Three-quarters of UK kids have experienced online harms, say parents

• 38% say their kids have seen harmful or illegal content
• 48% are now talking to kids about online safety at least weekly
• 40% do not believe the measures taken by online platforms are sufficient to protect their children

Three-quarters of UK parents (74%) say their kids have experienced online harms, from illicit content to harassment, according to new research from online safety leaders, Verifymy. Over a third (38%) of these parents say their kids have seen harmful or illegal content, requiring them to re-educate their children about internet safety. 

In addition to harmful content, 16% of parents reported their kids have been approached by strangers online, 14% have accessed age-restricted content and 12% have faced bullying and harassment via social platforms. Verifymy’s prior research amongst children also indicates the true scale of online risk is likely much greater, given only one in ten (11%) children say they’d inform their parents or caregivers if they’d encountered harmful content online.

In response to children seeing harmful content, half of parents (48%) are now talking to their kids about online safety at least weekly. Many are also taking direct action, with 18% having deleted a child's social media account and 18% having reported incidents to social media sites. However, just one in ten (11%) have reported incidents to the police. 

Online safety has never been higher on the agenda for parents, with 72% now extremely worried about the risks faced by their children accessing online platforms and social media. The majority (84%) now believe stricter regulations and laws are needed to protect children online, even if it might limit their internet access. 

But while parents are highly cognisant of the dangers facing their children, they also struggle to deal with it day to day. Worryingly, 17% of parents believe their children are taking steps to hide what they are doing online. One in five (22%) find the number of online accounts their children have hard to manage and 23% worry about their kids accessing platforms and content via their friends’ devices.

When asked their opinions about online platforms’ approach to online safety, two in five (40%) said they don’t believe the measures and policies they have in place are sufficient to protect children. A large number of parents (82%) also think websites should moderate their platforms better to remove harmful and illegal content; likewise, 83% believe websites should use technology that stops access by underage users.

Andy Lulham, COO at Verifymy, comments,  “The level of harmful and illegal content online today is unacceptable. Parents are rightly worried and are doing everything they can to educate and protect their kids as they interact online. What we need to see now is more action from online platforms. 

“While the Online Safety Act will take time to fully come into force, online platforms have an opportunity now to get on the front foot to win back the trust of parents and demonstrate their leadership to legislators. This starts with cleaning up content on their platforms and providing safe, age-appropriate experiences for children.” 

Typifying the worry amongst parents about online safety, a large proportion (70%) now favour smartphone bans in school, such as that introduced recently at Eton, and nearly half (48%) also support a total ban on smartphones for under 16s.

Lulham concludes, “That many parents are in favour of a ban on smartphones should be a wake-up call for online platforms to make their platforms safe as quickly as possible. Bans aren’t the answer, as kids will undoubtedly find a way around them, and they overlook the undeniable advantages of connectivity for young people. But, if change doesn’t come fast, bans and other limitations will become increasingly popular with parents and policymakers, which are ultimately not the best approach to create a child-friendly internet.”  

In response to the new research, Carolyn Bunting, co-CEO of Internet Matters, the online safety organisation, commented: 

“The research from Verifymy, showing that a high proportion of children experience online harms, supports our own findings and continues to be of concern. Children value and benefit from the independence and connectivity that online platforms provide, but they should be able to enjoy those benefits without the negative experiences that many have reported.

“Parents are the front line in keeping children safe online, but the responsibility does not start and stop with parents. It is a collective responsibility which needs to involve platforms, regulators and educators, as well as parents.”

Methodology 

For this research 3,000 parents were interviewed across the UK and US (1,500 per market) in June 2024. The data outlined in this release relates only to UK parents. For data on the US marketplace please reach out to the associated PR contact for Verifymy. Research was conducted by Censuswide.