Tag: teen

YouTube expands parental controls in Ireland and beyond

Today, YouTube announced a new set of tools and content standards designed to give parents more control over their teen’s viewing experience. New research also reveals that 77% of EU parents using YouTube’s supervised accounts agree the content their child views is age-appropriate, and 73% agree the tools give them confidence in a safer digital environment for their child.

Dr. Garth Graham, Global Head of YouTube Health, said:

“We believe in protecting kids in the digital world, not from the digital world. That’s why providing effective, built-in tools is so essential, as parents play a critical role in setting the rules for their family’s online experiences.”

“After feedback from parents and guidance from independent experts, we’re equipping families with even more tools and protections that are right for them. This builds on a decade of investments to create a healthy experience for young people on YouTube.”

Key updates shared in a new YouTube blog post include:

  • Additional controls for mindful teen viewing: Parents can now help teens be even more intentional about how they watch, with a control to set the amount of time spent scrolling Shorts. And soon, they will also have the option to set the timer to zero – an industry-first that gives parents flexibility to, for example, set the Shorts feed limit to zero when they want their teen to use YouTube to focus on homework, and change it to 60 minutes during a long car trip to be entertained. Parents will also be able to set custom Bedtime and Take a Break reminders, building on the existing default-on wellbeing protections for teens.

  • Making it even simpler to get the right experience for the right age: A new sign-up process will make it easier for parents to create a new kid account and switch between family accounts in the mobile app, depending on who’s watching with just a few taps. This makes it easier to ensure that everyone in the family is in the right viewing experience with the content settings and recommendations of age-appropriate content they actually want to watch.

  • A blueprint for high-quality teen content: YouTube is introducing new principles to steer teens toward age-appropriate and enriching content. Developed with the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA and supported by experts from University College London, the APA and Boston Children’s Hospital, these principles will guide YouTube’s recommendation system to raise high-quality videos from creators in Ireland and beyond.

Alongside the new high quality principles for teens, YouTube unveiled a Creator Guide, developed in

partnership with the streaming service’s Youth & Families Advisory Committee and supported by Save the Children International.

Rebecca Smith, Global Head of Child Protection, Save the Children International, said:

“We are pleased to partner with YouTube on the launch of their new Creator Guide, which equips content creators with the knowledge and tools to stay informed, educated and safe online. With the help of this guide, not only can creators make the most out of their own digital experience, but they can support fellow creators as well. This initiative reflects YouTube and Save the Children’s shared commitment to fostering a safer digital environment for all.”

Professor Peter Fonagy, Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at UCL, said: “The mental health of children and young people is a global concern, and in the digital age the content teens encounter online can have both positive and negative impacts. These YouTube Teen Quality Principles give creators a practical, research-informed roadmap for making videos that are developmentally appropriate, emotionally safe, and genuinely supportive of young people. UCL was delighted to partner on this programme to bring evidence-based insights on adolescent development, helping ensure creators understand their wider responsibility to help teens thrive while minimising potential harm.”

These updates will be rolling out starting today and will expand globally over the coming months.

New YouTube/Ipsos research: A survey conducted by Ipsos for YouTube in August 2025, found that:

  • In the EU, 77% of survey respondents who are parents and have used YouTube supervised account tools said they agree that the content their child views on their supervised YouTube account is appropriate for their age.

  • In the EU, 73% of survey respondents who are parents and have used YouTube supervised account tools said they agree that YouTube’s supervision tools give them confidence that their child is accessing a safer and more controlled digital environment.

Creating For Teens on YouTube: Teens often look at creators for guidance as they grow and navigate the world. Together with global experts, we created a new guide of principles to help you make content that’s responsible, fun, and positive while avoiding harmful qualities so teens can build confidence, connection, and community online. These are the High Quality Principles included in the Creator Guide, to inspire teens to explore, learn, and feel good about themselves:

  • Joy, Fun And Entertainment: Show humor and warmth that lift teens’ moods like a day-in-the- life video or funny, self- accepting outtakes.

  • Curiosity and Inspiration: Encourage exploration through creative tutorials, behind-the-scenes demos, or new hobbies that are easy to try.

  • Deepening Interests and Perspectives: Create deeper dives into subjects teens love, like music, gaming, or fashion, and show process, not just outcomes.

  • Building Life Skills and Experiences: Offer relatable guidance for real-life moments, like teamwork or budgeting, to help them prepare for the future.

  • Credible Information that Supports Well-being: Share accurate, age-appropriate information. Use trusted sources and avoid spreading misinformation.

The Creator Guide also includes a series of top tips for creators to be positive online role models. These include:

  • Set the tone for your community: Speak up against hate, avoid unproductive conflict, and challenge misinformation, while distinguishing between fact and opinion.

  • Create a safer space for everyone:  Encourage teens to revisit their privacy settings, curate their feeds, and unfollow accounts that harm their well-being.

  • Support teen resilience and well-being: Whether it’s from pressures to succeed, to look a certain way, or to fit in with their peers, teens can face an overwhelming amount of stress, leading to burnout and other negative outcomes. Your content can give teens the right tools to build resilience and combat stress.

  • Help teens thrive on and offline: Your impact as a creator doesn’t stop when teens log off. By showing creative ways to connect with friends and family and prioritising healthy habits, you remind them that balance matters.

Teen Creation Guidelines_2-Pager

Lift-Off from Shannon Airport for NASA competition winning teen scientists

It’s lift-off for five Irish secondary school students flying from Shannon Airport to Orlando today having won a prestigious space design competition founded by NASA. The St Flannan’s College students from Ennis, County Clare, flew from Shannon to Chicago this morning before continuing on to Orlando, where they will present their design at the International Space Development Conference, an annual gathering organised by the National Space Society which brings together leaders and enthusiasts from all sectors of the space industry.

The student’s – Alex Furey, Damian Woros, Najib Haq, Gavin Shiels and Ahmed Ibrahim from St Flannan’s, together with Shreya Mariya Saju and Lexie McKenna from St Dominic’s College in Cabra, Dublin – designed a next-generation space habitat which they named “Inis Beatha” or “Island of Life”. This design uses artificial gravity and plants grown without soil to create a system capable of recycling the food, water and oxygen needed to sustain life in space.

Speaking from Shannon Airport ahead of their flight to Chicago, physics teacher John Conneely from St. Flannan’s College said: “Winning first place in the senior section of this year’s NSS Space Settlement Contest—against over 26,000 entries from schools worldwide—is an incredible achievement, and we couldn’t be prouder of our students! We’re also immensely grateful to Shannon Airport for their continued support, making this unforgettable trip to Orlando possible for our students.

I think Shannon Airport has always been inspirational when it comes to innovation —from welcoming the first transatlantic passenger flight 80 years ago to the recent debut of an Advanced Air Mobility aircraft. Remarkably, at one point it was also an alternate landing site for the space shuttle, making it the perfect launchpad for our students as they set out on this incredible journey to the International Space Conference.”

Welcoming them this morning Tim Ryan, Group Head of Brand & Marketing at The Shannon Airport Group said: “We are thrilled to welcome the team from St Flannan’s College to Shannon Airport today as they travel to such a prestigious event in the U.S. These innovative young minds are a testament to the exceptional talent and ambition coming from this region, making an impact on the world stage. We are immensely proud to support Alex, Damian, Najib, Gavin, Ahmed, and their dedicated teachers on this exciting adventure.”

Award winning Shannon Teen to Represent Ireland in the Technovation Global Semi Finals with Dementia Support App

Chloe O’Loughlin, a 2nd year student in St. Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon, won the Junior category award at the Technovation Ireland Regional Pitch Event (RPE) in AMD’s Headquarters CityWest Dublin. Chloe has been working on an app to help people with dementia since she started the Teen-Turn afterschool program in January. Twelve weeks of mentoring and support led to the big event, with Chloe winning the Junior category. 65 projects from 8 counties and more than 20 schools were submitted to Technovation from Ireland this year. Chloe will now represent Ireland in the semi-finals of the global competition.

This project was particularly personal to Chloe who had a dream to help people suffering with dementia in a simple and easy way. She said: ‘I have relatives with dementia. I see firsthand the effects that it has on them.  I wanted to think of something that would help them.’

It was this initial thought that led her to create and develop her app called Brain Track. “The app features a to-do list, calendar, to keep track of different appointments and allows relatives and caregivers to keep an eye on them.” An additional feature of the app is a profile page where the user or their relatives can input profiles of the people around them including photos and key details about that person. Chloe believes that to be a very important feature for the wellbeing of the person with dementia and a reassurance to their loved ones. “If someone with dementia were to forget someone’s name, they can go into the app and remind themselves of their name, which would save them the frustration of having to ask the person directly.”

Chloe committed to 12 weeks of staying after school with more than 10 other girls in the group to learn to code, develop a business plan and pitch to judges. Her mentor Donna O’Sullivan, who is also a teacher at the school, applauded Chloe for her commitment and dedication to the project and app. “Chloe has shown tremendous dedication and commitment to attending our Teen-Turn sessions after school each week and made superb progress during that time. We are so proud of what she has achieved and grateful to Teen-Turn for their continued support in developing tech skills for our girls.”

Chloe really enjoyed participating in Teen-Turn’s afterschool program and said “I really enjoyed working with everyone in the group. We got tons of different ideas and opinions when putting it all together and it’s great to see how the others projects were coming along.” Chloe also benefited from extra sessions held by Teen-Turn over the midterm in partnership with PayPal and on two Super Session Saturdays where the girls had the opportunity to gain in person mentorship in University of Limerick from academic staff and Immersive Software Engineering students.

On the day of the RPE Chloe said that she was a little apprehensive to pitch to the judges but that she found the experience to be a very powerful one.  “I was very nervous, but the judges were really nice and once I started, I was more excited than nervous. They genuinely wanted to find out more about the app and how it works.” Chloe was overjoyed to take first place on the day, winning a laptop with AMD chip technology, and is looking forward to the next stage of the competition.

So what does the future hold for Chloe and Brain Track? I definitely want to continue with Teen-Turn and with Project Squad and Technovation in the future because I really enjoyed it.’ says Chloe who is very excited at the thought of possibly bringing the app to the market in the future. “I think the app will help people  and I want to continue improving it.” Chloe hopes that she can make the future a little brighter for those with dementia and their loved ones.

Technovation is a tech education nonprofit that inspires people around the world to believe in themselves as leaders and become more confident, curious problem-solvers. Technovation offers interactive learning programs in which young people ages 8-18 and adults in their community learn how to use technology to solve real-world problems. Technovation partners with leading organisations like UNESCO and UN Women, and with mentors from companies like Google, NVIDIA, and Adobe to reach children and families in more than 100 countries. To learn more, visit technovation.org.

14 year old Claremorris Teen-Turn Participant Wins European Regional Winner Award

Dana Carney, a visionary young innovator from Claremorris, has been honoured with the prestigious European Junior Regional Winner award at the Technovation Global Celebrations for her groundbreaking project, ‘Secure Hands.’ The Technovation Global Celebrations recognise young innovators from around the world who use technology to solve real-world problems. With nearly 11,000 girls from 69 countries creating 3,200 tech-based solutions to community problems, this year was especially competitive. Dana’s achievement shines a spotlight on her innovative approach to bridging the communication gap for Ireland’s deaf community during emergencies.

Ireland’s emergency services are renowned for their exceptional ability to handle a myriad of languages, ensuring effective communication across diverse linguistic needs. However, the deaf community, which relies exclusively on Irish Sign Language (ISL), faces a significant disadvantage. In moments of crisis, the absence of ISL knowledge among most emergency service providers leaves ISL users vulnerable and underserved.

Dana’s project, ‘Secure Hands,’ addresses this critical issue through the power of technology. By leveraging advanced machine learning, Secure Hands equips emergency responders with the tools to learn and interpret ISL swiftly and accurately. This transformative solution not only enhances the capabilities of emergency personnel but also ensures that ISL users receive the same level of urgent care and support as the broader population.

Dana worked on her project coding her app and creating her business plans at Teen-Turn’s after school sessions in Mount Saint Michael Secondary School in Claremorris with teacher and Teen-Turn lead mentor Stephanie Hogan, facilitated by Iseult Mangan, Teen-Turn’s regional manager in the area. Dana also received support while coding her app from industry and academic volunteers through Teen-Turn’s online support and at this year’s in-person Super Sessions at Genesys in Galway and the Ideas Lab in the University of Galway.  Dana says “Working on my project with Teen-Turn was an incredible experience. Their sessions guided me from the initial idea stage to coding a functional app. I loved visiting Genesys in Galway, where I collaborated with volunteers and coding experts. Additionally, visiting the Ideas Lab at the University of Galway provided invaluable support for the business aspects of my project”.

“I am deeply honoured to receive the European Junior Regional Winner award at the Technovation Global Celebrations,” Dana expressed. “Secure Hands is more than just a project; it is a mission to ensure that no one in our community is left without help in their most critical moments. This recognition motivates me to continue working towards a future where emergency services are inclusive and accessible to all.”

Secure Hands is set to revolutionise the way emergency services and front line workers interact with the deaf community, ensuring that language barriers do not impede life-saving interventions. As Dana continues to develop and refine her app, her work promises to pave the way for a more inclusive and responsive emergency response system in Ireland and beyond.

Joanne Dolan, Technovation’s Ambassador in Ireland added, “with the largest number of submissions from Ireland ever, and 9 of those entries reaching the global semi-finals, we already had a banner year, but seeing Dana’s project go on to be awarded the Junior Category prize for all of Europe, well that’s the icing on the cake.”

To learn more, visit technovation.org.

More information on their activities and the support they provide to girls is available at www.teen-turn.com