Young people online: encounters with inappropriate content

Last week there were a number of news reports about the harmful effects of social media on the mental health of teens and young people. Responding to this, we are publishing two posts this week that address the topic. First, this post by Rose Bray details the findings of the NSPCC and O2’s Net Aware research. Investigating the nature of, and the amount of inappropriate content that young people encounter online, Net Aware researched young people and parents to learn their views about apps’ safety features and risks. With children and parents expressing a desire for industry to improve children’s safety online, Rose outlines a set of standards to implement in order to achieve this. Rose Bray is a Project Manager in the NSPCC’s Child Safety Online Team. Most recently, she has been project managing Net Aware, the NSPCC and O2’s guide for parents to the most popular apps, sites and games that young people use.