Research Methodology

This project sought to close the gap that currently exists between academia, government, NGO’s, social enterprises and tech companies to establish what work is being done to support children and young people’s digital lives, identify the limitations of existing provisions and opportunities for potential collaborative solutions. To address this aim we developed the following research questions:

1. How can we better support children and young people’s wellbeing online?

What are the current risks and opportunities for children and young people online?

3. How can we have more constructive conversations with children and young people about their online lives?

4. Why is it still difficult to have conversations with children and young people?

5. How can we transform online safety education?

To answer our research questions we conducted 23 unstructured interviews starting in December 2019 with academics, government officials, NGO’s, and social enterprises. Data underwent thematic analysis - themes were noted down as they appeared in the data and a coding scheme was developed.

Key Findings

Four themes were identified during the data analysis:

1. The Internet: “A powerful tool”?

2. Constructive Communication

Key recommendations

1. Create online safety educational resources that acknowledge and celebrate the opportunities and benefits of the Internet.

3. Enhancing Vulnerabilities by Responsibilising and Victim Blaming

4. Online Safety: Outdated Education?

Key areas for educators, youth services, law enforcement agencies, and policy makers to focus attention based on the expert’s views and experiences:

2. Promote and foster positive, open and honest conversation between parents/carers/educational professionals and children and young people.

3. Reform the language used when supporting victims of online abuse.

4. Revise the terminology used for “online safety” education.

Conclusion

We found that the Internet can be particularly beneficial for vulnerable young people because it offers them the chance to join society, access support, build relationships, and express their creative interests. At the same time, vulnerable children and young people were also more likely to become victims of online abuse because they lacked adequate support structures offline.

Experts pointed out that it is often incorrectly assumed by parents/carers and educational professionals that because they cannot understand what young people are doing online they are unable offer adequate support. However, experts encouraged parents/carers and educational professionals to view the Internet as a space that merely holds a mirror up to social behaviours, it does not create new behaviours that are unfamiliar. Intergenerational learning was recommended by experts as another way that we might address the purported lack of understanding many parents/carers reported feeling.

Works Cited

Bibizadeh, Roxanne, Rob Procter, Carina Girvan, and Helena Webb. “Digitally Un/Free: The everyday impact of social media on the lives of young people.” Learning, Media and Technology (Under review).

Brewster, Thomas. “Child exploitation complaints rise 106% to hit 2 million in just one month: Is Covid-19 to blame?” Forbes, 24 April 2020,

Donovan, Louise and Corinne Redfern. “Online child abuse flourishes as investigators struggle with workload during pandemic: In four weeks, the amount of child abuse materials being removed from the internet has plummeted by 89 per cent.” The Telegraph, 27 April 2020,

NPCC (National Police Chiefs’ Council). Missing Exploited Children During Covid-19 Lockdown. Report 6 April 2021,

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). Children in a Digital World: The state of the worlds children 2017. Report, December 2017, UK.

United Nations 2020. Policy Brief: Education During COVID-19 and Beyond. Report, August 2020.