Capital Survey: Teens Admit To Experiencing Bullying On Social Media

20 July 2017, 06:00

1 in 5 young people under the age of 20 who were surveyed by Ditch The Label admitted to having been bullied online.

The majority of those admit to being too addicted to their Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook to take a step back, though.

Students at Countesthorpe Community College in Leicester told us popularity's judged on how many followers they have:

Many of those we spoke to talked about pressure coming from celebrities and other accounts that portray a certain high-flying lifestyle online. We caught up with singer Anne-Marie and the boys from The Vamps about how their position in the public eye and online impacts their followers:

Amelia Goodhead runs a YouTube channel in the Midlands. Her audience includes a number of younger girls and she told Capital she wasn't surprised by the results. 

She says she's had young people tell her how they'll take down pictures they post if they don't get enough likes because of that pressure to have a big following:

Capital put the results to Loughborough MP, and former Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan. She says compulsory lessons in all schools would help guide teenagers through coping with life online.

She adds that, as a mum herself, there should be constant updates to lessons in schools on how to handle yourself online as the world of social media changes so quickly, we need to try harder to relate:

What do social media platforms do about it?

Capital contacted Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat for a response to the survey results and what procedures are in place to protect young people on the platforms. They declined an interview but provided us with a statement.

Instagram:

"We want Instagram to remain a safe and supportive environment for young people. We have strict community guidelines and in-app tools so people can immediately report any content or actions which make them feel uncomfortable.

"Our global review team checks these reports 24/7 and we work quickly to investigate and remove any violating content."

Read more on Instagram's policies here.

YouTube:

"At YouTube, we have really clear policies against bullying and we enforce these policies by removing both flagged content and comments that break our rules, as well as terminating the accounts of repeat offenders.

"We also work in partnership with young people, charities and schools to make sure they have the skills and tools they need to tackle bullying and have positive experiences online."

Read more on YouTube's policies here.

Snapchat:

Snapchat didn't provide us with a statement but directed us to their policies instead.

Do you think there needs to be more compulsory teachings in schools to help young people cope with life on social media?

Take part in our poll:

**POLL EMBED TWEET**