Childline: It is far too easy for adult strangers to find and send young people unsolicited messages

The NSPCC, along with other children’s charities and organisations, successfully lobbied the Government to create a robust Online Safety Act to ensure tech companies were held accountable if they failed to keep children safe when using their platforms.

While we have seen progress since the Act came into force, new NSPCC research shows there is still a long way to go. A recent report showed multiple risks faced by children – and especially girls – across ten popular platforms.

Put simply, it is far too easy for adult strangers to find them and send unsolicited messages, and many features used by tech companies subliminally encourage young girls to increase their online networks, online consumption and activity – often at the expense of their own safety.

While we might consider a child to be safe in their own home or behind their bedroom door, the rise of social media means abusers could have access to them around the clock.

Our Childline counsellors hear from young people here in the North East and across the country every day who have experienced something upsetting online. That might be online bullying, seeing inappropriate material, or even being targeted for abuse or blackmail.

Any form of abuse can have a lasting impact on a child, sometimes long into adulthood, and more must be done to prevent this.

Right now, it’s solely the responsibility of the parent or carer to ensure a child is safe while they are online and this needs to change.

Until it does, it’s important to have regular, open and honest conversations with your children about how they spend their time online. What apps do they use, who do they speak to, and would they know what to do if they experienced anything that upset them?

There are lots of useful resources and online safety tips for parents on the NSPCC website, and our Childline counsellors are available online or on 0800 1111 around the clock to offer support to young people no matter what they are going through.