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Posts by Laura Andre

Online Bullying – respectme

By Lorraine Glass, Director, respectme – Scotland’s Anti-Bullying Service “I don’t make it my business to strike terror into the hearts of children – after all, it somewhat goes against the brief! …however I recall exactly the moment that I did just that, and wanted to share it with you. Almost a decade ago (scary…

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What we learned from the Online Safety Live Event in Glasgow

We recently attended the Online Safety Live Event 2024 in Glasgow, run by the UK Safer Internet Centre, and here are some of the key things that we learned: Promoting the online safety of children and young people is a key policy priority in Scotland and the UK (Online Safety Act, Internet Safety for Children…

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Why Digital Youth Mental Health?

It’s no longer possible for us to support a child or young person’s (CYP) mental health without thinking about the online environment. This includes being aware of the risks of the online environment and encouraging CYP to maximise the benefits of being online. It also means knowing the benefits of digital tools in promoting wellbeing…

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Loneliness in the Digital World

By Dr Zhuoni Xiao, Research Fellow, and Sarah Robertson, Youth Engagement Lead, on behalf of the Loneliness in the Digital World team, Generation Scotland. Loneliness and Social Interaction Loneliness has been identified as an important public health issue, peaking during adolescence (Park et al., 2020). Previous research has suggested that social interaction is a key…

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Social Media Series – YouTube

This is the first blog in a special social media series looking at popular social media platforms that are used by children and young people. The series aims to help you develop a foundational understanding of common platforms and how to support children and young people who use them to have a safe and positive…

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Gaming and Mental Health

Gaming is extremely popular with children and young people: 57% of UK children aged 3-15 play games online and 38% of those 16+ do (Ofcom, 2023). It can feel hard to keep up to date with the latest games, know their mental health impact, be aware of the key safety concerns, and how to support…

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What is sextortion and how can we protect young people from it?

Sextortion has been in the news a lot lately. Increasing reports of young people being targeted and the devastating consequences that this can have on their lives led the National Crime Agency (NCA) to issue an unprecedented alert to UK schools about the rise in risk of sextortion. Those of us supporting young people need…

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11 Online Safety Resources

Image of square blocks with a shield painted in the centre and the words "safety" written in the middle

When we think about children and young people going online, often one of our main concerns is making sure that they are safe and have a positive experience. We know there is a range of online harms that they might come across, from bullying, online pornography, sexual exploitation and abuse, to content promoting self-harm or…

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