Could Siblings, Cousins, and Peers Be an Answer to Online Safety?
Social media is now an intrinsic and inevitable part of growing up as a child in the UK, with children getting phones as early as 9 and 10 years old.
The question facing us today is how can we prepare young people to not only navigate the pitfalls, but also to maximise the opportunities online in both the short and long term?
The advent of social media has brought about many opportunities, from learning to entertainment that previous generations could have only dreamed of. It has almost inevitably brought about numerous pressures and risks, from the large volume of harmful content online, to the potential to exacerbate and incubate conflict, and beyond.
Often a very natural parental reactive thought is to take away young people’s phones and social media in an attempt to safeguard them. But the reality is that although in the short term it will navigate the risks, in the long term it is far more likely that these risks will turn into harm. This is because it has set them up to go into a world where phones and social media are regularly used, but where they have little knowledge or capability to use them meaning they will either be left behind or lack the resilience to navigate the risks.
Instead, a better question is how can we build their digital resilience and prepare young people for the online world in both the short and long term?
Many schools, teachers, and young people recognise that training on e-safety led by adults showing outdated videos, is not an adequate education or preparation for young people heading into today’s world.
A world where the online world is not a distinct entity, separated from the offline world. But part of the same blurred picture, with your identity and relationships, spilled across both of the online and offline worlds.
We need to do better, and many schools, teachers, and parents are looking to do that.
The recent online harms research, led by ANU’s Dr Faith Gordon offers us a possible solution.
““I have an older sister, she’s only three years older, so I think she watched over me just to make sure I’m being safe with everything and made sure my account was private and things like that.””
This research found that for many young people, their peer group - in particular older siblings - were a great source of support and helpful in navigating online spaces.
““It is kind of annoying, because I think as a social media platform, you do have a responsibility to protect the people using it, especially young people… if my 13-year-old sibling or cousin was seeing those things, I’d be horrified.” ”
This was also found in a recent piece of research in Greater Manchester looking into youth violence, whereby young people would not tell their parents or teachers about issues arising from social media, but they might tell an older sibling.
It is also widely accepted that social media changes so quickly, so empowering recent older peers who are close enough to understand the current context means the training will also always be relevant.
At the Social Switch Project we tested this idea with young people at a Youth Council in Salford:
“Social media training before has just been patronising. Whereas if you had an older person, who is like your older brother or sister, you would listen to them.” ”
We, therefore, decided to put this into practice in Greater Manchester, funded by the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit and supported by Salford City Council. Using this peer-to-peer model* in four pilot secondary schools, we trained up Year 10 social media champions to teach Year 7s about how to navigate the pitfalls and maximise the opportunities online.
We did this through initial training workshops with Year 10s, exploring content and topics far beyond e-safety - such as identity, relationships, risks and opportunities. Then with the Year 10 champions, co-delivering an assembly to Year 7s, before the Year 10s ran the main part of the programme: form-time activities with Year 7s over 6 weeks covering a range of topics, from hate crime to conflict to unhealthy relationships.
The form-time activities are not just about imparting knowledge and mentoring, but also about developing personal leadership, critical thinking and confidence of the Year 10s.
““I think it has made me more confident. I am a quieter person, so I wouldn’t speak at public gatherings normally. But it has definitely boosted my confidence.” ”
We know that whilst social media is not directly causing issues, it is exacerbating and incubating many of issues facing us in today's society - and in particular for children. At current, we are not adequately preparing young people for social media, but one possible way is through empowering and utilising older peers.
The pilot is coming to a close soon, and we will be sharing further updates on the evaluation and learning.
The Social Switch Project is switching the narrative on how social media’s relationship to youth violence is understood, tackled and solved. Funded by the London and Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Units, and supported by leading charities Redthread and Catch22.
The Social Switch Project is piloting in Salford a holistic social media education programme aiming to build the digital resilience and literacy of young people, and the trusted adults around them, in order to reduce the chances of online risks becoming online/offline violence-related harms. It is delivered both online and face-to-face, tackling content far beyond social media, including: identity and belonging; relationships; wider risks and opportunities; and creating shared guidelines. Linking into schools and the primary-secondary school transition, at the core of this training is peer-to-peer mentoring and training. Designed in order to meet the majority of the statutory guidance for the new RSE curriculum.
* Similar to the Mentors in Violence Prevention project which delivers on a peer-to-peer model.
Henry Stratford - Project Lead on Salford’s The Social Switch Project pilot (LinkedIn)