In their own Words
The Cybersurvey Report 2019
- Cyberbullying is overtaken by content encouraging kids to bulk up or re-shape your body
- Those with eating disorders encounter a wide range of online risks beyond pro-anorexia content
- Online harmful content is widely seen by children
- 1 in 4 see content talking about suicide
- Racist and homophobic cyberaggression has increased
- Teens are dissatisfied with online safety education
- Parents reduce talking to their child about online life from the age of 11 and it is too early
Adults are not preparing kids well enough for what happens online, say young people in the biggest survey of its kind. Teenagers describe facing an array of online risks, harms and content, often targeted at those least able to cope. Half of them say parents and carers sometimes don’t understand the digital world and they think that school online safety lessons need a shake-up: only 58% follow the online safety advice from school.
They also describe how much the digital world means to them – and we should not overlook the fact that the majority navigate it well. But far more could be provided to those who are vulnerable or at greater risk, so that digital disparity can be reduced.
In a new theme this year, pressure to change your body is the most prevalent online harm teens have come across. Whether it is pressuring you to be too thin, or to bulk up your body, this content is seen by both girls and boys, but in particular by those who prefer not to state their gender (30% of whom said they had come across content encouraging them to bulk up).
We are particularly concerned about young people who reported having an eating disorder because, in addition to body image issues, they appear increasingly at risk in other aspects of online life across the survey, including viewing self-harm or suicide content, meeting up with someone they had only known online and telling us that someone online had tried to persuade them into unwanted sexual activity.
While it can be healthy to get fitter, there is a risk of becoming obsessed and developing body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) or using steroids. Some people develop an intense level of perfectionism and teens obsess about others evaluating how they look negatively.
Almost 15,000 young people across the country shared their digital lives in The Cybersurvey by Youthworks, in partnership with Internet Matters. They describe what they love doing and what went wrong for them.
Themes this year:
Harm from online content is the leading risk, with 25% seeing content talking about suicide, 29% seeing encouragement to bulk up their body, 23% seeing pro-anorexia content and 13% seeing content about self-harm. Cyberbullying was experienced by 22%.
While content encouraging anorexia has been on our radar in recent years, we now learn that even more young people report seeing material ‘encouraging me to bulk up my body’. Many of these teens also report seeing pro-anorexia content, suggesting pressure around body image.
In this report, young people give their suggestions for improving online safety education. They describe how parents stop talking to them about online safety soon after the age of 11. It seems that many parents don’t check that films, TV content and videos kids view online, are suitable for their child’s age. These messages will be delivered to schools and children’s services.
