Media Smart Partners with TikTok to Launch Educational Campaign for Parents

Media Smart, the UK advertising and media industry’s education programme, has partnered with TikTok to produce a collection of creator-led videos and resources to help parents, caregivers and teachers feel confident supporting teens’ use of online platforms.

The campaign, first rolling out in the UK before launching in EU territories, sees TikTok content creators invite their audience to a crash course in digital creation, advertising content and online safety. Media Smart worked with youth creative agency, Livity, to develop the creative alongside young people and parents from concept to delivery. They selected six ambassadors for the campaign: young creators (aged 18+) and parent creators, to deliver bespoke content for the UK as well as Germany, Sweden and France.

Media Smart and Livity surveyed parents across the UK which revealed that while 65% of parents felt fairly confident in managing screen time, 70% of parents would like to learn more about safety tools and features on platforms. This informed the three key areas that ‘Teens, Social Media & You’ will address: staying safe online, specific tools and features such as Family Pairing, and healthier habits. The campaign is aimed at adults who do not have great digital literacy skills themselves, those whose teens aren’t yet on social media, or parents of teens who have recently reached the age to join TikTok. It will also reach 13-18-year-olds directly via content on the platform itself.

Alongside the videos, a downloadable guide is available on Media Smart’s website, which answers commonly asked questions around screen time and mental wellbeing, helping teens deal with harmful content online and identifying what’s okay to share.

Rachel Barber-Mack, director of Media Smart UK, said, “It has never been more critical to support parents’ understanding of their young people’s online environment, particularly following the pandemic which led to a significant increase in daily screen-time. We’re pleased to partner again with TikTok and Livity, building on the success of our ‘Adverts, Creators and You’ campaign, to encourage parents and teens to engage in more offline conversations about online safety.”

Isobel Sita-Lumsden, head of marketing, global business solutions, Europe, TikTok said, "Our partnership with Media Smart is part of our commitment to working with the advertising industry to empower families with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate the online world safely and confidently. By bridging the gap between parents and teens - and equipping parents with the information they need to deliver informed guidance – we’re helping families to have meaningful conversations about staying safe online."

The campaign builds on Media Smart’s expertise in helping young people understand advertising and the online world, and is a follow-up to ‘Adverts, Creators and You’, a partnership with TikTok which launched in 2021 to help teens differentiate advertising and organic content on platforms.

The campaign film, ‘Teens, Socials & You’, which features successful TikTok creators, can be found via Media Smart’s website here.