[MEDIA] Talking about Alexa ‘Bedtime Reading’ with @EamonnHolmes on @talkRADIO

So, I was at MPA Thrive today, when I got a call from TalkRadio, asking if I would talk about the following story:

More than a quarter of parents are relying on Alexa and other apps to tell their children a bedtime story so they don’t have to, research suggests.

Charity BookTrust surveyed 1,000 parents with children under-10 to find out whether late night reading was still a key part of the daily routine, and discovered that many are instead relying on technology to do the job.

Only 28% said they managed to find the time to share a story with their youngsters every evening, with just under a third blaming work or commuting for missing out and one in five saying they simply felt “too busy”.

My initial response was:

Got some interesting responses from friends on Facebook (friends only link), and thanks to Barry Briggs who sent me some really interesting links to work that’s being done on the CBeebies Alexa Skill.

I found myself a glamorous location to take the call:

I’d made a few notes:

Just had a brief chat with @EamonnHolmes on @talkRADIO about whether it’s a shame that parents are using Alexa for bedtime stories with children … pic.twitter.com/jlOk0lwrWx

— Dr Bex Lewis (@drbexl) May 23, 2019

You can listen to the extract, or whole programme:

Thanks to Paul Jackson for this (and Mukal Devichand for offering to talk more):

I just listened to the interview with Eamonn using TalkRadio’s listen again feature (https://t.co/pXkypWrDCT). I thought the points you made were superb Bex. Exactly what our research has pointed to. A positive, inclusive, familial relationship with digital is what we strive for.

— Paul Jackson (@madebymagnolia) May 23, 2019

Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash