Mr. Speaker,
I rise today to provide this Honourable House with an update on the work being advanced by the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, through the Office of Youth Affairs, to support Bermuda’s young people and their families in a rapidly changing digital environment.
Technology is now part of everyday life for our children and young people. It supports learning, communication, creativity, research, entertainment, and connection. It requires balance, guidance, and practical support at home.
Many parents and guardians are trying to guide children through rapidly changing online spaces. They are managing screen time, social media pressure, gaming, online friendships, artificial intelligence, privacy
concerns, and digital habits that can affect sleep, confidence, focus, and family relationships.
Mr. Speaker,
As online engagement increases during the summer months and continues throughout the school year, the Office of Youth Affairs is taking practical steps to help parents and guardians foster safer, healthier digital habits.
The One Bermuda Alliance previously asked when the course would be held, and this update follows up on that inquiry. I can confirm that the Office of Youth Affairs is advancing the Parent Cyber Safety and Digital Wellness course series for delivery during the summer and fall.
The decision to begin during the summer is intentional. When school is out, many young people have more unscheduled time, increased device use, and greater exposure to online content as school routines pause. The fall continuation will provide further support as young people return to school, settle into academic routines, and continue balancing learning, recreation, family life, and online engagement.
Mr. Speaker,
Feedback from youth engagement activities, including the Big Up Yaself National Mini-Youth Conference 2026, confirmed that screen time, social media, online safety, and digital wellness remain concerns for young people and families.
The Ministry focuses its response on practical action. Parents and guardians need clear information, usable tools, and accessible opportunities to ask questions. Young people need guidance that helps them make the most of technology while understanding safety, responsibility, boundaries, and self-care.
Digital wellness is also part of youth mental health. What young people see, share, absorb, and experience online can affect anxiety, mood, sleep, self-image, attention, and relationships. Supporting healthy digital habits is one way to strengthen the protective network around Bermuda’s children and adolescents.
Mr. Speaker,
The Parent Cyber Safety and Digital Wellness courses are designed as a capacity-building initiative for parents and guardians. The sessions will help families better understand the online spaces young people use, the potential risks, and practical steps they can take at home.
The course offerings will include sessions on healthy summer social media habits, managing screen time at home, understanding the platforms young people use, recognizing online risks, cybersecurity basics for families, digital privacy, artificial intelligence and digital literacy, online safety, digital wellbeing, and family resilience.
Including artificial intelligence and digital literacy is important. Young people are already interacting with AI tools, edited content, automated
recommendations, and online information that may not always be accurate, safe, or age-appropriate. Parents need support to understand these changes without feeling overwhelmed by technical language.
Mr. Speaker,
Parents and guardians will also receive support to strengthen conversations at home. This includes how to speak with young people about online friendships, privacy, cyberbullying, harmful content, misinformation, unhealthy comparisons, sleep disruption, digital pressure, and the impact online engagement can have on confidence, focus, and mental health.
These courses are practical, accessible, and useful. The aim is for parents and guardians to leave with simple tools they can apply immediately. This may include setting reasonable boundaries, creating healthy routines, recognizing warning signs, encouraging responsible online conduct, and helping young people make balanced choices.
Parents do not need to know every app to protect their children. They need awareness, conversation, boundaries, and support.
Mr. Speaker,
The evening courses will follow the summer day programs. This schedule recognizes that many parents and guardians work during the day and require an accessible opportunity to attend, ask questions, and receive
support.
Young people will participate in supervised evening recreation activities. These activities will provide a free zone from electronics and will offer positive, healthy, social, and recreational alternatives to screen time.
This is an important part of the approach. We cannot ask young people to reduce screen time without also providing meaningful alternatives. Recreation, creativity, physical activity, social connection, and community engagement remain essential parts of youth development.
By pairing parent education with youth recreation, the Office of Youth Affairs is supporting the whole family. Parents and guardians will build knowledge and confidence, while young people will have structured opportunities to spend time away from devices in a safe and engaging environment.
Mr. Speaker,
The Ministry views this initiative as part of a broader prevention and early-intervention approach. The goal is to support parents before they feel overwhelmed, guide young people before online habits become unhealthy, and strengthen families before digital pressures negatively affect wellbeing.
This work is about helping young people use technology safely and responsibly. It is also about ensuring that parents and guardians do not feel left behind as technology continues to change.
New platforms, online trends, digital risks, and emerging tools such as artificial intelligence continue to shape the world in which our young people are growing up. The Office of Youth Affairs helps families keep pace through practical education and community-based support.
Mr. Speaker,
The Office of Youth Affairs will continue to complete the course schedule and confirm the delivery dates for the summer and fall sessions. Parents, guardians, community partners, and programme participants will receive the promotion directly.
Parents and guardians who wish to learn more, register interest, or receive updates on the Parent Cyber Safety and Digital Wellness courses should contact the Office of Youth Affairs by telephone at 246-9100 or by email at youthpolicy@gov.bm.
Through these courses, the Ministry is taking practical steps to support families, strengthen the protective network around Bermuda’s children and adolescents, provide meaningful alternatives to excessive screen time, and promote digital wellness in our homes and communities.
Mr. Speaker,
Our children deserve to be protected in every space where they learn, play, connect, and grow. That includes the digital spaces they enter every day.
Through these courses, the Ministry is supporting parents, strengthening families, and helping Bermuda’s young people build healthier relationships with technology.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
