Online safety for young people
Staying safe on social media
How you can keep safe whilst using social media.
Understanding the risks of social media
With more young people accessing social media it is important to understand some of the risks involved. Not all the risks mentioned below will turn in to problems. It is good to help your child understand what the risks are to try and prevent a problem occurring.
The UK Council for Internet Safety has a full list of the risks children may need to deal with on social media. We have listed just a few of these below.
- Violent, sexual or pornographic material
- Inaccurate information and extremist views
- Harmful behaviours
- Fake profiles
- People using social media to groom or stalk
- Bully's of people trying to intimidate others
- Some content may upset some children/young people
- Being pressured into partaking in risky behaviours
- Unrealistic body image
More information is available below to help keep yourself and young people safe online.
The online safety charity SWGfl are have made downloadable Social Media checklists for the most popular social media apps include Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and Netflix.
These checklists tell you how you can set who finds your content, how your profile appears and other specific settings.
Internet Matters has lots of information to help parents and carers allow their children to use social media as safely as possible. Some top tips include:
- Talk to your child/young person about what they are doing online and who they are doing it with.
- Reviewing privacy settings on social media and video calling apps.
- Teach them to limit what they share on social media. For example, their full name, school and address.
Internet Matters also has step-by-step guides for setting parental controls and restrictions on most popular social media platforms.
Social media can make anyone, but in particular children and young people, anxious, sad or overwhelmed at times. Childline has a page dedicated to 'Feeling good on social media'. They have lots of information and advice including:
- Ways to feel good on social media
- Coping with your mental health
- Thinking about what you share
- Being bullied on social media
For more information on Bullying (including cyberbullying) take a look at our bullying advice pages.