162: The Relaxback UK Show with Mike Dilke - Episode 162162: The Relaxback UK Show with Mike Dilke - Episode 162
UK Health Radio Podcast
Clinical psychologist Dr Martha Collado talks with host Mike Dilk about children, smartphones and online misinformation, debating when kids should get phones and how families can respond. The conversation focuses on digital literacy, open dialogue and practical skills for safer tech use at home and in schools.
36:35•7 Apr 2026
Kids, Phones and Misinformation: Dr Martha Collado on Raising Savvy Digital Natives
Episode Overview
- Smartphones and free online platforms treat children’s attention and data as the product, so adults need to understand what kids are really giving away.
- Delaying smartphones can help, but without teaching digital skills, delay by itself is just avoidance.
- Parents are often poor at spotting misinformation, so learning critical thinking alongside their children is essential.
- Open, ongoing conversations about what children see, share and feel online are as important as rules and limits.
- Adults should model healthier tech habits themselves, including pausing, regulating emotions and setting boundaries around device use.
“Anything your child does online or goes online on a free platform, your child is the data. If it's free and it costs nothing to you, then you're the one making them money.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? For many parents, it’s the moment they realise they can change how screens and smartphones shape their children’s minds. This episode of the Relaxback UK Show centres on a wide-ranging chat between host Mike Dilk and clinical psychologist Dr Martha Collado, who specialises in children and families. Together they talk frankly about kids, smartphones, online misinformation and the emotional fallout of our always-on digital lives.
Dr Collado starts by clearing up the difference between psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, then moves into the hard realities of tech and children. She stresses a key truth parents often miss: “Anything your child does online or goes online on a free platform, your child is the data. If it's free and it costs nothing to you, then you're the one making them money.” You’ll hear a lively back-and-forth on whether young children should have smartphones at all.
Mike argues for keeping primary-aged kids away from phones, pointing out that many tech leaders delay devices for their own children. Dr Collado agrees smartphones weren’t designed for kids, yet insists that delay alone isn’t enough; without education “delay without education is just avoidance.” The conversation then shifts to practical tools.
Drawing on projects with Tesco Mobile and digital safety charity Internet Matters, Dr Collado talks about teaching “critical thinking skills” from primary school age – things like pausing before clicking, spotting emotionally charged misinformation and asking why something was created in the first place. There’s plenty here for any parent feeling outpaced by tech and worried about their child’s mental health, anxiety or online influences.
You’ll come away asking yourself: what kind of digital habits do you want your family to practise, and what changes could start today?
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