Richie Hardcore - Guest Speaker
Richie Hardcore, martial arts champion, motivational speaker, domestic abuse prevention advocate and father, spoke to our students on Thursday 7 August, as part of our Manaaki Stars guests focus. He framed his message with the recognition that prior to 1983 and the advent of the internet, teenagers were able to move through the challenging time of puberty without their trials and mistakes being broadcast near and far over social media.
His message touched on both the good and the bad aspects of social media, as identified by the responsive and engaged audience. He highlighted the intentional design of social media to be addictive and the consequence that our society is currently experiencing more loneliness, despite the potential for our connections to be enhanced. Richie indicated that his personal choice is to wait until his children are 16 years of age before allowing them to have a cell phone and access to social media.
His take-away advice was to think before you post. Think before you share, and think about the kind of person you want to be, your own personal values and how your online choices become part of that character you are developing. His message underscores our PRIDE values of Integrity and Respect, and the Relational part of our Growth Profile.