48 hours or face account suspension.”
McAfee says it’s now vital that users take care when opening messages that claim to be from PayPal and watch out for links to websites that aren’t official PayPal domains.
Some useful advice has also been issued with 10 new rules that are worth knowing if you’ve ever set up or use PayPal.
How to Protect Yourself from PayPal Scams
• Verify all communications directly with PayPal: Never click links in emails or texts claiming to be from PayPal. Instead, open a new browser window and log in directly at Pay, Send and Save Money with PayPal , or use the official PayPal app to check for notifications.
• Scrutinise web addresses and email senders: Legitimate PayPal emails will come from addresses ending in @paypal.com. Be wary of similar-looking domains like paypal-account.me or service-ppal.com.
• Never call phone numbers provided in suspicious messages: If you need to contact PayPal support, use only the official contact methods listed on their website: PayPal Contact Us | PayPal US
• If an email says it’s from [email protected] proceed with vigilance: Some scammers spoof email addresses or use real PayPal tools like their invoices to fool you.
• Check your PayPal account regularly: Frequent monitoring allows you to spot unauthorised activity quickly and report it before significant damage occurs.
• Be sceptical of urgency and threats: Legitimate companies don’t typically threaten immediate account closure or demand urgent action within short timeframes like 28 hours.
• Use PayPal’s built-in security features: Familiarise yourself with PayPal’s security centre and take advantage of their fraud protection tools.
• Report suspicious activity immediately: If you receive a suspicious message or notice unauthorised activity, report it to PayPal and change your password right away.
• Turn on two-factor authentication: If you do so, if someone gets your password, they still can’t access your account without a code sent to your phone or authenticator.
• Skip messages that offer gift cards or say you’ll get paid for filling out a survey: PayPal doesn’t typically send these, but scammers often do.
Sky might have just upgraded its broadband-powered Glass TV but it’s rivals aren’t standing still either. French telly manufacturer Thomson has just unveiled a swathe of new screens at an event in Vienna, and it’s been confirmed that some of these latest models are destined for the UK. The new televisions coming our way will all have access to Freely, which—like Sky Glass—lets users watch live and on-demand content via an internet connection. That means there’s no need for a dish or aerial to be stuck to the chimney with content streamed to the big screen instead.
Freely also offers the ability to pause live shows, see recommendations for things to watch and there’s full access to main and mini TV guide.
Freely can’t quite match the might of Sky’s huge catalogue of content, but, unlike the premium provider, it is completely free to watch.
Along with coming pre-loaded with Freely, there’s another bonus of these upcoming Thomson tellies as they will be powered by TiVo.
This platform is already included on some other screens from firms such as Panasonic and Bush, plus it has long powered older V6 set-top boxes from Virgin Media.
Now it’s being added to this latest swathe of goggleboxes and it promises to make finding things to watch a whole lot easier.
Along with offering a visually rich user experience, TiVo holds a vast amount of metadata, which helps it track down content via simple keywords. All users have to do is speak into the remote to narrow down the on-screen results. It even lets users add more search terms to reduce the number of things appearing on the screen.
For example, a user can say, “films with Tom Cruise”, but then add phrases such as “from the 90s” and “only comedies” and TiVo will do the rest.
“We make it easy for people to find, watch and enjoy what they love, on their terms,” TiVo explained.
“We serve up the best movies, shows, sports and videos from across live TV, on demand, streaming services and countless apps. With TiVo, there’s less searching, more watching in one integrated experience from any screen.”
The TiVo operating system even lets you dig into the settings and turn off certain streaming platforms. That means if you don’t subscribe to Disney+, for example, you won’t see content recommendations from the app appear on the display.
Unlike Google TV and Amazon’s Fire OS, TiVo is also proud to boast that it is totally independent, so it doesn’t push its users to specific apps or content.
There’s no exact launch date for the new Thomson tellies, but they are expected to arrive in the UK in the autumn with sizes from 24 to 64-inches available.
If these screens weren’t enough to worry Sky, TiVo has also hinted that it could also bring a Freely-powered set-top box to the UK in the future.
Right now, those wanting to access this service need a compatible TV to tune in, but it’s hoped that a new streaming box would bring Freely to older screens as well. Some manufacturers such as LG and Samsung also haven’t adopted Freely yet so a box would also fix that issue as well.
This update would be a direct rival for Sky Stream, which also turns old TVS into fully smart content hubs.
We don’t have full details just yet, but watch this space.
If you have an LG TV tucked in the corner of your living room you might want to see if a new app has just been installed. The Korean technology giant has just confirmed that some of its latest screens have now received an upgrade that includes the highly anticipated Xbox app.
Once loaded and launched, this popular platform lets you access a whole swathe of games from developers such as Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard, Mojang, Xbox Game Studios, and more.
The best part is, you don’t need an expensive Xbox console to enjoy a gaming session with everything streamed to the big screen via your broadband instead.
To access this service you’ll just needs an LG TV or select smart monitors running the latest webOS 24 and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership which costs £14.99 per month.
If you have both of those then you can jump straihgh into games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to popular titles like Avowed, South of Midnight or eagerly awaited upcoming releases like Towerborne.
Game Pass Ultimate members can also conveniently stream a select catalogue of games they already own, such as NBA 2K25 and Hogwarts Legacy, adding even greater flexibility to their gaming experience.
“LG remains dedicated to delivering the ultimate home entertainment experience with its cutting-edge TVs and top-of-the-class built-in platform, webOS,” LG explained.
“Through its partnership with Xbox and the launch of the Xbox app, LG elevates gaming with the precision of game-changing OLED TVs and the brilliant and vivid action of the latest QNED TVs, including unrivalled gameplay upscaled to 4K for lifelike visuals, while offering a convenient interface on LG Smart TVs to enjoy a vast library of games with cloud gaming.”
The Xbox app is rolling out now and you should find it on the home screen.
Xbox says these are TVs it’s available on which include 2022 OLED TVs, 2023 OLED, QNED, NanoCell and UHD TVs – which have been updated to software version 23.20.01 or higher
This Gaming Portal is available on LG screens in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkiye, UK and USA.
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