If your child is over 13

There was a girl in a photo cuddling a different boy to who she was going out with and its got sent around two different schools and everyone was screenshotting it and posted it to their stories saying ‘slut’ or ‘slag’ or ‘cheater’ or ‘she can’t keep her hands off boys lol.

Girl, 13

If everyone’s joined in then everyone needs to know that maybe this has gone too far, instead of trying to pinpoint who is that person who started it because the person that started it could have started it as a joke

Boy, 16

A friend of mine was in a seemingly healthy sexual relationship, when noticing things weren’t going okay, he decided to end it with that person. That person then retaliated in threatening my friend about sharing nude photos. I could do nothing but comfort him.

Girl, 14

It passes on, everyone has friends, those friends have friends, and it all links back. Group chats. The internet makes it such a small world.

Boy, 17

Stop it happening

The way others behave online is not something you can control, but what you can do is to is to make sure that your child knows where to go to get support.

Help your child

We asked young people what they would want their parents to do or say, if they went to them for help.

Change your child’s behaviour

What do I do if my child has done this to someone? Remain calm and keep an open mind. Listen to your child explain what happened in their own words. Acknowledge how they are feeling and give them time to process their emotions. They might find it easier to write down how they are feeling. […]