7-13 September 2026 marks the first-ever End Digital Poverty Week, led by the Digital Poverty Alliance. Previously observed as a single day of action, the campaign has expanded into a week-long opportunity to raise awareness of digital poverty, celebrate digital inclusion initiatives, and encourage action across communities, services and organisations. Did you know that 1…

The digital world is constantly evolving, creating new opportunities and challenges for children and young people. Whether you’re working in education, health, social care, youth work, or the voluntary sector, keeping your digital skills and media literacy up to date can help you better support the children and young people you work with. We’ve brought…

Through our recent youth engagement work with Barnardo’s Scotland, hearing from children and young people across Greater Glasgow and Clyde about their online experiences, one message came through clearly: Young people want more support to manage their privacy online. In fact, 38% of young people in our engagement project identified online privacy as their biggest…

Young people today are growing up in a world where being online is simply part of everyday life. From staying in touch with friends to relaxing, learning, and expressing themselves, the digital world brings real benefits. But it also comes with challenges. A recent NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Barnardo’s youth engagement project set…

This guide is designed to help those who support young people understand how Instagram works, the potential benefits, and the risks to be aware of. You’ll also find resources to help you have informed, supportive conversations. What is Instagram? Instagram (13+) is one of the most widely used platforms among children and young people. It’s…

In March 2026, the UK Government launched a consultation on how to improve children’s relationships with mobile phones and social media. It links to wider work under the Online Safety Act 2023 to reduce children’s exposure to harmful content and improve digital wellbeing. The consultation considers measures, including whether those under the age of 16…

Safer Internet Day takes place this year on the 10th February, with the theme ‘Smart tech, safe choices’, focusing on the safe and responsible use of AI. AI is now woven into our everyday lives, from the algorithms that shape our social media feeds, to voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, and tools like as…

At this time of year, many of us reflect on our habits and may be setting resolutions for 2026. With children and young people spending a substantial amount of time online, it’s a good time to talk about their digital habits and if there’s anything they could be doing to have a more positive experience…

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is any act of gender-based violence that could cause an individual harm. It can have devastating impacts on individuals’ lives. Globally, almost 1 in 3 women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life. Violence against…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is technology that can perform complex tasks normally associated with human intelligence. If you have unlocked your phone using facial recognition, used Alexa or Siri, looked at Netflix’s recommendations for what to watch next, or tried popular platforms like Co-Pilot or ChatGPT, then you have used AI. How Children and Young People…

Nowadays, children are introduced to digital technology from an increasingly early age. For many, this is often before they can read or write. Parents reported that very young children are getting a mobile phone, with one in five (19%) 3-5s now having their own device Social media use among 3-5s has seen a significant increase…

Neurodiversity refers to the natural differences in how people think, learn, and interact with the world around them. Being ‘neurodiverse’ means having a brain that experiences the world differently than a ‘neurotypical’ person. This includes: Autism ADHD Learning disabilities Other neurological or developmental conditions. Neurodiveristy and the Online Environment Neurodivergent children and young people can…

If you are a parent/carer who is worried about social media’s impact on your child’s mental health, you’re not alone. With social media, there’s so much to navigate and keep track of that it can feel overwhelming, and you might not be sure where to start. This blog shares some hints and tips for things you…

The TV series, Adolescence, has recently re-ignited a global debate around online misogyny and violence against women and girls. The drama follows the family of a 13-year-old schoolboy who is arrested for killing a female classmate and explores the impact of social media and misogynist influencers. One key takeaway from the series was a moment in…

Every year, World Sleep Day is held to celebrate the importance of healthy sleep and raise awareness of sleep-related issues. It’s crucial that those of us working with children and young people understand how sleep impacts their overall wellbeing, especially related to the growing influence of social media. In this blog, we’ll discuss the links…

Findings from the literature, with a focus on self-harm and suicidality In today’s digital age, social media is integral to children and young people’s lives. Its significant challenges, however, have been well documented, particularly concerning mental health. From Jonathan Haidt’s damning book, the Anxious Generation, to Swiped, a recent Channel4 documentary showing the impacts of…

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…

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…

We re-launched our Aye Mind project just over a year ago and are sharing some highlights of what we achieved in that time:

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

By Jane Grant, Health Improvement Lead, and Laura Hills, Health Improvement Senior, NHSGGC, on behalf of the Aye Mind Collaborative  “Access to the digital world can no longer be seen as a luxury. Instead, digital inclusion must be seen as the cornerstone to ensuring social justice and equitable life chances for every child” (Unicef) The…

There is an ongoing and heated debate around the impact that “screen time” is having on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. This debate is being amplified across media outlets, which often claim that social media is causing a youth mental health crisis. You don’t have to go far to find alarming headlines…

Anxiety is a normal emotion. All of us can feel it, but sometimes it can get out of control and can lead to a mental health problem. In fact, according to the Mental Health Foundation, nearly all young people in their research (86%) had felt anxious in the previous two weeks, and for over half…

A guest blog written for World Sleep Day by Dr Dimitri Gavriloff, Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Course Tutor in Sleep Medicine at Oxford University. Dimitri also works as Clinical Engagement Lead for Sleepio. “I know I shouldn’t be using my phone.…” is something I often hear from the patients I see with insomnia. I wonder…

We began the re-boot project for Aye Mind with a big objective: learn from what we had done before, and have conversations with the community who will be using the site to really understand what you need from it (and our wider service).

The launch of Aye Mind is the result of months of hard work between the Mental Health Improvement Team at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and local partners. Everyone involved shared the same belief that digital technologies have a key role to play in child and youth mental health and wellbeing. We had the privilege…

By Trevor Lakey, on behalf of the Aye Mind collaborative How time flies! Around a decade ago, we took our first giant leap for youth mental health, and started out on a bold journey to explore digital approaches to youth mental health. Today, our Aye Mind relaunch gives us the opportunity to look back at…