An estimated one-third of children have a social media account, so it’s important that trusted adults know what content young people are consuming, what they’re posting and the interactions they’re having. On social media, it can be easy to go down a rabbit hole that isn’t beneficial to our wellbeing. As platforms grapple with managing ‘legal but harmful’ content, lives are being impacted – sometimes to tragic effect. We might be daunted by the scale of the tech giants and their content which enthrals young people, but we can still help children to be mindful of their mental wellness: recognising when something isn’t OK … and knowing what to do about content that upsets them.

The list below provides a summary with the more detailed, 'What Parents Need to Know' guides available as PDFs at the bottom of the page.

10 Tips to Keep Your Children Safe Online

The internet has transformed the ability to access content. Many apps that children use are dependent on user-generated content which can encourage freedom of expression, imagination and creativity. However, due to the sheer volume uploaded every day, it can be difficult for platforms to regulate and moderate everything, which means that disturbing or distressing images, videos or audio clips can slip through the net. That’s why we’ve created this guide to provide parents and carers with some useful tips on keeping children safe online.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as age inappropriate content, privacy issues and mental health.
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Friends and Followers

What makes social media actually ‘social’ are the connections users make with other users on the platforms. Every social networking site handles these connections differently, calling them ‘connections’, ‘friends’ and ‘followers’, amongst others. Having friends and followers is how we find out what other people say and do. Your friends and followers are much more likely to see your online content than those outside of your network, which is why it’s important to be mindful of who you connect with and what you share. On some platforms, if two accounts follow each other, this may allow additional communication channels such as private messaging.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as online bullying, catfishing and access to private information.
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Social Media and Mental Health

Social Media is often scrutinised as having a negative impact on children’s mental health. Children and young people are now growing up in a technology dominated world, and social media plays a major role in their social lives. These balanced guides focus on both the positive and negative impacts that social media can bring to young people and their mental health.

In them, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as mental wellbeing, addiction and cyberbullying.
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Social Pressures linked to 'Likes'

‘Likes’ are a simple way for users to show that they like a post on social media. This could be anything from photos and videos to status updates and comments. The feature is widely used on several social media platforms and is extremely popular on Instagram and Facebook. It is often used by children to measure the success of their social media post and gauge opinion. However, it can also bring a number of social pressures, particularly if users start to question their own levels of popularity.

In this guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as self-esteem damage, addiction and competitiveness.
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Sadfishing

‘Sadfishing’ is described as a behavioural trend where people make exaggerated claims about their emotional problems to generate sympathy and attention. The term was created at the beginning of the year by a blogger using the term to describe certain celebrities who embellish their emotional difficulties to generate sympathy and gain more followers. The term has now gained traction and is seen as a growing trend on social media. The challenge with sadfishing is that sometimes real problems can become overlooked or young people can even be bullied for having shared their problems online.

In this guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as oversharing, cyberbullying and online grooming.
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Social Pressures linked to 'Influencers'

Social media influencers are people who have established credibility in a specific industry and have the power to influence other people’s decisions. Most commonly associated with YouTube and Instagram, ‘influencers’ will usually have a large number of followers and be viewed as authentic by their audience. It is for this reason that many influencers are often paid by big companies to promote their products in the hope of persuading their followers to purchase those goods.

In this guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as body image, bad habits and unrealistic role models.
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Cross-Platform Sharing of Inappropriate Content

Creepy characters like Slender Man or Huggy Wuggy. Dangerous online challenges. Songs or videos that aren’t suitable for youngsters. When things like these begin trending online, it can be difficult to prevent children accidently stumbling across them – especially if they use a range of platforms, like online games, social media, streaming sites or messaging apps. A trend can originate in one online space and rapidly spread to other platforms or via chat apps. The frightening Huggy Wuggy character, for instance, first emerged as part of a game on Steam; now there are parody songs on TikTok, videos on YouTube and more than 45,000 results for #huggywuggy on Instagram.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as accidental exposure, inappropriate language and unsuitable videos.
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Spotting Ads on Social Media

Can young people always recognise when what they’re seeing on their social media feed is an advert? The evidence suggests there’s a good chance they might not. What often complicates matters is that many ads are virtually indistinguishable from a regular social media post. They’re frequently designed to be funny, exciting or cool, which distracts younger users away from the reality that they’re being sold something. Our #WakeUpWednesday guides has some top ideas for helping youngsters to spot ads like a pro!

In the guide, you'll find tips such as paying attention to the account name, studying the hashtags for clues and being savvy with high numbers of likes and shares.
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Social Bots

Bots are computer-generated accounts which sit on social media, masquerading as humans. While many are harmless or even have good intentions, others are designed to extort, sell products, spread propaganda or bully human users. Bots – short for ‘robots’, of course – are often confused with state-funded troll accounts; the two can be difficult to tell apart. However, if the results are the same, then both should be treated similarly.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as cyberbullying, extortion and astroturfing.
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Online Challenges

In today’s digitally connected world, children and adults are constantly presented with new ways to engage, react and contribute. We’re sociable beings; it’s a natural human instinct, especially amongst younger audiences, to want to belong and join in. Viral Challenges (as they’re often known) draw on these emotions and, as the name suggests, spread and gather pace very rapidly. New challenges are constantly emerging and evolving. They’re often completely innocent, raising awareness of worthy causes or simply providing amusement. However, they can have much more sinister undertones, putting children at risk of physical harm or, in extreme cases, fatal injury.

In this guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as mental wellbeing, physical harm and injury.
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Social Media Scams

On any social media platform, you’ll often come across links to genuine-looking websites. They might include an exclusive offer for one of your favourite shops or invite you to complete a quiz in return for a particular reward. In some cases, clicking on these links takes you to a fake website where you are asked to provide your personal details. The whole enterprise is a ploy to capture sensitive details, such as your email address and password, which the scammers then exploit at your expense.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as phishing scams, untrustworthy URLs and 'payment first' scams.
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Persuasive Design

Social media can be really addictive, and sites want to keep users on their platforms for as long as possible. The more people scroll and consume there, the more money the social networks make from advertisers. Because of this, the platforms have invested heavily in designing themselves to be super addictive, persuading you to stay with them online. Have you ever noticed that you can seemingly scroll forever on Facebook or Instagram? That’s because these platforms collect content from right across the internet so they can keep giving you, or your child, stuff to look at.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as how to use screen time controls, how to monitor the situation and how to be a good role model.
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Tips for Encouraging Open Discussions about Digital Lives

Most parents frequently chat with their child about how things are going at school or what’s happening in their friendship groups – but those discussions often doesn’t extend to youngsters’ online activities. In fact, National Online Safety conducted a recent survey which found that only slightly more than half (54%) of parents regularly talk to their children about staying safe online. 

It can be an awkward topic to broach and, of course, it needs not to feel intrusive. However, just checking in with your child about their digital life can get them thinking about online safety and alert you to any issues they might be having. In support of Safer Internet Day 2023, this guide has some useful tips on potential ways to start those conversations.

In the guide you'll find a number of useful tips such as being as honest as possible, discussing how misleading the online world can be and creating a ‘family agreement’.
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Looking After Your Wellbeing Online

The online world and digital technology has become such a significant part of our lives – and integral to so many aspects of our daily routine – that we shouldn’t be surprised at the degree of influence it can wield over what we think and how we feel. Many experiences that young people have on the internet are hugely positive and uplifting … but sadly, that’s not always the case.

Negative incidents online – such as disagreements with other users, stumbling across upsetting content or feeling left out by friends – can be intensely damaging to a child’s emotional state.

In the guide you'll find a number of useful tips for adults and young people and trusted adults on how even small, simple actions can help to protect our wellbeing when we're on the Internet.
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